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Final sermon as Dean by the Very Revd John Paterson
FINAL SERMON AS DEAN BY THE VERY REVD JOHN PATERSON
Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin.
Feast of the Epiphany 2004
Tuesday 6th January 2004
Some ten years ago when Jury?s Inn was being built opposite the cathedral a view emerged that had probably not been seen since the Middle Ages. The crumbling building that had served as a warehouse and then as a derelict site was removed. The vista between the two cathedrals could be seen in a way that showed how, together with Dublin Castle, they must have dominated the city for hundreds of years. Particularly in the Christ Church area, which was at the main crossroads within the city. Just think of the number of hovels of the poor that must have been demolished to build the cathedral in the first place. And then even more when it was extended west 100 years later. Until modern times when all the churches have largely lost any real power, have you ever stopped to think of how they frequently treated the ordinary people?
It must have been a bit like that at the birth of Christ. The story begins with those who had little of this world?s goods ? Mary, Joseph and the infant Christ. Then we move to the shepherds ? well at least they had their herd of animals. Then, just twelve days later and the Magi, the kings, the wise men, call them what you will, muscle in and the poor and lowly are pushed out. The shepherds are never again mentioned in the birth story.
But the Magi bring valuable presents ? and the churches have always enjoyed the gift of valuable presents. Gold, and the acquisition of gold, it has always understood well. Myrrh was a strange gift for a child ? a symbol of death. And incense ? well it?s just as well that the Canon Law of the Church of Ireland wasn?t in force or that particular king might have found himself before a diocesan court!
And we?ll never know why the Magi were called ?wise?. The first thing they do is to go to Herod to tell him that a new king is to be born who will rule the people of Israel. Hardly wise when dealing with a tyrant who was as neurotic about threats to his existence as any modern day Saddam Hussein. And of course it all ends with the slaughter of all newborn infants under the age of two ? just in case one of them might be king.
And 2000 years later are things significantly changed? The Churches today wield little power; it?s the State and the powerful that have become all-powerful. In every country a small powerful elite still rises to the top and floats on the inability of ordinary people to make themselves heard.
We see it in our own country where a few cents extra in income tax might well alleviate bed shortages in hospitals and provide public housing for the poor. But then the rich prefer consumer taxes to income tax ? that way the poor pay far more than their fair share.
We see it in world politics where countries that are no longer useful to the rich First World are either dumped or invaded. The rulers are removed. Only the poor are left to suffer the ravages of bombs and the lack of water and electricity.
One could go on ? for it?s all just so much like Epiphany. The Magi push out the shepherds. The infant ceases to be a thing of awe and instead is used to become a part of the world and of its power struggles.
The Epiphany should have been a sign of peace, of equality, of reconciliation ? the good news for which the world had been waiting. G K Chesterton put it this way:
Good news: but if you ask me what it is, I know not;
It is a track of feet in the snow,
It is a lantern showing a path,
It is a door set open.
Today another door is set open. Fifteen years of guidance from me in this cathedral is ending, to be added to those of countless priors and deans over nearly 1000 years. Each one of us has left a legacy. But legacies need to be kept alive and built on by successive generation of worshippers. The future of this cathedral lies not just with my successor. It lies with you. With your help that door set open can continue to let light shine in the heart of this city ? not the master of the city as in olden days: rather, in city and diocese, the servant of the servants of God.
Further information from:
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