Sunday Service - 30 Aug 1957 / 23 Sep 1962

Moffatt: “It is all the doing of God who has reconciled me to Himself, through Christ and has permitted me to be a minister of his reconciliation.”

In the earlier chapters of the Second Epistle to the Corinthians St. Paul gives us a simple description of what the Gospel is. In Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself not counting men’s transgressions against them. In Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself: That is the Gospel. This conviction came to him as a result of his own experience.

First of all in his own life he realised the tremendous change that had come over his whole being. God, through Christ, took the initiative and reconciled the apostle to Himself. He who was at war with God was now reconciled to Him. His life was controlled now, not by hatred, but by creative love, and he was reconciled to other men. While there was previously unrest and unhappiness in his own mind there was now peace and harmony. The old life has passed away and a new life has come. His instincts which were at war with one another have now come under a new controlling power. He was now a new creation with a new outlook and a new love. With this experience he felt that he was called to be a minister of reconciliation.

Again, he realised what the Gospel was doing for the Roman Empire. That empire consisted of different races and different religions speaking different languages and different dialects, and following different customs and manners. There were people at different stages of culture and civilization. There were the proud philosophers at one end of the scale and superstitious illiterates at the other. There were the high caste Jews as well as the untouchable gentiles, the wealthy landowner and the underprivileged slave. These various elements were kept together by force, by the Roman army, by the Roman law and by the Roman discipline. To unite these different elements into one people was not possible for any power on earth. The Romans never really succeeded in the attempt. It was left to Paul, the envoy of Christ, to achieve the impossible. The Gospel of Christ brought together as members of one fellowship the Jew and the gentile, the philosopher and the illiterate, the Greek and the Barbarian, the rich and the poor, the master and the slave. To Paul this was a supernatural thing, for it was the doing of God who reconciled man to Himself and the different conflicting elements to one another. To St. Paul, the Gospel was a message of reconciliation and everyone who had been thus reconciled to God and to man was also called to be a minister of reconciliation.

The ministry of reconciliation is the task that is before the Church today in this land. We are at this time going through a difficult period in the history of our country. Never before has there been so much communal discord, misunderstanding and hostility. What is the responsibility of the Christian Church in such a situation? What has the Church in this land done, hitherto, in discharging its responsibility in this matter?

Speaking of the Roman Empire I said that the various people in the empire, with their differences in language and customs, could not be brought together by the force which the Roman army exercised. The Romans could not really unite the people with all the power they had. It was the Gospel of Christ that brought the people together. We find a parallel today in the history of our land. During the days of the British Government, the different races were held together, and there was a semblance of unity. But the people were never united. With the departure of the British, and the loss of prestige to the English language, we are able to give a more correct picture of the relationship between the various races. But the Christian Church, which is composed of people of all races, is the only body in which various communities can come together and discuss their problems in an atmosphere of friendship and tolerance. No other body can unite the people in the manner the Church can do. It is the Gospel of Jesus that can remove bitterness and misunderstandings from the minds of the people and create friendly feelings and fellowship.

When we see what is happening in this country and everywhere in the world, I think it is true to say that not only in Ceylon, but all the world over a silent revolution is taking place in the ideas of men, and as a result of it, changes of a far reaching nature will be effected in the spheres of politics, of economics and of social order. Changes in the world outside will affect our country too. At a time like this we Christians are called to be ministers of reconciliation. We must bring together the various elements in the country into one fellowship. There are people of various temperaments and outlook, with different traditions and social and religious heritage. All these have to be brought together and the Christian Church has a wonderful opportunity of effecting such reconciliation in our country.

I have stated that it is through the Christian Church that various races and communities can be brought together. The activities of the Christian Church in this land is evidence of it. I want to give you another illustration of the ministry of reconciliation which the Church has been engaged in, in this country, from the beginning of its life. You know how, in recent times, the class of people who are said to belong to the depressed class have come together to assert their rights. Long before they started to assert their rights, or even before they became conscious of their rights, the Christian Church had taken steps to unite into one fellowship, the high caste and the low caste, and made them realise their brotherhood in Christ. At the altar we have knelt together and partaken of the cup, while social differences have kept us apart outside the Church. The Christian educational institutions were the first to open their doors to all pupils, irrespective of caste, not out of compulsion, or as a result of pressure from outside, but out of love and our realisation that in Christ we are all members of one family and children of the same father.

The political situation – I am now thinking specially of the situation in the North – has made our leaders realise the need to break the barriers of caste and work for the unity of all people. In the vast political changes that are likely to follow, we Christians have to keep the message of the Gospel before the people. In Christ Jesus there is neither Jew nor Greek, neither bond nor free, neither male nor female, neither Sinhalese nor Tamil, neither high caste nor low caste.

In conclusion I want to say how much my wife and I have enjoyed our work in this parish during the seven months we have been here. Of the many things we have observed, what impressed us most is the friendliness and fellowship that is found among the members of the Churchbelonging to various communities and social groups. Truly, in the fellowship of the Church, Christ has helped us to break down the barriers that normally divide people. May God grant we may show forth this spirit of brotherhood in our life together more and more, and thus make our contribution to the solving of the problems before the country. We are fortunate to have as our new Vicar one coming from our mother Church, the Church of England. As a young Church, we do need the strength that can come to us by being in close contact with our mother Church. The appointment of the new Vicar also helps us to realise our membership in the World Wide Church – the Church which has overcome all barriers of race and colour.

As Christians we are called upon to fulfill the ministry of reconciliation in this land. If we are to act as God’s ministers of reconciliation we must first be reconciled to God ourselves. In Christ God reconciled the world to Himself. It is by drawing near to God in Christ that we draw near to each other.