St Peter and St Paul. 8.00 Holy Communion at All Saints, 10.30 Holy Communion at Langham
Zechariah 4.1-6a, 10b-e, 2 Timothy 4.6-8, 17-18, Matthew 16.13-19
May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of all our hearts be now and always acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer.
Today, we celebrate the feast day of St Peter and St Paul, so let’s begin by thinking about Zerubbabel! Our Old Testament reading describes a vision to the prophet Zechariah that concerns someone called Zerubbabel. So what is this all about, and why is it set as one of our readings? Zechariah was prophesying just after the first tranche of Jews returned from exile in Babylon, to find a ruined and devastated Jerusalem, that they were going to have to rebuild. They were led by Zerubbabel, who is described as a governor in the Babylonian empire, but his genealogy shows that he was also a direct descendent of King David – a prince, and in some ways the rightful king, although he never took that title. Zerubbabel is always presented as acting with the priest Joshua in these early days of the return of the exiles. The prince and the priest. And it is to Zerubbabel that this prophecy is addressed through an angelic figure. A golden lampstand with seven lamps, and a bowl somehow attached, with two olive trees, apparently feeding oil into the bowl through two golden pipes. And in reply to the prophets questions, the angel identifies these two olive trees as two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth. And it seems clear from this prophecy and its context that these anointed ones are symbols of Zerubbabel and Joshua, and the lamp represents the returned exiles – the Israelite nation . And the oil that flows from the trees represents the Holy Spirit, that will enlighten the people and give them strength and hope for the task ahead. And in a verse that is oddly missed out in our reading, but is actually quite pivotal to the text, we have the words.
Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts
A call to Zerubbabel to let the Spirit act through him and through the priest Joshua, rather than trying to do things his own way. All very peculiar and rather odd. And naturally this prophecy in all its weirdness would have appealed to the author of the Book of Revelation, who also uses the image of the two olive trees and the two witnesses. Some of the early church fathers, wondering who these two figures could be, settled on the identification of them with Peter and Paul, the two pre-eminent apostles. So we have a last got back to why this reading has been set for today.
But in reality, the reading isn’t about Peter and Paul at all, but about Zerubbabel and Joshua – the prince and the priest. These two individuals, with very different perspectives and gifts, were the one who would, through the power of the Holy Spirit, lead the people in their gigantic task of rebuilding Jerusalem – its wall, its houses, its temple. Zerubbabel – the practical leader, who could organise the necessary works, Joshua, the priest, the one who could pray and bring God’s blessing and presence into the situation. And it is this I think that points to something deeper in the context of the church – the need for God’s people to embrace a wide variety of gifts and talents – from the princely to the priestly, practical to the prayerful. In some ways Peter and Paul do fulfil these roles, so the identification of them with the olive trees isn’t wholly spurious. Peter, the impetuous fisherman, at home in practical activities, the one who could lead through action, the rock, the stable ground in which Jesus built his church. Paul, the theologian, the visionary, the thinker, whose thoughts and letters echo down the ages. Both strands are needed for the church. But even here, the situation with Peter and Paul is more complex. In his later years, Peter could equally well right letters of deep spiritual and theological meaning. He was to write of the early church.
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.
A verse that combines both the princely and the priestly characteristics of the church, Paul too, wasn’t just a teacher could be a very capable organiser – he organised a major relief effort to help the church in Jerusalem during a famine; he travelled widely and showed much courage in the face of adversity. So the situation is much more complex than a simple division between Price and Priest. But both Peter and Paul were to meet the same end, with Peter, according to non-biblical tradition, dying by being crucified upside down in Rome during the reign of Nero about 65AD, and Paul being beheaded at around the same time. Our reading from the second letter to Timothy seems to come from the time just before his execution.
As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
You will have noticed, I have been having some fun with alliterations with pairs of words beginning with P. We can continue this by thinking of other pairings of qualities both displayed by Peter and Paul and needed for the health of the church. To the princely Peter and priestly Paul, we can add practical and prayerful, pastor and preacher, political and pious and so on. And the basic point is that the church needs all these gifts amongst its members, and they should be identified and cherished. But, just as was the case with Peter and Paul, we are all really complex folk, with different gifts, to be used at different times and in different ways. So the question we perhaps need to ask ourselves – what are the particular gifts that we should bring to the service of the church here in Oakham and Langham, here and now, and how can we best exercise them? And we should all be looking to encourage each other to use whatever gifts we each have in the service of the church. Paul’s words to the Roman church seem appropriate.
For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.
But also the words of Zechariah’s prophecy are important here.
Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts
We need to exercise whatever gifts we have in co-operation with the Holy Spirit, rather than in our own strength, because that is the way that we can build up whatever corresponds to the ruined walls of Jerusalem in this day and age. And that involves both personal prayer and discernment about how we should use our gifts and talents but also the prayer and discernment of others too. That is the way that we as a body can achieve wonderful things.
But perhaps these considerations also have another implication for our current situation. We are of course seeking a new Team Rector. What do we expect from him or her – that they should be a Price or a Priest – practical and practiced in church politics, or a person of prayer, a pastor or a preacher. And of course whoever comes will undoubtedly combine some of those gifts, but by no means all. Whoever God leads to us will bring the gifts we need to complement those we already have. We really, really shouldn’t expect them to come with all the gifts and abilities God requires in his church. Neither should we be expecting a St Peter or St Paul (both of whom would be rather scary!) but someone who will join us and bring their own gifts to those we already have hear, so that together we might continue to build the church on the rock of the apostle Peter and the wisdom of the apostle Paul. Perhaps that is something for our prayers.
In the name of the Father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen