Politics have been in the news a lot over the last week. There has been all the excitement about Tony Blair's resignation as both Prime Minister and as an MP as well Gordon Brown's accession and his choice of cabinet. One of the more interesting things that happened in the week was the defection of a Tory MP to become a rather unlikely labour MP. He left citing difficulties with the current leader of the Tory Party in effect saying that David Cameron had become "all things to all people".

This interested me as it is a phrase from St Paul and is in our reading today. When Paul uses the phrase we don't tend to think of him in the same way that we may think of a politician who uses this term. Paul uses it in a way which is designed to provoke admiration. Quentin Davies used it of Mr Cameron in a way that was designed to produce derision. What's the difference?

Politics

In all the news coverage about the changes at the top of government I was interested to see a poll which said that only 1 in 5 of the British public "trusted" politicians. Now I don't know quite how the questions were phrased but I was struck that the people we elect to lead our nation and make our laws are held in such low esteem. The critique of our politicians is that they are "all things to all people". By this I think we mean that they say anything, promise anything to get elected but then don't follow through with their promises. Either that or what they say is so guarded or hard to pin down that we don't really know what they mean. We hold such people who want to be "all things to all people" in contempt. They have no bedrock of beliefs that are hard to see. One of the legacies of Mr Blair is a desire of both main political parties to move beyond their natural constituencies and reach out to supporters of other parties - this of course means expanding one's base to appeal to more people - but that might mean it is difficult to know what one's core beliefs are.

Paul

Yet this cannot be what Paul means. Of all we know about Paul we know that he was not one to water down his essential message and beliefs to make it easier for people to get involved in the Church! What I think he means is that he presented the gospel in different ways to appeal to different types of people.

To Jewish people he presented Jesus through the texts of the Old Testament; to the Gentiles he presented Jesus through the power of the resurrection. We see the Church continuing to do this in the years after St Paul, as the Gospels were written. St Matthew's Gospel was written for Christian converts from Judaism. The writer is careful to quote extensively form the Old Testament - the Jewish Bible - and avoids using the word "God" where possible. Jesus is shown as the fulfilment of the Jewish Law. St Luke's Gospel, on the other hand, is written for Gentiles, especially women and poor people. The Jewish Law is explained where necessary, gentiles and women are portrayed well in the Gospel, as are poor people. St John's Gospel starts with a lengthy description of the pre-existent Christ using themes and ideas from Greek philosophy.

In each Gospel the same Jesus is presented; but presented in ways which make sense to the intended readers. In this way the gospels are "all things to all people". We still read them in the same way. Different parts of the gospel have different resonances with us now. It's the same Jesus who is presented, but the presentation differs depending on who the gospel is designed for.

The Church Now

There are many reasons why there are different Christian churches. Most of the churches started due to differences with theology or authority. The issue of who is in charge of the Church on Earth separated Orthodox from Catholic and, later, Catholic from Anglican. Theological issues about salvation and sacraments separated Catholic from Protestant. When Baptism is appropriate - for believers or infants - separated Baptists from others. Forms of worship separated Pentecostals from other Christians. But now these churches often largely agree on the things that originally separated them. The differences now that people in the pews experience are around worship, style and ethos.

Some people love gorgeous ritual, with candles, elaborate vestments, incense and certain styles of music; others like simple services with energetic music and sermons; others like the simplicity of silence; others, still, like a mix of different things; yet others like the welcome, or social programme or social action a particular church engages in. The same Jesus Christ is presented and worshipped in all these different churches, but in different ways. The same Jesus is worshipped in this building at 11am, as we worship at 4pm, and is worshipped again in a different way at 6.30pm. But differences in taste, style and approach mean we have different churches. Of course not all churches are as welcoming to our people as others and that adds another dimension to the issue.

The Church itself is "all things to all people" - its another way of saying it is Catholic - or universal. Around the world MCC is very Catholic, having lots of different styles of worship and theology. No one MCC is quite like another. Yet our desire is to present Jesus who is our Universal Saviour.

One of my favourite books on mission is called Christianity Rediscovered. This is the story of Vincent Donovan, a Catholic Priest who went to evangelise the Masai in Kenya. He didn't want to evangelise in the normal way of building schools and hospitals, but simply wanted to get alongside them and present the Gospel, in all its simplicity.

At the end of the book there is "An African Creed" written by the new converts:

We believe in the one High God,
who out of love created the beautiful world
and everything good in it.
He created humanity and wanted us to be happy in the world.
God loves the world and every nation and tribe on the earth.
We have known this High God in the darkness,
And now we know him in the light.
God promised in the book of his word, the Bible,
That he would save the world and all the nations and tribes.
We believe that God, made good his promise by sending his son,
Jesus Christ, a man in the flesh, a Jew by tribe,
Born poor in a little village,
Who left his home and was always on safari doing good,
Curing people by the power of God,
Teaching about God and humanity,
Showing that the meaning of religion is love.
He was rejected by his people, tortured and nailed hand and feet
To a cross, and died.
He lay buried in the grave, but the hyenas did not touch him,
And on the third day, he rose from the grave.
He ascended to the skies.
He is the Lord.
We believe that all our sins are forgiven through him.
All who have faith in him must be sorry for their sins,
Be baptized in the Holy Spirit of God,
Live the rules of love and share the bread together in love,
To announce the good news to others until Jesus comes again.
We are waiting for him.
He is alive. He lives.
This we believe.
Amen.

It is both recognisably Christian but also very African. It's Jesus presented in a way which makes sense to the Masai, it doesn't make as much sense to us.

In Our Own Lives

Now all this being "all things to all people" is relevant to us as we seek to be ambassadors of the Lord Jesus to others. We will present what we know of Jesus and of our church in different ways to different people. When I am at the Pride festival I simply say I work for the "gay church". This is sort of true - but it's not the whole truth. But it's easier than saying "I work for a church which was founded in the gay community but now includes people of every single conceivable sexual and gender identity". If I am talking to other clergy I will present MCC in a more careful way relying less on this type of verbal shorthand. If I am talking to a friend I will present information about Jesus which is relevant to that friend's life and needs. This is what Paul means by being "all things to all people". This is what we are called to do.

This Week

Who will you talk to about Jesus? Who will you talk to about the difference that Jesus has made to your life through the work of this church? How will you present that information in a way that makes sense to them and is relevant to their needs and interests? This is our challenge, and it has been the challenge of the Church in every age.

Amen.

(Rev Andy Braunston)