Sermon by Canon Henry Whyte
24 January 2021

Three Pandemic Recommendations 
Philippians  4. 4-10. 

This morning we have an unusual sermon under the title “Three Pandemic Recommendations”.  They are not recommendations about keeping safe and avoiding the dreaded virus. They are three book recommendations. I offer these to those who are wondering what next to read in yet another  time when we are confined to base, except for good reason. It can be very frustrating to be told to stay at home. So good books can be of special help at this time. 

You will not be surprised to hear that all three books I recommend are written by Christian authors. They are on different aspects of Christian living with the purpose of helping readers on their journeys of faith. I make no apologies for using the sermon time in this way.  I will not be speaking directly about our Epistle or Gospel reading for today but I trust that each of these three books will help towards a deeper understanding of the Scriptures and a renewed desire to live out their message in daily life. That has certainly been so for me as I have read and re-read these books. 

Now before I speak about the first book I think I need to say there is no need to rush for a pen or pencil at this point. The titles of all three books will be shown on your screens at the end of this service. They will also be available on the church website. 

Here my first book recommendation. Its called “Living with the Psalms” and its written by John Bell. If you listen to “Thought for the Day” then you will know that John Bell is a regular contributor. He is a prolific hymn writer and composer, an author, lecturer, Minister in the Church of Scotland and a member of the Iona Community. 

His book on the Psalms is not a long book and it has 17 Chapters in 147 pages. So each chapter is just a few pages. Its not a book for experts but for the general reader and, although its not a long book it is full of deep insights and wisdom which encourage fresh thinking about the Psalms. 

The first Chapter is about the enduring popularity of the Psalms. Another Chapter is about pain and suffering in the Psalms and John makes the point that about half of the Psalms are about life gone wrong. Then there is a Chapter which explores different images of God, some feminine, which are used by the Psalmists. Problems in the Psalms are not avoided and there is a thoughtful Chapter on Psalm 137 which ends with the verse about seizing babies and smashing them against a rock.  John begins this Chapter with an amusing story from his own experience and there are other references to his own faith journey and life experience. 

“Living with the Psalms” is a very good title and it is obvious that John Bell has been doing this for many years. The Psalms clearly a vital part of his Christian worship and daily living and his book is an encouragement to follow him in this way.  

At the end of the book there are some great questions about each of the 17 Chapters. John says that they are for Study Groups but I think they can equally well be used by individuals. The thing I really like about these questions is that they are not so much academic questions as practical questions about living out the psalms in our daily Christian lives. For those who want to do this more and more this is truly a five star book. 

Now for something rather different. It’s a book by Anthony Priddis, a former Bishop of Hereford. Before he was a Bishop it so happened that I and played a round of golf with him in the Church of England National Clergy Tournament.  Out of that experience I can tell you that he is a far better writer than he was a golfer! 
Anthony’s book is on “Forgiveness” and it is described as “a practical and pastoral companion”. Once again it is not a long book, just 120 pages or so of text, but it is not quite such an easy read as John Bell’s book. I say this because all the way through  Bishop Anthony encourages his readers to think hard, to think more than superficially about what forgiveness really means. He shows us early on that when relationships have broken down and people have been deeply hurt forgiveness is not simply a matter of saying “I forgive you” and that’s the end of the matter. No, forgiveness is often a complex and painful process for all who are involved. In some situations it may take a long time and for the process to be complete forgiveness needs to be both offered and also received. The two main Chapters in the book are about Offering Forgiveness and Receiving Forgiveness and in countless situations it is not an easy thing to do either of these things. When he was at Hereford Bishop Anthony was much involved at a national level in the safeguarding of vulnerable people. So he has a lot of experience in what forgiveness means in practical situations. His book contains many practical life examples of all this.  The book majors on human beings forgiving one another but the final Chapter is about God’s forgiveness with many references to the teaching of Jesus about this.  As I say, the is mainly about forgiveness between one person and another. And so for Christian people who are wondering what to do about forgiveness in a  problematic relationship this is a very relevant book  and I warmly commend it. It is the best book on the subject that I have ever read. 

On then now to my third and final recommendation. It’s a book that was given to me as a present by a very good friend early last year and it became my personal “2020 Book of the Year”. 

The book is called “The City is my Monastery” and its written by Richard Carter who is an Assistant Priest at St. Martin in the Fields in Trafalgar Square. He is the leader of the Nazareth Community which came into being just two or three years ago. It is a community of people who are committed to a rule of life which they live out in all the diversity of the great city that is London. 

Its quite difficult to describe this book as, in the words of Rowan Williams, it is “both recognisable and startlingly new.” He goes on to say that “what we are given here is a workbook for living in and with meaning, Christian meaning, Jesus shaped meaning.” It’s a book filled with stories, meditations, prayers, and insights all about the rule of life for the Nazareth Community. For a summary of all this is I don’t think I can do better than quote Richard Carter’s vision for it. He writes at the start of the book that the more he prayed, the more he heard this calling 

“Live more prayerfully 
Live more holistically 
Live slower 
Live more gently with others and with self 
Live with more space for silence and solitude 
Live generously and hospitably 
Live with an attentiveness to God, to creation and to neighbour 
Live with a greater recognition of all in all things 
Learn from the community of others 
Rediscover a poverty of spirit that lets go of ambition and self interest and look for Christ where He was found during His life – on the edge among the lost 
Rediscover the gift of peace at the very centre of what you do” 
 
Now to those who resonate with such a vision I say “go and buy this book”. Its gold dust. It is not a book to be read straight through from cover to cover. It’s a book to pick up and use, day by day, or from time to time in whatever way is most helpful. The way I have been using it personally during these last few weeks is by praying one particular prayer in the book at the start of the day. It’s a prayer that wonderfully expresses my heart’s desire and I pray that what I am asking will become more and more true for me every day. At some stage I may well move on to focus on other  treasures in the book and I know I want to read more about all that Richard writes about the responses of the Nazareth Community to those who are the all too often neglected members of society. 

So those are my three book recommendations and the details will appear on your screens at the end of the service and on the church website. So it only remains for me to say “Read well”  and to use  some  words from our Epistle “Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, think about such things”. And then “put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you”. Amen

 
 
Books recommended by the Rev. Henry Whyte in his sermon for St. Alfege's on Sunday 24th January 
 
Living with the Psalms by John L Bell  Canterbury Press rrp £9.99. 
 
Forgiveness  Anthony Priddis   Canterbury Press rrp £16.99. 
 
The City is my Monastery  Richard Carter   SPCK  rrp £16.99. 
 
All three books can be purchased for less than the above prices