Before we go to the scripture this morning, a notice.

Tomorrow (Sunday) the Ilk and faithful should descend on Christ Church St Lawrence, to commemorate the acceptance of Eliot into the church.

Time present and time past
Are both perhaps present in time future
And time future contained in time past.
If all time is eternally present
All time is unredeemable.
What might have been is an abstraction
Remaining a perpetual possibility
Only in a world of speculation.
What might have been and what has been
Point to one end, which is always present.
Footfalls echo in the memory
Down the passage which we did not take
Towards the door we never opened
Into the rose-garden. My words echo
Thus, in your mind.

Four Quartets I, T.S. Eliot.

I commend the Sydney Trads for organizing this. I will not be there: I have duties to my guild and my family.

But this I must say to the Possum: this time is redeemable, for this time, and in all times, the Church exists.

T.S. Eliot described himself as “Anglo-Catholic in religion” and was one of the best-known lay representatives of Anglo-Catholicism in the 20th century. The 90th anniversary of his adult baptism and confirmation, in 1927, is being celebrated this year. The leading authority on Eliot’s faith and its influence on his life and work, Professor Barry Spurr, will describe the origins and characteristics of Eliot’s Anglo-Catholicism and its influence on his poetry in a short commemorative lecture. There will be no sermon at Evensong on this occasion, and Evensong will be followed by wine and cheese.

Now to the text, which is twofold, and relates to why time is redeemable. What Eliot knew was that he could not redeem it. But there is someone who can. Whose righteousness exceeds indeed the most precise Presbyterian, and all the saints of the Church, and the Pharisees of Talmudic fame.

And this word, this truth, is what the church holds in stewardship.

Matthew 5:17-20

¹⁷“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. ¹⁸For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. ¹⁹Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

1 Corinthians 4:1-7

¹Think of us in this way, as servants of Christ and stewards of God’s mysteries. ²Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy. ³But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. I do not even judge myself. ⁴I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. ⁵Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive commendation from God.

⁶I have applied all this to Apollos and myself for your benefit, brothers and sisters, so that you may learn through us the meaning of the saying, “Nothing beyond what is written,” so that none of you will be puffed up in favor of one against another. ⁷For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you received it, why do you boast as if it were not a gift?

We are stewards of the greatest truth: Christ crucified for our sake.
We are stewards of the greatest liberation: Christ rose from the grave, and death is conquered. All truth, beauty, honour and nobility can thus be of use, for it reflects on truth, faith, and love: but without Christ these things are not to be.
But honour requires duty, and duty requires reformation. The truth of our failure will hurt. We preach the law, for it is there, and by that standard we have failed: we preach Christ, for he triumphed, and only in him can we triumph.
And we know that if there was no law and we were unfallen there would have been no need for the cross.

The general pattern of men’s and women’s sins goes back to Genesis, where Eve was easily primed to believe that something great was being unfairly withheld from her, and Adam chose to take the easy path and go along with her instead of putting his foot down.

This pattern is exactly what we see played out today. Women are filled with a spirit of resentment and rebellion (feminism), and men don’t address the issue because calling out women on their sins is extremely difficult and feels terrible. Instead, we find a way to call out another man, because that is easy and feels heroic. This pattern is so common we don’t even notice it, but perhaps the most ridiculous example is the complementarian response to women demanding to serve in combat. Instead of pointing out that women are rebelling and engaging in a form of cross-dressing, complementarians pretend that what is really happening is cowardly men are forcing innocent women into combat. As absurd as the claim is, it is widely popular because it avoids what is unpleasant and difficult, and elects instead to do what is easy and feels good. Note that both sexes are sinning in this dynamic; women are rebelling, and cowardly men are doing whatever it takes to avoid what would be the loving response

.

We need to call our rebellion out: we need to accept that women do have moral agency, and for their own sin and rebellion responsible are. If we do not call out the sins of this time, then we are enabling the damnation of a generation, and the lies of the narrative will increase, trapping more souls within.

It is better to call out sin. To say “no”. We do not this like. But we are not children pining for our next happy meal toy. We know to avoid the plastic, and seek the true.

For we are the stewards of truth, and falsehoods we will hate.

Update.