For me, one of the great joys of parish ministry has always been having the opportunity to go into schools and lead what’s now known as Collective Worship, or school assemblies as most of us will know them. One great thing about doing this, is that it gives me the opportunity to speak about the Christian faith to children who never come to church, but it’s also very helpful to me because children ask lots of questions, difficult questions at times, and they expect answers. And you can’t give them any old answer, you have to give them an answer that makes sense to them, and that’s not always easy when you’re dealing with a group of children aged from 4 to 11 years. And in the context of a 15 minute ‘slot’ that has to include time for prayer and song, you have to give them an answer there and then. So these things are very good for helping you to think on your feet.
I’ve been fortunate enough to have had these opportunities for all of my stipendiary ministry, so I’m quite used to doing this now. But nothing stays the same for ever and SIAMS, the body that inspects Church Schools have come up with a new way of thinking about how Collective Worship is done. Schools are going to be assessed on this, and so all those who lead school worship will have to use it. It’s something called Windows, Mirrors and Doors. The idea is that we look through a window to learn about something. We look in a mirror to reflect on what this means to us and for us. And then we go through a door to do something about it.
To a large extent, this is something we try to do in school worship anyway, but now it has to be done in a more formal way. But if we think about Windows, Mirrors and Doors as a concept, isn’t this something we’re all called to do as disciples of Christ anyway? Aren’t we called to look at the world around us, reflect on what this means for us and to us in the light of our faith, and then go out and do something about it by proclaiming the Gospel and sharing the love and light of Christ with those around us? All this falls under the scope of the Great Commandment and Great Commission does it not? But do we really apply Windows, Mirrors and Doors in our lives?
Perhaps we do to some extent. I hope we all look through windows and reflect in mirrors on what we see through the windows, but I think perhaps where many people fall down is in then going out through the doors. And I think the reason people are often reluctant to go through the door is fear.
When we look through the window at the world around us, we can see a very frightening scene. We all know what’s going on in the world at the moment and it is both terrible and frightening. And when we look at what we see in the mirror of our faith, we must see that what is going on is wrong and something needs to be done to change the state of the world. But, as I’ve said in the past, there’s not much we can do to influence world events. It’s unlikely that we, as individuals, can influence events at a national level either, though that’s not impossible as the Northern Ireland Women’s Coalition, the ‘Peace People’ who did so much to end ‘The Troubles’ in Northern Ireland showed. It certainly doesn’t mean that we can’t do something about what’s going on closer to home, in our own communities and neighbourhoods, in our churches. But what seems to be stopping people is fear.
So often I’ve heard people talk about problems. They’ve seen that there is a problem. They know that something needs to be done about it. But they stop short of becoming directly involved in trying to find a solution. They know people need help, but they stop short of actually offering that help, personally. And it’s usually fear that holds them back. Fear of becoming involved in someone else’s problems. Fear of becoming involved in something that, in the end, they are not in control of.
That fear is expressed in various ways. I’ve tried to get Pastoral Visiting Teams together in parishes, but no one has been willing to visit those in need because they “Don’t want to interfere”. But, as Christians, which would you rather be seen as, interfering or uncaring? I’ve tried to get teams together to visit bereaved families after funerals. Not as Bereavement Visitors but just to call on them and see how they’re getting on. But again, people have been unwilling to do that because, they say, that will just “bring back bad memories”. Well, if a bereaved person is not thinking about their departed loved one anyway, a week or so after a funeral, there’s something very wrong. And I’ve had the same response when I’ve asked if anyone would be willing to send cards to the Next of Kin on the anniversary of a death: “No, it will just bring back bad memories”. Again, I ask you, are you not thinking about your departed loved ones anyway on the anniversary of their death? And of course there’s that perennial problem of people being unwilling to help out in and for the church because they “Don’t have time”. But how many people who have said that, can always find time to do other things when they want to. Fear. Fear of getting involved because people don’t know where or to what it might lead.
Sometimes when I’ve spoken about these things in the past, people have said to me,
“Well it’s all right for you; you get paid to do this kind of stuff; we don’t”.
Actually, I, and many other Christians I know and have known, have done this kind of stuff without being paid because we’ve seen it as part of our calling as disciples of Christ. But be that as it may, I will tell you something about me. Immediately before I went to theological college, I worked in the timber treatment industry. My salary then was far more than a vicar’s stipend. If we adjust for inflation, the equivalent of about £45k in today’s money. I’d been offered a promotion that would have taken my salary to nearly £57k in today’s money. And I gave that up to go to college as a student on a grant because it was what I felt called to do. I’d looked through the window, reflected in a mirror, and that was the door I chose to open and walk through. I knew it might be hard, and at times it has been, but I wasn’t afraid to do it. When I, and others like me, ask people to become more involved in what the Church is doing, and more proactive in living out their faith, we’re not asking people to make that kind of sacrifice. So what are people afraid of?
I started by speaking about Windows, Mirrors and Doors, so let’s return to that now. Look through the window and see this morning’s readings. St Peter, on the day of Pentecost, less than two months after Jesus had been crucified, going out in public to confront those who’d put Jesus to death and proclaim that,
“…God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
The Psalm which proclaims,
‘Though I should walk in the valley of the shadow of death, no evil would I fear, for you (the Lord) are with me.’
In the Epistle, St Peter again, urging the faithful to persevere in doing good, even if we have to suffer for it, because this is Christ’s example and the example we are called to follow. And in the Gospel, the assurance from Jesus’ own lips that if we are faithful, sheep of his flock, if we hear his voice and follow him, he will lead us to abundant life. So what do we see through this window but an exhortation not to be afraid because, whatever happens, the Lord is with us and if we can only follow him and his example we will have abundant, eternal life.
But turning to the mirror, what do we see there? What does this mean to us and for us? Does what we’ve seen through the window this morning inspire us to follow Christ’s example? When we look in the mirror, who do we see looking back at us? Do we see someone who is willing to do that or do we see someone who is still afraid to follow where Christ is calling us to go?
And as we go to the door, are we prepared to open the door, walk through it and follow in the footsteps of Christ? That’s not easy to do because, in one sense, it’s a road of uncertainty, because we can never know for certain where and to what this road will lead us to in life. But, in another sense, it’s the most certain road we can ever walk because we have the Lord’s assurance that we won’t walk this road alone, he will walk it with us and, at the end of the road, he will be there to welcome us into eternal life.
Amen.
Propers for the 4th Sunday of Easter, 26th April 2026
Entrance Antiphon
The merciful love of the Lord fills the earth;
by the word of the Lord the heavens were made, alleluia.
The Collect
Almighty ever-living God,
lead us to a share in the joys of heaven,
so that the humble flock may reach
where the brave Shepherd has gone before.
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
The Readings
Acts 2:14, 36-41
Psalm 23
1 Peter 2:20-25
John 10:1-10
Prayer after Communion
Look upon your flock, kind Shepherd,
and be pleased to settle in eternal pastures
the sheep you have redeemed
by the Precious Blood of your Son.
Who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Amen.
Parish Church of St Mark Chadderton 