Proverbs 28:1-10; Luke 2:8-14
I bring you good news of great joy for all people – last night was not just a dream and England are through to the World Cup semi-final.
Actually, that is not how the scripture quote ends but it seemed too good an opportunity to miss. Yet you might be asking why the Christmas story has found its way into a midsummer slot, when the heat is not exactly leading us towards mulled wine and minced pies.
Let me explain. On this day when we consider the place of morality in the exercise of justice both domestically and internationally, as Lord Sumption has so eloquently invited us to do, and pray for those involved in the administration of justice, as we will shortly do, I want us to consider briefly who justice is for. And to do that I want to start with the audience for that angelic pronouncement 2000 years ago.
For the shepherds were unlikely recipients of this good news. ‘Good news’ was a political term, usually announcing an imperial victory or military triumph. One would have expected it to be shared with King Herod a few miles down the road in his luxurious palace Herodion, rather than to shepherds who were literally living in the fields. I have spent time with shepherds on the West Bank today; it is not a glamorous life.
And yet God’s good news comes to such as these. While it is good news for all, it is announced to those who in society had some of the least agency.
This is not a novelty in the story of God and his people. One of the notes which sounds long and deep throughout the Hebrew and Christian Bible is of God’s concern for those without power, wealth or status. In our first reading the ruler who oppresses the poor stands condemned. And elsewhere it is the widow, the orphan and the alien who find themselves named as people to be cared for by those seeking to reflect God’s righteousness.
As Arnab Basu, this year’s High Sheriff, has so wisely pointed out in his message in our order of service, we might add young people to this list. The barriers they face can be considerable and the challenges that lie ahead – both locally and globally – are significant. Those who notice, encourage and support young people, many of whom are recognised through the High Sheriff's Youth Awards, can truly be said to be walking in the way of the Lord.
And the right and fair administration of justice is a further way in which God’s concern for all people can be shown. While good public order is a proper concern of the courts, the wider vision of justice is that it is serve the needs of all equally, and not simply those with wealth, power and agency.
For in Scripture justice is never simply about maintaining order but ensuring that all, including the most vulnerable, receive fair treatment. A lofty ideal made challenging by the realities of legal aid provision and congested court time, but an ideal which is deeply rooted in the character of God. And so it is to that God that we will shortly offer our prayers for those who serve in courts and across our criminal justice system.
And that hillside pronouncement has one more thing to say to us. It offers a challenge to those who hear the language from our first reading of the righteous and the wicked and imagine that the world can be simply divided into the good and the bad. Those behind bars are the bad and those outside are the good. And so our presence here today places us on the moral high ground.
But the good news which came to the shepherds was good news for all to hear. Those with little agency were the first to receive it, because God's salvation is not a reward for achievement or status. Yet this was a baby who was born to be the Saviour of the whole world. Some three decades later, and just a few short miles away, Jesus would give his life on the cross for the sins of all people, for my failures and shortcomings and those of every human who has ever lived. The shepherds were people with little agency in the eyes of the world. Perhaps that made them especially well placed to receive a gift that could not be earned, claimed or deserved. But I too take my place at the foot of the cross - not in pride of my moral track record but in humble thanks that the Lord has had mercy on me, a sinner.
A week today the World Cup trophy will be handed to a team from just one nation. Good news of great joy for all people is of a God who cares for each person made in his image, longs for justice to reign and sent his Son to be the Saviour of the whole world. Amen.