Sherborne School Sermon for 13 September 2015 – “Stories in Families”
Heavenly Father, through weak human words, give us grace to hear your true and living Word, Amen.
Some of you may have read books such as Midnight’s Children or The Satanic Verses by the author Salman Rushdie. The second of these caused such controversy when it was published that in 1989 Ayatollah Khomeini, the Supreme Leader of Iran at the time, issued a fatwa or decree calling for Rushdie’s assassination. That fatwa has never been repealed and Salman Rushdie still regularly appears on the hit-lists of extremist organisations and individuals.
A couple of years ago, he gave an interview to the Guardian about his life and values. He talks about friendships being the family that we make for ourselves and I want to share with you one quote from that interview:
Stories in families are colossally important. Every family has stories: some funny, some proud, some embarrassing, some shameful. Knowing them is proof of belonging to the family.
Shirburnains, and particularly Old Shirburnians often refer to this place and this community as being part of their family. The people we are close to now in this place are likely to remain part of our lives for many years to come. And we too have stories. At lists earlier this week we shared some of the stories which make us proud; Summer Tours, the U15As, record-breaking exam results. The new 3rd Form who have arrived in House will probably have heard tale of funny stories about what has happened in House in previous years. I recall with some embarrassment the story of my very first assembly in the BSR almost exactly a year ago when every time I opened my mouth to speak, the projector screen behind me started to come down, or go back up, the microphone was cutting out, the lights going dim. I found out later that the poltergeist was in fact me; I was unknowingly controlling the action by resting my hands on the electronic touch-screen in the lectern. As one of my Sixth Form class would say: “Awkward”.
And Sherborne, like any other family, will have shameful stories too. The stories we would rather forget. The times when our collective nature turned against the individual and we were unkind, the times when we knew what was right but turned away from our duty. We need those stories too; they help us to learn, to strive for a better tomorrow. Today’s reading tells us “If you harbour bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth”. We need to accept and acknowledge our past, our sin, both as individuals and as a family. As we celebrated the long reign of Queen Elizabeth the 2nd this week, comparisons were drawn with Queen Victoria, who ruled over a mighty British Empire. There are proud stories to tell there, too, but also deeply shameful ones which, as a country, we must recognise and understand; not to feel guilt for our predecessors, but to acknowledge and learn for ourselves and generations to come.
Stories in families are colossally important. Every family has stories: some funny, some proud, some embarrassing, some shameful. Knowing them is proof of belonging to the family.
That last bit is important too; the story of our re-founding by King Edward Sixth in 1550; our ancient Benedictine Foundation, the story of Alan Turing who saved millions of lives, shortening the second world war by 2 years and then killing himself because society was so intolerant of him falling in love with another man; it is through the knowing and re-telling of these stories that you, we, learn to become Shirburnians. They are our proof of belonging to the family.
I want to share with you today a new story, a true story, and it happened during the last few months.
A group of U6th from Sherborne went on holiday to Prague together to celebrate the end of exams and the end of their 5 years together. One night, as they were returning late in the dark to their apartment they found a girl, about their age, lying unconscious in the street covered in vomit.
She had no bag with her, no identity document, nothing. They could have walked on, worried what others might think; plenty of others had walked past her before them. But, worried about her safety, they carried her up to their apartment where they watched her carefully, and where they tried to clean her up. One boy however, suddenly realised that on waking up in a strange apartment with a group of 18 year old boys, the girl might be very scared, so like all boys do when they are in trouble, he phoned his mum.
His mum suggested they phone the British Embassy which they did. The embassy however couldn't help unless they could confirm the girl was British…which they couldn't.
After a while, the girl wakes up in the apartment, fortunately speaks English, and the boys try as best as they can to explain how they are trying to help her. They manage to keep her calm and find out she is Norwegian. They phone the Norwegian Embassy who send someone round to pick her up and ensure she returns to Norway safely. The Norwegian Embassy were so very impressed with these Shirburnians that they wrote to them thanking them for their compassion, help and kindness.
When I found out about this story, the Chaplain drew parallels with the parable of the Good Samaritan. In many ways, the parables are the stories which Jesus uses to bring us together as a Christian family; they tell of our values and of our faith. I hope that the story of the Norwegian Girl makes you proud to be part of this family, it does me; Each of you too will be part of these stories in years to come.
Perhaps you think what these boys did on that dark street in Prague was not wise? Perhaps you think they took unnecessary risks? Let us go back to another part of our reading today:
“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. Wisdom is peace-loving, considerate, full of mercy.”
The wisdom of their choice is clear here. This is a story of the Shirburnian family which should make us proud. It will be one of our stories. Knowing it is proof of belonging to this family.
Amen.
R Barlow
12/9/2015