Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue

The last time I heard your choir sing was in Lincoln Cathedral last summer. They had called in to sing, as TS Eliot might have put it ‘where music has been valid’. For they came to sing a piece by William Byrd in the very Cathedral where he had been Organist and Choirmaster in the 16th century.

Lincoln is a place of great history – a major Roman settlement, and then later a centre of government in the 11th century when William the Conqueror forged a power base there to rule the middle of his new realm. We are fortunate in having the most marvellous Mediaeval Gothic Cathedral (considered by many to be the finest in Europe) and also a fine castle – both dating from the 11th C. The Cathedral was begun in 1072 but then had later rebuilding. The most modern extension was added in 1260.

At Evensong every day we recall our history. We say the prayer that St Hugh of Lincoln, our 12th C Bishop, gave to his canons for their daily use; and we also recall members of the foundation each day on the anniversary of their death. So we hear of our family from times past – including at least one Pope (from pre-reformation days) and many Cardinals – among them one of my predecessors as Dean, the complex character Thomas Wolsey who was Chancellor of England under Henry 8th . We shall this week – on Thursday – recall another well-known figure, the poet George Herbert, who became a Prebendary of Lincoln Cathedral in 1626. It was he who wrote among other things the poem Gratefulnesse with those fine lines set as an anthem by Mary Plumstead
Thou that hast given so much to me
Give one thing more, a grateful heart.

Among the many things for which we are grateful in Lincoln is a document on which our Western democracy is based. For Lincoln Cathedral owns one of only four original copies of Magna Carta: the agreement brokered between the English barons and King John at Runnymede in 1215. Immediately the king had agreed to their demands, the barons had copies of this charter with the king’s seal sent out to the major cities of the realm. One of the witnesses at Runnymede was the Bishop of Lincoln whose name appears in Magna Carta. Perhaps it was he who brought it back with him, but we have had it in our possession since June 1215.

It was a moment of huge significance. The words of Jeremiah this afternoon [Jeremiah 6.9-15] would have echoed the cry of many at that time:
From the least to the greatest,
everyone is greedy for unjust gain
Certainly the king seemed greedy – and not only to the poor in the land. For even the barons found his demands for taxes oppressive. So they rebelled. For the first time the monarch’s hitherto unlimited powers were checked by law.

The ordinary individual gained some rights too. There was to be no imprisonment without trial. A person was to be tried by a jury of the people. The freedom of the church was acknowledged, and many other things besides.

In a number of ways the freedoms which we enjoy and cherish today were enshrined here for the first time in law. Rights that we consider essential may be traced back to Magna Carta. They are rights that have been reaffirmed in your Declaration of Independence, in your American Constitution, and right through to the Civil Rights Movement of the 20th C.

It is our privilege and duty to share this original document with others. Part of my reason for being over here is for the announcement of a new exhibition of Magna Carta to take place in October here in New York City at The Fraunces Tavern Museum.

This is an exciting venture and will give the opportunity for people young and old to see this piece of history. For to see a document nearly eight hundred years old can fire the imagination of the young – and countless schoolchildren will have the chance to experience this and to understand more of the background to their society. But it is not only the young to whom this can speak. For all of us adults need to be reminded of the inheritance we have, and especially the freedoms so hard won in times past – we must safeguard them and be careful that we do not lose them in the present climate of fear.

We are all aware of the complexity of the issues that surround our society today – issues of freedom and security, what are the constraints on liberty? To be reminded of our inheritance may provide a helpful check on over-reaction.

Now Magna Carta lay unnoticed in the archives at Lincoln Cathedral for many centuries, and it was only in the late 19th C that we realised what this document was. By this 21st C we have come to realise how important and contemporary a document it still is.

Of course as Christians we have further treasures in our churches – and perhaps sometimes even the gift of faith lies there gathering dust like a mediaeval document. But such a treasure needs to be shared too. In this Lenten season we take time to be reminded of that faith which has sustained countless generations and led them to follow in Christ's footsteps.

It is a faith that, like Magna Carta, talks of freedom and justice; but this freedom and justice is that
demanded by the prophets of old
displayed in the life and death of Jesus Christ and
demonstrated by the Church when we are faithful to our calling.
For this freedom brings a release from more than just human oppression – it brings release from sin itself. So by the grace of God we are justified by faith as St Paul reminds us. This is a treasure beyond price or earning. It is itself a Magna Carta – the Great Charter of God’s new covenant with his creation – a covenant not sealed in wax (as with King John) but sealed with the blood of Christ himself.

This then is something we must share – and share generously with all around us. For it brings hope of release to all who cry out from distress in our world today.

We take so much for granted in life and in our faith, it is good to be reminded of our inheritance and the demands it makes upon us – whether in a document that signifies the struggle for human rights both in England and here in the United States, or in the faith which invites us all to accept God’s love and share it with others. In doing this we recognise that we are all children of the one God who has made himself known to us in the life, the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Thou that hast given so much to me
Give one thing more, a grateful heart.

A Sermon for Evensong: The Third Sunday in Lent