Session 3: Rescue

Welcome to the third session of our Lent Course, Journey to Freedom. Today we have come to Lancaster Priory where we are standing by this ancient and wonderful font. It’s so old that you can see the marks where medieval warriors sharpened their swords. And today our theme is rescue.

I wouldn’t be here today without a rescue. When I was a boy, I was with a school group swimming in a lake in Austria. I decided to swim out to a nearby island. Unfortunately I hadn’t quite yet learnt to swim, and the distance was far greater than I imagined. I realised I could go no further and was sinking. Panic was starting to set in. But fortunately one of the older boys noticed, he swam out powerfully and hauled me to the shallow water. Without him, I dread to think what would have happened.

Few things are quite as inspiring as a good rescue story. You may have seen that amazing film One Life that follows the story of Nicholas Winton, an ordinary stockbroker whose attention to detail led to 669 Jewish children being rescued from Prague at the start of the war. It is a very simple film but overwhelmingly moving because of the self-giving love that is necessary to a rescue. In a rescue the people in danger are by definition powerless. There is nothing they can do about their plight. They are wholly dependent on the courage and compassion of their rescuer. That’s why rescuers are so precious. That’s why many of us would love the chance to be rescuers.

Today we focus on one of the greatest rescue stories of all time. And just like my own, it is a rescue through water. The text of Exodus may be thousands of years old, but the scene could be lifted straight out of Hollywood. The Israelite slaves are feeling Egypt as fast as they can but they are held back by their cattle and their children. The armies of Pharaoh, the mightiest in the known world, are pursuing them by chariot. And then disaster falls. They meet the sea. Water before them. Pharaoh’s bloodthirsty troops behind them. They don’t have a chance. All is lost!

But then in the nick of time, God sends Moses to be the rescuer! He holds his staff over the water and the wind drives it back. The sea, we are told, is like a wall on the left and on the right and the Israelites pass dry-shod through the sea. Then, when they have passed, the waters return to their normal place and the army of Pharaoh is destroyed. Not one of them remained.

A mighty rescue. So how do the Israelites react? They sing. They declare God’s praises for all to hear. They shout out to all who will hear the wonder of the God who is a rescuer. ‘I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously: horse and rider has thrown into the sea.’ And still today the Jewish people sing God’s praises for this mighty rescue.

What a drama! What a story! But listen to John Chrysostom who was Archbishop of Constantinople in the fourth century. He is talking to those who wish they had been at the Red Sea to witness the miracle for themselves:

You did not see Pharaoh drowned with his armies, but you have seen the devil with his weapons overcome by the waters of baptism. The Israelites passed through the sea; you have passed from death to life. They were delivered from the Egyptians; you have been delivered from the powers of darkness. The Israelites were freed from slavery to a pagan people; you have been freed from the much greater slavery to sin. Do you need another argument to show that the gifts you have received are greater than theirs? The Israelites could not look on the face of Moses in glory, though he was their fellow servant and kinsman. But you have seen the face of Christ in his glory.

That was a pretty stunning rescue by the Red Sea John Chrysostom is saying. But there’s been an even greater rescue that that, and you are the one who has been rescued. What’s more, you too have been rescued through water.

What does that all mean? Well let’s get back to the scriptures. Because there we see that the rescue at the Red Sea is merely pointing to the even greater rescue that Jesus offers us through the cross.

Paul talks about the way in which that saving work becomes a reality in our lives which is through water. As the Israelites found freedom through the water of the Red Sea, so we find an eternal freedom in the water of Baptism. Here is what St Paul writes: ‘Do you not know that all of us who were baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death?’

The Israelites passed through the waters of the Red Sea to find freedom in the Promised Land. That was an amazing rescue. But even better, those who have been baptised have passed through the waters of death to find freedom in the Lord. That’s why very soon this font will be busy, because in many churches the highlight of the ceremonies of Easter will be when Christians gather to renew the promises of their baptism. In speaking those words of faith, they will remember that through this water they have been rescued by Jesus and have passed from death to the eternal freedom of life in him. 

We have been rescued. That’s good news. But there is even better news than that. When that boy rescued me in the lake in Austria, I was very grateful to him. But I was also very jealous. I didn’t want to be the one who was rescued. I wanted to be the rescuer. And the great news is, in Jesus we can. As those who have been rescued, we can be rescuers.

Remember what the Israelites did when they had been saved? They declared God’s praises to anyone who would listen. You can be a rescuer as you declare what Jesus has done to save you. You can be a rescuer as you share the new of Jesus Christ so that others, like you, might know relationship with him, become part of his Church and find new life and salvation.

The trouble is, that sounds really scary. Many of us don’t like to be too demonstrative about our faith. It’s a private matter. It’s something we work out and live in the solitude of our personal lives. The thought of being rescuers and sharing it with others is all a bit cringey and embarrassing. It maybe calls to mind those irritating street preachers, or those earnest evangelists who come knocking at the door to give out literature.

So let me tell you five ways in which you can become a rescuer. And I don’t think any of these are cringey.

First, rejoice in your own rescue. If you are not really sure about the saving work of Jesus, if your friendship with him is distant or lukewarm, if you think faith is a bit of a take-it-or-leave it thing, you are really going to struggle as a rescuer. To be a rescuer, attend first to your own conversion. That’s why it is so great that you are joining in with this course. Because this is one of the way that you can grow in your relationship with him.

It's when you love Jesus Christ with all your heart, it’s when you rejoice at what he has done to rescue you, it’s when you long for others to know Jesus as you know him, that’s when it becomes easy to share your faith. So just for a moment lose yourself in the wonder of what Jesus has done to set you free. He loves you so much he has come to share your life. He loves you so much he has died the death you deserve on your behalf. He loves you so much he has endured nails and spear and mockery. He loves you so much that he has prepared a place for you, yes for you, in his Father’s house. Just rejoice in that. Sing the praises of the God who has done so much for you, not because you deserve it bit because he loves you. Because if you want others to know Jesus as Lord, you need to know Jesus as Lord.

Then second, pray for those who are yet to be rescued. How many people do you know whose life is incomplete because they have not yet met with Jesus Christ? After this talk, write down five of their names. They may be your children or your parents. They may be friends or colleagues from work. Then pray for them, by name, ever day. Bring them before Jesus in prayer just as the friends brought the paralytic before Jesus in Mark Chapter 2. Pray for them with persistence and see what happens.

Then third, live the Christian life joyfully. Some Christians are so grumpy and miserable it’s amazing anyone becomes a Christian. They moan on social media, they complain about everything, they argue with the Vicar (that’s unless they are the Vicar), they shush the children and they behave as if we had a Gospel of Gloom rather than a Gospel of Joy. A simple way to be a rescuer is to live differently as one rescued by Jesus Christ. Be generous and hospitable. When someone moves into the street, be the first to take a tray of cakes. At work, be the one who offers to make the coffee. If you know someone who is alone or struggling, visit and pray with them. In a post-modern age, lifestyle matters so much more than words, and if you live differently, people will soon want to know why.

The fourth way of being a rescuer is to invite. When my friends hold a party and I don’t get invited, I feel left out, hurt, excluded and unwanted. I wonder how many people don’t go to church because no one has ever invited them. I wonder how many people feel excluded from church or unwelcome because no one has ever invited them. Because even if you can’t go or don’t want to go, being invited is always lovely. No one has ever taken offence at an invitation.

So is there maybe someone you could invite. Many parishes hold occasional social events or concerts and that can be a great place to start. ‘I’m going, why don’t you come too?’ Often special services around Christmas or Easter are a good time to issue an invitation. Many parishes have events and services aimed at families or children and an invitation can be a lovely way of supporting parents. And above all, you can invite people to the wonder of worship. You can invite friends to meet with Jesus himself on Sunday morning as the Bible is opened and bread and wine is made holy.

And then fifth, and perhaps hardest of all, tell your story. Many people are nervous of sharing their faith because they think they have to be an ‘evangelist’ or do ‘evangelism.’ But Jesus never asks us to do that. He sends us out to be witnesses. In a court, witnesses do no more than tell what they have seen. They don’t need to persuade or win arguments. They just tell. And you have an amazing story to tell – the story of how Jesus has rescued you in the water of baptism and set you free for ever. Pray hard and the time will come when someone you know wants to hear that story.

The greatest rescue of all time. And the one rescued is you. You have passed through the waters of baptism and in so doing have died with Christ to rise with him to freedom. Rejoice in that rescue. Then go and be a rescuer, that all might know the glory of freedom in Jesus Christ.