Archbishop's Sermon to General Synod

In a wide ranging sermon that also highlighted the dangers of pursuing wealth and power, the Archbishop also warned the Church's governing body that it risked losing sight of its first priority to Christian renewal in the busy-ness of its meetings and committees.

In a reference to the murder of John the Baptist in the set Bible readings for the day, the Archbishop said: 

"We are never to forget that at the heart of human existence, despite its glory, is the suffering and the quest for meaning in suffering.

"In our Gospel reading, after so much happiness and faith and confidence in all that is good and wise, we see a meaningless murder; like a modern teenager knifing another because he will not surrender his cheap baseball cap. Or like the case of Ben Kinsela, who dared to 'look at' his murderer; or like Rhys Jones, who happened to be walking on his way home. Murder without reason.

"In the actions of Herod we see a state behaving like the worst of tyrants. Zimbabwe, in Robert Mugabe, needs to learn that he "who takes vengeance or bears a grudge acts like one who, having cut one hand while handling a knife, avenges himself by stabbing the other hand."

Delivering his sermon at York Minster, the Archbishop also warned of the temptations inherent in the pursuit of wealth or power and their degrading impact of such actions upon individuals:

"Ethics matter. We can't airbrush right and wrong out of our human picture. Good and bad are not matters of opinion or merely topics for debate..... The idols of earthly wealth and power, the blessings people make for themselves, which are widely worshipped and highly exalted, degrade their devotees. Our calling is to take everyone to the Lord of the heaven of heavens, in whose praise is the truest blessing of life. The worship of God is the essence of life."

Dr. John Sentamu also warned the Church of England they are in danger of forgetting their priorities if they lose sight of their first call to Christian renewal:

"The big priority for all of us is an unceasing renewal of commitment to Christ. Sometimes in the complexity of the activities of the Church we are so busy with committees, synods, administration and making the wheels go round that we are in danger of forgetting that none of these things matters, if it is carried out by people who have not been with Christ before they have been with others."