Today we remember John Keble, the man after whom Keble College Oxford was named. His poetry and sermons had a radical effect on the church. Writing nearly 200 years ago, he gave us these familiar words: Blest are the pure in heart, for they shall see our God, the secret of the Lord is theirs; their soul is Christ’s abode. He preached about the difference between seeing the Church as an institution in society and seeing it as a way of sharing the prophetic voice of God.

We still have this tension, that the church is a ‘thing’, in today’s language, a separate part of some people’s lives which provides shelter, support, social care, education, yet a thing which is far from most people’s experience, a strange place to step into, unless it is to admire the architecture or have a peaceful sit on a busy shopping day. And woe betide any priest who dares to enter the political arena, because that is not what church is for.

Keble saw the church as a way of sharing God, sharing his Word in whatever way was meaningful to people. That could be hymns, or poems then, because hymn singing in the Church of England was relatively new. Perhaps in our time it is social media and headlines. The point was to share that prophetic voice of God, to keep people listening, whatever vehicle was used. Jesus in today’s reading from Luke weeps over the city of Jerusalem, drives out those who use the temple as a marketplace, teaches both in and out of the temple to let people hear the voice of God. The Son of Man came to seek and save the lost, the ones who weren’t listening and who were not listened to.

There are many more of us today who do not listen to that voice. And even more who are not listened to as they fight to survive in today’s complex world. If the church is a way of sharing the prophetic voice of God, should we do it just on a Sunday, in the traditional way that many of us enjoy? As we try in Heathfield Benefice to build up the church in unity and love, we pray for the Holy Spirit to give vision to our planning, wisdom to our actions and power to our witness. Blest are the pure in heart, for they shall see our God.