Delivered on Friday 27 April 2007 in Bradfield College Chapel

Acts 9:1-20

Did you know that Julius Caesar played cricket for England? Apparently in 1857 he did. Or did you know that at around the turn of the twentieth century a certain C. B. Fry played 26 tests for England, held the world long jump record, represented England in football, and to top it all was offered the throne of Albania? As a sport Cricket probably yields more intriguing facts and stories than any other. It is also a sport rife with superstition. From the fairly simple ones like Jack Russell believing that he could only play well if he wore his white floppy sunhat, to the downright bizarre. David Shepherd, player and umpire, took seriously the myth that Horatio Nelson had one eye, one arm, and one leg, which meant that 111 is bad news for a batsman. So to avoid dismissal Shepherd believed that all the team must have their feet off the ground until the score changes. Hopping around on one leg was his registered trademark. And at one county match he went absolutely ballistic when a fielder nudged him with the score on 111, forcing him to stand on two legs. But these stories of superstition are not reserved uniquely for cricket. There is the great story of the Brazilian football club Vasco da Gama. Apparently a rival fan buried a toad under their pitch and called down a curse on the team that they wouldn't win a championship for twelve years. Players and supporters so firmly believed in this curse that they spent almost a decade digging up the pitch looking for the toad, but with no success. They only thing they managed to achieve was a lengthy injury list with several players tripping over the divots.

People believe strange things. And yet we do clearly see what people believe; we see through their action. You can explain why David Shepherd was hopping around on foot: because he believed the score 111 was unlucky. You can explain why the Vasco da Gama supporters were digging up the pitch: because they believed a cursed toad was buried beneath. I suppose what I'm saying is that the things we believe are seen in our actions. If, for example, somebody said: 'I believe that giving money to the poor is an important part of life' you would expect that that person would themselves give money away; if they didn't then you'd wonder if they really believed their claim. Of if somebody said: 'I believe that we should be green', then you would expect to see that person making energy savings of some kind. There is a connection between what we believe deep down and how we behave.

If we take Paul as example, we see someone who changed one of his central beliefs. At first he believed that followers of Jesus Christ were a danger to the fragile security of Judaism in the Roman provinces, and so, as a result of that belief, he sought to persecute the followers of the way. Following his Damascus road experience, however, he took the opposite view committing himself to preaching Jesus to the non-Jewish people of the world. In making this commitment he would find himself shipwrecked, beaten, imprisoned and constantly in fear of his life. His is a remarkable story, although there are people today in various cultures who also go through dreadful experiences on account of their faith. But it was always clear what Paul believed - you could see it in his actions.

Thankfully we don't have to go to such lengths to hold our beliefs. In a free democratic state you are entitled to your opinion (or at least that would seem to be the case). You are free to believe that your favourite football team is the best, or that one political party is preferable to the others, or even that the world is flat. But there is, of course, one question that we all have to answer, whether we like it or not: do you believe in God? It's not a question you can avoid because by not considering it you have already answered 'no'. If you have considered the question and come to the conclusion that the answer is yes then you are faced with another question: so what? I've been struck by a comment made by Bertrand Russell, one of Britain's greatest philosophers and noted atheists. He said: If God exists how come he seems to make so little difference to the lives of his believers. Applied to certain individuals his criticism is clearly unfair but applied more generally, it stings. If you believe that God exists, what difference does that make to the way you live your life?

You see, I think your generation has great potential and opportunity. Intellectually there have been significant changes, and more imaginative possibilities have opened up. Belief in God has long been characterized by fear; by a list of 'do nots'; by defining the believer by what they do not do. That is changing and will continue to change. The question 'what should we not do?' has been replaced with the question 'what should we do?' What could a believer's life look like?

Given that God exists what does that say about political power? Given that God exists what does that mean for international conflict? Given that God exists how we understand human sexuality? Given that God exists what is the point of wealth? Given that God exists what is our relationship to the world around us? Given that God exists what am I called to do?

And the answers? The answers are in your heads and your hands and your hearts.