1/10/2024 Homily on the Feast of William Laud

“The Lord receive my soul, and have mercy upon me, and bless this kingdom with peace and charity, that there may not be this effusion of Christian blood amongst them.” In the name of…

The prayer you just heard was delivered by William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury, just prior to being martyred for his faith, by his own people. He was raised in Reading, England, and went to school in Oxford. His upbringing and religious studies brought him to be the religious advisor to King Charles I. He was also the Archbishop of Canterbury. His adult life was lived during a time of great uproar, as what would eventually be known as the English Civil War of 1642-1651. During this time the Archbishop served loyally the King of England. Laud attempted to restore in the Church of England a sense of itself after the Reformation. What does it mean to Anglican, became the question at hand. Laud tried to defend the Church of England against both papists and puritans. Papists who would have the church bend the knee to the Pope, and Puritans who would have the sacraments done away with. For his work and ministry, he was put on trial for his religious reforms and eventually beheaded.

What’s all this got to do with the Gospel of Matthew chapter ten, verses 32-39? In these verses, Jesus speaks to his apostles telling them that he is sending them out as sheep in the midst of wolves. He is telling them of the difficult road ahead of them in the ministry of the gospel. For Jesus’ sake, they will suffer, face persecution, and be chased down by these wolves previously mentioned. Jesus talks of how divisive his Gospel will be. Like a sword cuts through flesh, dividing bone and marrow, so will the name of Jesus pit mother against daughter, son against father, slave against master.

Despite the impending difficulties and persecution, the apostles are commanded to remain faithful to Christ, preaching the Gospel first to the Jews and later to the Gentiles. Thank God that they followed his commandments, for the most part. Not all of them remained loyal. In fact, all of them denied or abandoned Jesus at the time of his trial. And yet Jesus intentionally chose to establish His church on these frail and cowardly individuals. What glorious mercy and grace is this, that would take the garbage of the world and fill them with His Holy Spirit for the purpose of spreading the Gospel.

Archbishop William Laud, and the twelve Apostles, and you, and me, are all in the same boat. We are not worthy of the sacrifice that Christ made on our behalf. We have been counted worthy in the eyes of God, only through Christ’s life, death and resurrection. In this life, he did not promise us fair winds and following seas, or a rose garden to behold each day; but he does require one thing of us as he does of his apostles. He requires that which is due his name as King of Kings and Lord of Lord’s: loyalty. I beseech God’s mercy that there may not be martyrs in this room. And I pray his grace over you that you may always loyally and faithfully proclaim his Gospel to everyone in your midst. In the name of…