'Stairway to heaven' inspired sermon
Michaelmas Sermon from guest preacher, Prof Tom Shakespeare CBE.
On Sunday 29 September 2024, at St John’s 10am Parish Communion, we celebrated the Feast of St Michael and All Angels, and welcomed our guest preacher, Prof Tom Shakespeare CBE. Tom is a sociologist, bioethicist, writer and broadcaster, Professor of Disability Research at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Tom is also churchwarden and lay preacher at St Andrew’s, Kennington, in south London.
Relating to our appointed Bible readings, from Genesis 28. 10-17, Jacob’s dream of a ‘ladder reaching up to heaven’, and John’s Gospel 1. 47-end, in which Jesus prophecies ‘heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man’ – ie the pivotal significance of his death, the ultimate bridge between earth and heaven – Tom talked about ‘Stairway to heaven’ (from the Led Zeppelin song), and how it might be possible for disabled people and those with other impairments, to climb up to heaven.
He spoke out of his own experience, as a disabled person, paralysed since 2008, as well as a disability rights activist and academic, and reminded us of another text, Hebrews 12.13, ‘Make level paths for your feet so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.’ Tom’s message reminded us that religion ‘religio’ is about linking-up… both with God and with one another, as we support each other, to belong in Christ’s Body, the Church, as well as to reach up to heaven together. He imagined the stairway being, perhaps, an elevator, so that we can all get together, and with Jesus as the way to the Father.
It was wonderful to see a full Church, as we also marked Vicar James’ installation, on 25th September, as an Honorary Canon of Ely Cathedral, alongside so many special musical, church and community events taking place at this time, including the Cambridge & Ely RSCM ‘Young Voices afternoon’ at St John’s today, culminating in a special Choral Evensong at 6pm.
If you didn’t make it to St John’s this morning, you can either read Tom’s sermon here: /Publisher/File.aspx?ID=361809 or you can catch-up by watching it online, via our live-stream recording: www.youtube.com/@StJohntheEvangelistHillsRoadCa/streams
Finally, if you are interested in finding out more about Tom’s life and work, you can visit his website on: https://farmerofthoughts.co.uk/biography/, or his university webpage, for his current professional responsibilities: https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/aboutus/people/shakespeare.tom