FIRST, a quote for our times, to demonstrate how up to date this collection is: “Today, all over the world, men and women are seeking sanctuary in foreign land. Some were economic migrants; others are escaping from oppressive regimes. How they are treated in the countries where they end up varies enormously.
“Of course such migration can cause considerable problems for receiving nations. Yet it seems to me that the test of a civilized country is in how it welcomes the stranger. In this regard Hebrew law was unequivocal — ‘You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.’”
Is this from a searing post-Covid critique of our nation? Not at all. That was from a sermon preached quite a while ago by Anthony Phillips to mark the hospitality afforded to Ukrainian refugees by a village in Cornwall — in 1948!
It is from one of the sermons that make up this interesting collection. Phillips was ordained in 1967. An Old Testament specialist, he has served in a variety of settings, including colleges in Oxford and Cambridge, and ten years as the headmaster of The King’s School, Canterbury.
This collection of sermons comes from various periods in his ministry, and is arranged in two sections. The first takes the reader through the various seasons and festivals of the Christian year. The second deals with different themes of the Christian life: what it means to be a Christian, the nature of faith, the sacraments and pastoral offices, and so on.
There is a thoughtful intelligence here, and a careful exposition and application of the scriptures, which give these sermons both a timely and a timeless quality. By his own admission, the author takes the use of words very seriously indeed: “Words spoken in the name of God should effect some transformation, however slight.” Amen to that.
The Revd Peter McGeary is the Vicar of St Mary’s, Cable Street, in London, and a Priest Vicar of Westminster Abbey.
May my Words: A collection of sermons from a fifty-year ministry
Anthony Phillips
(Copies can be obtained for £6.95, including postage, from Canon Anthony Phillips, 47 Warwick Street, Oxford OX4 1SZ)