Remembrance of Evangelical Exegesis Vs. an Anti-Semitic Screed

Remembrance Sunday ceremony in London CC BY-SA 4.0

“It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of a thing he was never reasoned into.”   – Swift; satirist & Dean of St Patrick’s Cathedral (1713 – 1745)

Remembrance Sunday in Anglican churches traditionally aims to remember those soldiers and civilians who suffered and / or died from the WW1 & WW2 conflicts. The special annual liturgy traditionally relates to those two wars – and in recent years, possibly also the Russia / Ukraine war.

Aping the negative, anti-Israel narrative, Gaza has now also winkled its way into an Irish Remembrance Sunday Service. And perhaps that Israel / islamic war should get mentioned…if framed in a even-handed and biblically ecumenical context.

We automatically expect the liberal social media and (currently-electioneering) Irish politicians to “take the keffiyeh” – but Christians expect more biblical nuance from a denomination founded on the prophetic biblical message of God.

On Sunday, November 10th, 2024, Canon Oxley preached in St Patrick’s cathedral in Dublin. The congregation was made up of state representatives of the Defence Forces, ex–service people, An Garda Siochana (police force) and representatives of public and civic life, including the President of Ireland. The service bible readings were from Micah 4: 1–5 and John 15: 12–17.

Having stated that he was “not equipped to engage in political analysis or diplomatic discussions”– ironically, Canon Oxley went on to do just that. He made some incendiary, sectarian ‘political’ statements that ‘undiplomatically’ swayed into  political analysis.

Oxley proceeded to demonise Israel and Netanyahu, concluding with: “It is a matter of some national pride that Ireland has drawn Israeli ire…. for our upholding of the vision of shalom and justice for all, including the people of Palestine.” National pride for thee – but not for me, Oxley. Hubris for hateful Hibernia, indeed.

Albeit in that sermon there was one reductive reference to Hamas’ ravaging of Israel mentioning that the “…October 7 attack by Hamas was deliberate cruelty for which no excuse could be made and which caused trauma and deliberate hurt to many innocent Israelis.” A smoke-and-mirror sop statement, if ever there was.

Oxley contended that ‘shalom’ envisioned all the nations being involved in the movement towards peace and wholeness. But in his (near-secular) sermon, he stated that we are seeing “the horrible blasphemy of the Master Race in action.”

Vision of World Where People Live in Shalom Still Valid – Remembrance Sunday Dublin (see link for complete sermon at end of my blog)

To use such unfortunate and unkind Aryan-iconic metaphors in relation to Israel being a “Master Race” is weird, in a Wagnerian way.  Previously, Oxley self-confessed that his ancestors had indirect connections to Hitler – ” not everyone who can boast that their mother-in-law had Adolf Hitler as a godfather.”  To use the malign “master race” metaphor is trope-typical of the virtuous “victim inversion” propaganda being preached from the Hamas safe-haven of Qatar.

How many Church of Ireland bishops, clergy and congregations approve of such a non-inclusive, screed-like, sectarian sermon? That may be the “last turn of the screw” for those Anglicans who believe in the message of biblical hope and salvation. God’s word is for all mankind: Jew, Gentile and Arab.

‘The Church of Ireland believes that the church’s teaching must be founded on and consistent with scripture. We also have a responsibility to use our reason in understanding the Bible in the context of tradition, which is how the church’s interpretation of scripture has developed.’
https://www.churchofireland.org/our-faith/church-teaching/the-bible

During Oxley’s 2024 Remembrance Service there was no contextually-meaningful exegesis of the messianic message of Micah 4 verse 3:

                              Yahweh will judge between many peoples
                          and
                will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide.

A more biblically nuanced exegesis on that text would read thus:

“Yahweh shall judge between many peoples: During the reign of the Messiah, there will be no more war. There will still be conflicts between nations and individuals, but they will be justly and decisively resolved by the Messiah and those who reign with Him (He shall judge between many peoples, and rebuke strong nations…It is important to see that this is not the peace of capitulation. This is the peace of enforced righteousness…” https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/micah-4/

The role of a preaching at its best “…should be a conversation starter instead of the last word…we do have something to say about the issues of our day, words of prophecy, and words of comfort and words of challenge” – The Rev. Anna Greenwood-Lee.

Mankind’s enduring hope is poignantly reflected in one of the iconic Remembrance Day hymns typically used in such services:

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide;
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me.

Vision of World Where People Live in Shalom Still Valid – Remembrance Sunday Dublin https://dublin.anglican.org/news/2024/11/11/vision-of-world-where-people