Biography
W. Sydney Callaghan is one of the best known clerics in Ireland today. He serves on the staff of the Belfast Central Mission, where he has responsibility for two churches — one in a difficult mixed Protestant/Roman Catholic community and the other in an area that is socially deprived. Dr. Callaghan is former President of the Methodist Church in Ireland, and has written and lectured widely on the current scene in Northern Ireland. He is the recipient of the national "People of the Year Award" for his significant contribution to Irish life and was awarded the OBE in the 1984 New Year's Honours List. [Biographical information is correct as of the broadcast date noted above.]

"Reach Out for It — It's for You!" 
It's a mind-blowing statement. If it didn't come from a very credible resource, it would be impossible to believe it. Yet, it is one of the greatest affirmations that has ever been made in all the world. This is what it says,

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

These words, familiar and well known to many of another generation, are maybe not quite so well known to us. So, let's take a look at it bit by bit and see what it has to say to us today.

First, we want to think about the fact of the richness of God's love because it says, "God so loved the world." There are some folk who would say that they love their own spouses and their own families, but that is the extent of their love. There are other people who go a little bit further than that. They love people of their own nationality and racial group, but that is as far as they go. There are other people who love others who see things the way they do politically and have the same ideas as they have. But, here is this momentous statement, "God so loved the world," that everybody, everywhere matters to Him — that each one has significance and worth for Him. There is nobody who is excluded; nobody who is beyond the scope of His care.

In the land from which I come, in part of our history, there were people who claimed to settle there. Some of them were settlers; some of them were colonizers. In the main, they settled in areas which they knew and in which they felt they could have some sort of security by knowing and being supportive of each other. One of the main settlements was in and around the city of Dublin, an area which came to be known as "The Pale." It was said that anybody who was anybody lived in The Pale. By the same token if you were a nobody and had no great worth or value, you were beyond The Pale. That little phrase has woven its way into the English language so much so that we sometimes speak of people as being "beyond the pale."

On this side of the Atlantic, you might refer to it as people from the other side of the track. Whatever your language, whatever your statement, whatever your way of putting it, the great truth that we affirm tonight is that there is nobody, so far as God is concerned, who is beyond the pale; nobody who is from the other side of the track. Everybody, everywhere matters to Him. Each and everyone has significance because God so loved the world.

If we think of the richness of His love, we do well to think further about the reality of His love. If you want to put it this way, it says that He so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. He couldn't have given anything more precious. It was the most significant gift He could ever have made. If you want to measure love and know love, you can see it in the context of what it is willing to give or to sacrifice. He so loved that He gave.

When I was a little boy, sometimes when I had been naughty and misbehaved, and when my folk had ticked me off and rebuked me, and when I had made my peace with them and tried to establish relations with them again, I would sometimes say to them, "You know, mum and dad, I do really love you and I love you very much." With words which echo across the years to me, even to this day, they would say, "We know, son, that you love us but don't forget actions speak louder than words."

That is so absolutely true. Actions do speak louder than words. That is why God gave His only begotten Son. From the dawn of history, He had been saying to nature, "I love you." He had been speaking through the voice of the prophets, "I love you." Somehow man couldn't take it in. People weren't as aware as they should have been. They were just unwilling to look and too dumb to listen. He had, what we would call today, a communication problem. He settled it by sending His only begotten Son. When you want to see how much God loves you, think of it in terms of what He was willing to do for you. He gave His only Son.

When I was a little fellow, I used sometimes to say to my folk, "Tell me, mummy and daddy, do you love me?" They would say, "Of course, we love you." I would sometimes say to them, "Well, do you love me this much?" and stretch out my hands. They would say, "Of course, we love you that much." Remember, I was only a child and I would go on to say, "Tell me, do you love me this much?" and stretch out my hands even further. They would say, "Of course, we love you that much."

Do you want to know how much God loves you? He loves you that much, with arms outstretched on a cross. The extent of His love reaches out to you and to me everybody, everywhere. The world He suffered to redeem / For all He hath the atonement made / For those who will not come to Him / The ransom of His life was paid. He so loved that He gave and He loves you that much.

If we think of the richness of His love in terms of the world, if we think of the reality of His love in term of His giving of His only begotten Son, the statement reminds us and speaks to us of the receiver of His love that is enshrined in the statement, "Whosoever believeth on Him." "Whosoever" is one of those great words because it is all-inclusive. It includes everybody, everywhere. It can mean you and it can mean me. There is no problem here about ethnicity. There is no problem here about sexuality. There is no problem here about cultural differences. There is no problem here of difference of color because "whosoever" can mean you, just as it can mean me.

In our Service Book, in which we have the marriage ceremony, there are portions of the marriage ceremony which you can choose to have included and choose to leave out. In our tradition, there is a part which the State insists that you must include. They are words written in heavy black type. There is nothing sinister about heavy black type — it is an indication that those words are required by law. They read something like this, "I, A.B., take you, C.D., to be my lawful wedded wife." At the A.B. and the C.D., there is a little asterisk drawing attention to a footnote for the sake of foolish fools like me who wouldn't know, so it's implied. The footnote says that you insert the names of the respective parties, as though one wouldn't know. When people come to the altar to get married, they do not stand in front of it and say, "I, A.B., take you, C.D., to be my lawful wedded wife." They insert their own names. In the insertion of their own names and the affirmation of their vows, they make a contract one with the other.

It may seem to you to be pushing it a little bit too far, but somehow it seems to me that when I look at God's word and read those words, what one can see is this: at the place where it says, "whosoever" there is a little asterisk and on the bottom of the page there is a word which says "insert your own name." It isn't being big-headed or arrogant when I boldly affirm that "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that Sydney Callaghan believing on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

What is true for me is true for you, because "whosoever" applies to each and every one of us. You don't have to be rich, important, clever or a success. If that were the criterion, some of us would have no hope whatsoever. But, it is "whosoever," and that means you and me. You are not being big-headed if you take those words and make them your own, because the promise is made to you, for you and can be your own. If we have thought of the receiver of His love, the word of the great statement tells us finally about the result of His love. The result of His love is this: that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Between you and me, there are some preachers who would make a great deal about the perishing bit. They go on a great deal about that. It's a fair comment. But, a much more positive and exciting thought is enshrined in the other truth, that whosoever believeth receives eternal life.

When we come across the phrase "eternal life" or "everlasting life" in John's gospel and in the other writings of the Johns, it is implied by the scholars that the phrase "eternal life" or "everlasting life" isn't just some sort of life after death. It does, in part, mean that; but it means something much more profound. It really means a quality of life which is available here and now. You can have the first installment right here and now if you wish it. It is true, of course, that it is something profound, which we will know more fully and completely.

Don't think that you can't know it for yourself. Don't think that you can't have it now, because you can. Eternal life is a quality of life; it is Christ living in and through one. It is seen through Christ's eyes. It is relating to people as He would relate. It is knowing life that is authentic, genuine, fulfilling and exciting.

He said, "I have come that you might have life and that you might have it to the full." That is His desire for you and me. He came that we might have this life — life of this quality, life of this dimension, life with this reality. It is not something yet to be revealed, 'tis here and now — this everlasting life and that which He wants to give is freely available for the having now.

In some of the ads, they sometimes talk about installments and say you can have your first installment now. You pay later. This is no cheap gimmick that we offer. This is the first installment you can have. It is something for which He has paid already.

You can enjoy it not only in time, but it is something which you can enjoy fully, completely, now and for eternity through everlasting ages yet to be.

A friend of mine who worked in a city slum, nowadays euphemistically called an area of social deprivation — we changed the terminology; the reality is just as grim — said that at Christmas time they used to have parties. There were parties for those who went to this mission hall on whose staff he served. They used to give out presents and gifts to those who came along. He recalled that on one occasion as they were calling out the names of those who were to receive the gifts, they called out the name of a lady who was clearly there. Whether she was so excited or taken aback, she made no response or reaction. They called her name again and still she didn't react. She made no response. The name was called for the third time. Finally, from the back of the ball there came a voice shouting up to the front, "Reach out for it, Ma, it's for you. Will you reach out for it, Ma? It's for you."

We have been reflecting tonight about God's love in all its breadth, width and immensity. We come now to the place where we say, "Why not reach out for it because it is for you? Take it and make it your own as you have every right to do and say, ‘He loved me and gave Himself for me.' " When it lives in your heart, you want to share it with everybody everywhere because that is what eternal life is all about — enjoying such a quality that you want others to have it too.
 

Interview with W. Sydney Callaghan
Interviewed by Orley Herron

Orley Herron: Sydney, bring us up to date on the current situation in Northern Ireland.

W. Sydney Callaghan: To try to spell out what is involved in the Irish situation within the time frame available would be impossible. For that reason, to be helpful, we will make available a little booklet which was produced some years ago entitled, "The Agony of Ireland." The folk in the church in England felt that they were a bit confused about what was happening in Ireland. They are not the only ones. Some of us who live there are confused. They asked me if I would try to write something which would give them some insight about what was happening there.

To do this, recognizing constraints of time and space, I wrote something which was submitted to several people across the whole religious and political spectrum. They said it was a fair analysis. It was something which was written with candor and charity — two difficult qualities to incorporate in writing anything about Ireland or any place.

I tried to spell out some of the inherent problems. Some are clearly historical, coming from our perception of history. Some are due to a clash of cultures, in that people have different cultural identities to which they owe allegiance. Others stem from political aspirations. In the north of Ireland — which is about the size of Connecticut — live a million and a half people. one million of those people would claim to some sort of British identity which they want to hold on to. About half a million of those people would like to take hold of an Irish identity because it happens that the one million who claim British identity are mainly Protestant. The half million who would like to rejoice in Irish identity are mainly Catholic.

Very often the struggle in the north of Ireland is seen as a religious one which, of course, is a total misunderstanding and too simplistic an interpretation. Therefore, one would want to set down this marker. The conflict in Northern Ireland is not a religious conflict. There are those who say, "If it wasn't for the people of genuine religious conviction who are seeking to be bridge builders and reconcilers, the whole situation would be a lot worse and could be something of a blood bath." The people of God are not in any one denomination nor are they tied to any one group. You find God's people everywhere; those who owe allegiance to Him and who seek to take Him seriously. Those who are His people are seeking to be the reconcilers and the agents of goodwill. We make it clear it is not a religious conflict. It is a very complex set of issues which this book might in some way help people understand and it is freely available for those who want to apply for it.

Herron: Sydney, what are your churches doing to bring reconciliation in that area?

Callaghan: They are doing a lot of things which are not being done in the United States of America. For example, every six weeks the Cardinal Archbishop in Armagh, the Primate of all Ireland (that's the Church of Ireland or Episcopal Primate), the moderator of the General Assembly and the President of the Methodist Church in Ireland — these are the four main religious traditions — meet regularly to have prayer, talk and to do things together. I am prepared to submit there aren't too many places in the United States of America in which the heads of the churches meet in a person-to-person relationship on Christian name terms with each other and seek to do things together, attempting to defuse some of the tense situations and seeking to be agents of reconciliation. The churches are involved. They are giving support to organizations like the Corrymeela Community which is a center of reconciliation; the Columbanus Community which is a joint Catholic and Protestant organization and the Cornerstone Community which operates in the area in which I work, namely, an area of potential conflict, in which there is a small house where Catholics and Protestants are living together and working out their faith together. The people in this country know far too little about these things. They are inclined to interpret the conflict simplistically and to say that the religious people are adding to the fuel. The genuine religious folk are not adding to the conflict. They are defusing it because they are the reconcilers.

Herron: What would you recommend, Sydney, that we do here in America to assist you?

Callaghan: Without being pietistic, you need to remember us in your prayers. The second thing is to stop making glib, facile evaluations of our situation. A great many folk who do that know absolutely nothing about it. They are trying to solve the Irish problem from four or eight thousand miles away, sometimes having their insights or lack of insights added to by expatriates who are fifty years removed from reality and who choose to live here as distinct from working within the situation back home and trying to be a contributing factor.

The third thing I want to do is to invite you to come and see us. This isn't a plug for the tourist board. You will find that while we have problems, we have a great deal of normality. Please don't misunderstand, but in point of fact, you are safer in the streets of Belfast than you are in New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles. You will find there are people who are caring; folk who are compassionate folk of goodwill who make you welcome and say, "Come back and see us again." You would be very welcome, or as we say in the Irish, "Caid Mile Failte," which means "a hundred thousand welcomes."

Herron: We'll be seeing you shortly. Thanks so much, Sydney.