William Tyndale

Cheddington – midweek communion

Gospel Luke 11

When the Gospel is announced the reader says
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to N.
All Glory to you, O Lord.

⁵And he said unto them, If any of you should have a friend, and should go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves;

⁶For a friend of mine is come out of the way to me, and I have nothing to set before him?

⁷And he within should answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my servants are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give them to thee.

⁸I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he would rise and give him as many as he needeth.

⁹And I say unto you, Axe, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

¹⁰For every one that axeth receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh shall it be opened.

¹¹If a son shall axe bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he axe a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?

¹²Or if he shall axe an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?

¹³If ye then, which are evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall the Father of heaven give the Holy Spirit to them that desire it of him?

This is the Gospel of the Lord.
All Praise to you, O Christ.

Sermon

Tyndale. Translator of the Scriptures. Reformation martyr 1536. Born Gloucestershire early 1490’s. Studied at Magdalen Oxford. Moved to Cambridge – exposed to influence of continental Reformation.

Ordained 1515. Brilliant linguist – worked for a time as a tutor in a college near Bristol. But fell foul of local clergy by preaching in public on College Green.

Intention – to make truths of Scriptures available to ordinary people in own language.. Wanted to produce plentiful copies at prices everyone could afford. In a dispute with local clergyman, he said “If God spare my life, ere many years I will cause a boy that driveth the plough to know more of the Scriptures than thou dost.”

Started work on NT, but increasing clampdown on ‘heretics’ led to Tyndale crossing channel to Hamburg where he could work in greater safety. Travelled to Wittenberg 1524 – met Luther. But even in Europe he was not safe and kept moving on.

First translation published in 1525. 18,000 copies produced. Smuggled into England concealed in bales of cloth via Antwerp. Cat was out of the bag, but Tyndale still not safe.

Continued to work. Started OT, though only published Pentateuch and Jonah. Eventually betrayed and captured near Brussels. Imprisoned 16 months, before being strangled and burned at the stake on this day, October 6^th in 1536.

Sadly, the official change in attitudes came too late for Tyndale. Miles Coverdale continued his work, and only a year later Tyndale + Coverdale published with official permission.

Today’s reading from Tyndale is almost word for word the same as the Authorised Version published in 1611. In fact, it is estimated 90% of the KJV is pure Tyndale. He was a master of beautiful language and economical choice of words – so his influence has not only been incalculable on Christianity in the world but on the English language itself.

It takes some explaining how Thomas More could be a saint, whereas Tyndale remains unrecognised, except by those who know and love him, and recognise his bravery and sacrifice for the sake of us all. A true martyr for the faith. Amen