tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56086600589031440602024-03-05T05:45:32.845+00:00New Kid Deep StuffThe long stuff from New Kid on the BlogAlastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117533964126439556noreply@blogger.comBlogger110125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608660058903144060.post-40585698588347683592015-04-03T07:14:00.002+01:002015-04-03T07:14:41.008+01:00Defined by the Eucharist - a Maundy Thursday Sermon<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Last
year I began the sermon for Maundy Thursday (yes, I check these things, just to
make sure don’t repeat myself too much) with the words “At the blessing of the
oils service this morning in the Cathedral, Bishop Logan reminded us….”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">And
though I don’t like to repeat myself, I want to start my thoughts this evening
with these words “At the blessing of the oils service this morning in our
Cathedral, Bishop Logan reminded us… “ that this most Holy meal that we share
this evening defines who we are. I seem to get a lot of food for thought from our Bishop's Maundy sermons! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Bishop Logan spoke very personally of his experience of being a part of the ceremonies around the demolition of St Michael's residential school in Alert bay and talked of healing, he pointed to the Eucharist as a place of healing and reconciliation and how we are called to be people of healing. There is so much more I could share with you on that theme - but it was that one phrase 'It is the Eucharist that defines us' that really stuck with me as I prepared these thoughts. So I have gone in a slightly different direction - and here goes:</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">It
is the Eucharist that forms us, our sharing in bread and wine that nourishes
us, our Holy Communion that sustains us and builds us up in community. That is why, on this most Holy Night, we
remember the institution of Holy Communion.
We remember that before his death Jesus gathered his closest friends
around him to share at table in the marking of the Passover and during that
meal left a reminder of his self-offering that we call the Eucharist – a word
from the Greek that means ‘Thanksgiving’.
Not only that, but in doing so
left us with the command “do this in remembrance of me”. We are to continually offer thanksgiving and
to share in this Holy Meal as we recall the death and resurrection of our
loving, living Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The
Eucharist defines us – but how…? We will all have reasons why we find this
sharing significant, and I am not trying to tell you what you have to believe
about this sacred feast, but here are some ways in which we might recognise who
we are called to be in the sharing of this sacrament.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Firstly, it reminds
us to be people of gratitude.</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> It
is in its very naming, as I said, a thanksgiving. It calls us to remember the goodness we enjoy
– to use an old-fashioned phrase – to ‘count our blessings’. It calls us to be people whose attitude is
turned not to seeing all that is bad and wrong with the world (though we should
not ignore those things) but to seek the beauty and life of the God who is in
all things, who is all in all. To have
hearts tuned to life and hope and truth and wonder. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Next, it reminds us
of our calling to be in community.</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">
The name ‘Holy Communion’ which is still the name many refer to this
service by, reminds us that we are in communion not only with the God who meets
us here – but with the others who meet us here too. One of the sadnesses, in my opinion, of our
post enlightenment, individualistic culture – and of those religious
expressions that focus on ‘me and my relationship with Jesus’ and major on
personal salvation is that we have lost that sense of being the body of Christ,
of being so intimately connected to one another that we are like parts of the
body connected by ligament and muscle and flesh.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">One
of our sentences at the breaking of the bread – technically called ‘the
Fraction’ for those who like to know these things – goes like this “</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Creator of all,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">you gave us golden fields of wheat,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">whose many grains we have gathered<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">and made into this one bread.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">All </span></i><b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">So may your Church
be gathered<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">from the ends of the earth<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">into your kingdom.</span></b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> ”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Says it all, really. It’s
all about the together, folks!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">This holy meal
reminds us too of God’s offer of sustenance in our journey. And of how God meets us where we are.</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> I love the fact that the Eucharist isn’t some
kind of abstract celebration all about words and theory, but is earthy – the
everyday things of food and drink, though ritualised, are offered to us as a
reminder that God offers the sustenance our hearts and souls needs. We are reminded also that God is not
disembodied or disinterested but grounded in the reality of everyday life. Another of the Fraction sentences says “</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">“I am the bread of life,” says the Lord.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">“Whoever comes to me will never be hungry;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">whoever believes in me will never thirst.” “<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Of course this isn’t just a fanciful idea, but one
which we, as the people of God, are called to make a reality – that we point
others to the reality of a God who slakes our spiritual thirst and feeds our
spiritual hunger, but that we also work for a world where none hunger and
thirst as we are reminded that this is the calling of the body of Christ, to
meet the needs of the world around us as well as our own.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Next, I believe the Eucharist defines us as broken people.</span></b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"> By which I mean that the
brokenness we often experience personally, or the broken relationships in our
lives, or the brokenness of the world is echoed in the breaking of bread that
we have in the heart of our Eucharistic observance. Those wonderful words from the resurrection
appearance of Christ to two followers at Emmaus (and though it is holy week, we
can’t really consider the Eucharist without considering the resurrection life
it points towards) are in our Emmaus chapel window and, for me, define the core
of our Communion. “They knew him in the breaking of the bread.” Christ, body broken and yet somehow brought
back to life, breaks bread again. In
that symbol of brokenness is so much to do with sharing, healing, and being
connected to Christ – but also, for me, a recognition of the brokenness of the
world in which somehow Christ is always present. Christ is alive even in the darkest and most
broken places, and meets us there.
Another Fraction sentence – this one which we have been using throughout
Lent and Holy Week.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">We break this bread,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Communion in Christ’s body once broken.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Let your Church be the wheat<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">which bears its fruit in dying.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">If we have died with him,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">we shall live with him;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">if we hold firm,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">we shall reign with him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And that links to my next to last thought – that a
number of people have expressed their distaste at the last part of that
sentence, that reigning with Christ has echoes of dominance and royalty with
which many of us – including myself – are uncomfortable with. In every Eucharist we are reminded of a
servant king whose role is not to dominate, but to unite – to bring people
together in love and service. When we
talk of reigning with Christ we talk of being alongside Christ in that place
and time when love, grace, peace, justice, mercy and wholeness are made
manifest. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">In this particular Eucharist we see this of course in
the symbolic act of the washing of feet which Jane will be taking part in on
behalf of all of us in ministry, indeed on behalf of all of us in the people of
God for we are all ministers one to another.
This is the reign of Christ – offering to wash the feet of one another.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">And lastly for my thoughts – though there is so much
more that I could say but won’t – the Eucharist defines us as sent people. Though we have been gathered and united at
this feast, we are not called to stay huddled together for spiritual warmth in
this comfortable place. The Eucharist
demands that we go forth – or as they say in the Catholic liturgy ‘The Mass is
ended, go in peace’. Our own prayer
books offer a variety of sentences that finish our service with the dismissal,
but my own favourite is – Go in love and peace to serve the Lord. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Thanks be to God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117533964126439556noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608660058903144060.post-12578758510470716692015-02-01T20:58:00.000+00:002015-02-01T21:17:05.931+00:00"Get Out of The Temple!" or, more accurately, "Depart in peace."<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=289824878" target="_blank">Malachi 3:1–4</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=289824878" target="_blank">Hebrews 2:14–18</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=289824878" target="_blank">Luke 2:22–40</a></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwnv5I7j7CAojFUwU61sb_2D-fqjJiEcvLJZ1NMB_OR4tcZRtfsYPsjlc7qguKB5Gsg_5-NUXe2ojvtFmLqf5L1S22WQbI7g7QpYe8QI1vsNhy7ItYfKxIrwKyoq6CkM3_1j-fiSjOByU/s1600/present_lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwnv5I7j7CAojFUwU61sb_2D-fqjJiEcvLJZ1NMB_OR4tcZRtfsYPsjlc7qguKB5Gsg_5-NUXe2ojvtFmLqf5L1S22WQbI7g7QpYe8QI1vsNhy7ItYfKxIrwKyoq6CkM3_1j-fiSjOByU/s1600/present_lg.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><b><h2 style="font-size: xx-large;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></h2>
<span style="font-size: large;">The Presentation of Christ in the Temple (2015) Year B RCL Principal</span></b></span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This last
Thursday we had a Clergy Day, one of our twice a year opportunities to meet up
with colleagues from all the Islands of this Diocese, and to have some input
and chat to and hear from our Bishop, Logan.
As part of the Bishop`s desire to make these days as much about being
together and learning more of each other than about having lots of people
speaking to, or sometimes at, us we were all asked to create a line around the
room where we were meeting and sort ourselves into order of Ordination –
stretching back to the 1960s, up to our most recent Diaconal Ordinations in
2014. We then went around the room and
were asked to call out when and where we were ordained, and the Bishop who
ordained us.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">It wasn`t until
I found myself calling out `Petertide 1996, St Paul`s Cathedral, London,
England by the Bishop of London, Richard Chartres` that I realised how much I
loved that memory. Christopher Wren`s
great Cathedral building filled with people – I remember the Bishop`s Chaplain
saying to the twenty five of us being ordained “the Cathedral will be gloomy
then the great West Doors will open and light will flood in and everyone will
turn, thinking `who the hell is that</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">?’ and it will be
you! Enjoy the moment.” And we did.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I remember my first visit to St Paul’s – a massive edifice, with
wonderful artwork, grandiose in its scale and intricate in the carving and
construction that makes it such an iconic part of London’s skyline. I was wandering around looking at the
cathedral when one of my colleagues said ‘It doesn’t do anything for me, this
place, it’s like a religious railway station’.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I can see why she said that, it’s a well visited place, and it’s iconic stature means it is on
the list of pretty much every London Tour.
In its construction it is large and echoey and noisy and busy. There are quiet spots, but it doesn’t feel a
lot like a place of prayer – not like some of the other Anglican places of
worship I have been fortunate enough to visit and minister in. It is what it is.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I wonder if the Temple in Jerusalem was like that too. We certainly get the feeling that it was
busy, and that there were people in and out all of the time, praying, offering
sacrifice, talking and debating. Then
there was the Temple market with its money trading and buying and selling of
sacrificial animals. I don’t get the
feeling from Scripture that it was a quiet, contemplative space. At least not
all of it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But it was loved. It was a magnificent place – a place that was a
spiritual home for a nation. Kevin
preached a few weeks back on Luke’s repeated references to the Temple, Luke –
probably a gentile – who begins and ends his Gospel stories with stories
relating to the Temple, and who repeatedly places encounters between God and
others in the temple, Zechariah, Anna and Simeon in today’s story of the
Presentation, the boy Jesus and the scribes, the disciples visiting the temple
with Jesus, the final visit before the Ascension story. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">It’s interesting to me, though, how in Luke’s narrative the life of the
temple is so often disrupted by the action of God – Zechariah is struck dumb
whilst performing his priestly duties, Simeon’s powerful words (of which more
in a moment) which are spoken into the lives of Joseph, Mary and the infant
Jesus, the young Jesus debating with the learned and impressing them despite
his youth, Jesus being carried up to the top of the temple as part of the
temptation stories, the parables of the Pharisee and the tax-collector, the
widow’s mite, the driving out of the moneychangers. All of these disturb an
accepted way of thinking and doing – as if, dare I say, the presence of God was
there!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And yet the Temple wasn’t the only place God was at! As Luke holds in balance a love of the temple
and a recognition of the challenge that Jesus brings to the life of the temple,
a promise that God is here, but God is elsewhere too!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’m pretty sure that’s what is going on with Simeon’s bold and
disturbing proclamation here. And I must
admit the Nunc Dimittus brings out the Book of Common Prayer lover in me so I
will use the 1662 translation:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigLUnRvmX8EIkO1FO7t9SVySbN62GbMQHNF_2YcWfFIdMwbumHKtuYoqm6Clzv23y9BrS46UmERwwDkz1tLnA0aQ4GKiyU97E_z51SjfFIN6e5kysfVfHQUXRek6oPWQRywxRsnvW5-3k/s1600/Simeon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigLUnRvmX8EIkO1FO7t9SVySbN62GbMQHNF_2YcWfFIdMwbumHKtuYoqm6Clzv23y9BrS46UmERwwDkz1tLnA0aQ4GKiyU97E_z51SjfFIN6e5kysfVfHQUXRek6oPWQRywxRsnvW5-3k/s1600/Simeon.jpg" height="320" width="243" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“LORD, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace : according to thy
word.<br />
For mine eyes have seen :<br />
thy salvation;<br />
Which thou hast prepared : before the face of all people;<br />
To be a light to lighten the Gentiles :<br />
and to be the glory of thy people Israel.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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encounter with the Messiah, an encounter that he believed would mark the end of
his life… And so he shares this song, and a word for Mary that ‘this child is
destined for the falling and rising of many in Israel’ and ‘a sword will pierce
your own heart also’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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opening line of this song of Simeon – in modern translation ‘Lord, now let your
servant depart in peace’. It’s that
sense of departing – that after encountering Christ in the temple Simeon
departs. The story suggests that he goes
for a very long rest! But I want to suggest that we are being called to depart
in peace too, not in the same way, but called to be people of peace, taking the
peace of Christ with us – going out from the temple to be active in the cause
of peace. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju2KPJT37AH-w4gLbru9Jv48xjZUwMzw2aeEZ9zvtmq8WUuVmbJ-JRMRrUxJVO3BGiT9GDA2njakEA8IBY-EzfurI7NzfbyqWesZqs5NTjDuT9V8SLiDhfL5-drHjVZN6hUc3ob7iVi8k/s1600/Merton+Icon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju2KPJT37AH-w4gLbru9Jv48xjZUwMzw2aeEZ9zvtmq8WUuVmbJ-JRMRrUxJVO3BGiT9GDA2njakEA8IBY-EzfurI7NzfbyqWesZqs5NTjDuT9V8SLiDhfL5-drHjVZN6hUc3ob7iVi8k/s1600/Merton+Icon.jpg" height="200" width="160" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Thomas Merton, the great contemplative who –were he still alive - would
have been 100 years old this week wrote in a collection of his writings called
‘Passion for Peace’:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Lord did not come to bring peace as a kind of spiritual tranquilizer. He
brought to his disciples a vocation and a task: to struggle in the world of
violence to establish His peace not only in their own hearts but in society
itself."<br />
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truly engaging with the world around – no longer considering, as Craig reminded
us last week, that there is an ‘us and them’ but only an ‘us’. <i>We are called to include all not just by
welcoming people to come to a church meeting, but by <b>being</b> Church in the world</i>.
As someone tweeted earlier this week: “God is not calling us to go to
Church, God is calling us to go and be church”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So often our Churches <i>contain</i>
the life and faith of the church, rather than <i>liberate</i> that life to shared abroad. We are church not only when we gather
together, we are the body of Christ when we serve beyond ourselves. Our spiritual community is to be the
springboard from which we leap into the world.
Though not all of us are necessarily built for leaping! Yes we should value our sacred space, yes we
have wonderful buildings – not least this warm and welcoming, prayer soaked
building here – yes we are called to BE together. But these things exist as resources for our
journey out into our families and friendships, our places of work, our
communities, the clubs, societies and activities we are a part of. This is all the work of the church, the
places where we are called, in work and word, to proclaim ‘God is here’.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">T<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">o look at it another way, still drawing on this imagery of going beyond
the Temple – departing in peace - we were reminded by Rev’d Canon Dr Richard
LeSueur at our Thursday Clergy Day, that by the time of Jesus, Israel had
undergone a massive change in its thinking about the presence of God in the
years following the exile. Quoting the
Theologian and Scholar Walter Bruggemann, Richard told us that the defining
image for the church today is not the Temple, but the Exile. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Years of peace were suddenly broken: the comfort of the temple and the king, a
stable and reliable order no longer existed.
Likewise we in the Church find ourselves in a place where any privilege
or prestige we may have had is gone. We
are so often seen as little enclaves of slightly odd people who gather apart
from the rest of the world on a Sunday Morning.
An image, a perception we are called to challenge – I believe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Secondly the exile of Israel that came following the destruction of the Second
Temple between 586–537 BCE saw the worship of God take place no longer in
a Centralized institution, the temple, but it went out to a growing network of synagogues,
which can be translated as simple as <i>assembly</i>
– interestingly the word used in the New Testament for Church <i>ekklesia</i> means exactly the same
thing. But the important message is that
the encounter with God, the presence of God, is no longer considered restricted
to one place, the temple, but the divine can be engaged with in diverse and
dispersed ways. A message for the Church
today! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Thirdly, as we find the Privileges of Christendom have passed we can ask
ourselves if this is liberation to a new apostolic age – a new age of being <i>sent out</i> to share the life of Christ
with the world! If you remember this
time last year we had a number of folk standing up and calling out ‘God is here’
– and important reminder of the God who is in the midst of us – but our calling
is to remember that we are called to carry that presence with us in all we do,
as much beyond these walls as within.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Perhaps, as Richard told the Clergy, we are being called from settled life –
and being a settler church has too many connotations for me to begin to address
this morning - to being a nomadic, a travelling people. A people recognising that Church is a
waystation, not a destination. We come
here, as a desert dweller may come to an oasis, for refreshment and for
strength for the journey. We are gathered,
in order to be sent out. In the Latin
Liturgy echoed in our contemporary services the deacon would call out or sing
‘Ite, missa est’ – Go, you are dismissed (or according to some scholars ‘Go,
you are sent out’) Or, as became more usual
‘Go forth, the mass is ended’. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Further, in this theme of moving beyond the temple, of being in exile,
strangers in a strange land, we find ourselves again having to engage with
culture and discover our own distinctiveness – how can we be Christians in our
everyday lives? How do we practise the presence of God in our society? How do we share this good news, this life of
Christ which are blessed with? I don’t have the answers to that, but I am
committed to finding them, together, with all of you.</span><br />
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calling to do and be church is. How may we depart in peace? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Thanks be to God.</span></span><br />
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Alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117533964126439556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608660058903144060.post-7178710321103730162015-01-26T03:41:00.000+00:002015-01-26T08:28:45.756+00:00A Sermon on Conversion<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="http://www.lectionarypage.net/YearABC/HolyDays/ConvPaul.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Readings</span></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Conversion of St Paul (2015) Year B RCL Principal</span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">To Be Converted, or continued, or both…</span></b><br />
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<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Conversion_of_Saint_Paul_(Michelangelo_Buonarroti).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Conversion_of_Saint_Paul_(Michelangelo_Buonarroti).jpg" height="296" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today is, as you may have guessed, the festival of the Conversion of St Paul. So I am going to begin by asking - as one should to an Anglican audience - "how many of you have been converted…?!??!"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No, not really.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I could tell you my conversion story, though… imagine a tubby little boy who looks just like me but without a beard, oh and mousey browny-blond hair. This little lad is in a small chapel tent in a field of tents in a place called Polzeath (or Polzeth as many call it) and he’s chatting to a genial older chap who asks. Do you want to give your heart to Jesus? To which I replied yes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So in that simple setting, having heard over the course of that week the message of faith in a new way, I committed myself to being a Christian. It wasn’t spectacular, there were no lights or voices from the sky. I just said a prayer. And it was a beginning. I called it my conversion. So did the Christian Community to which I belonged – it was a crucial part in my journey of faith.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It wasn’t a Saint Paul moment – I didn’t have a dark and disturbing past to be set free from. Unlike the stories I had heard back in my youth of Gangland conversions in the Bronx, or the Tenderloin area of San Francisco, or the miraculous changes of heart of tough guys from the East End of London my story was boring. Which was a bit of shame, I thought. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_McCourt" target="_blank">Frank McCourt’</a>s autobiographical work ‘<a href="http://amzn.to/1D844An" target="_blank">Angela’s Ashes’</a> he talks of how it was common for the young Catholic schoolboys taking their first confessions to make up things in order to feel that they actually HAD something to confess. They were worried that if they didn’t have something juicy to say they would be punished for pride or for lying! In my protestant world, you really wanted a good conversion story. But it was not to be – I might have embellished stories of what I considered dreadful childhood sins, but they weren’t really substantial. I was no St Paul. My conversion, such as it was, was significantly less dramatic.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In fact, the idea of Conversion as we have had it passed down to us has picked up some negative connotations, it shares a dodgy reputation with ideas like ‘Mission’, ‘Repent’, ‘Sin’ and even ‘Salvation’ – words whose meanings have baggage, weight, because of the ecclesial or local culture that has used them. These words have been used to bludgeon the unwary and the unsuspecting, the cowed and the dominated, the colonised and the confused. Repent or die – physically or spiritually… </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The language of conversion has been used to threaten and coerce, and that is heartbreakingly shown in a poem by J. Neil C. Garcia which talks of the metaphorical death by drowning of a transgender woman forced to choose to be a man by her traditional family. It’s a long poem so I won’t quote it all – the link is <a href="https://criimeflick.wordpress.com/2013/01/06/the-conversion-by-j-neil-c-garcia/" target="_blank">here </a> – but it talks from the perspective of a transgender woman forced to live a life as a heterosexual man by her family, and talks of the perpetuation of masculine violence bound up in this act of “conversion” and its aftermath and ends with the heartbreaking words.:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">…Though nobody</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Remembers, I sometimes think of the girl</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Who drowned somewhere in a dream many dreams ago.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I see her at night with bubbles</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Springing like flowers from her nose.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She is dying and before she sinks I try to touch</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Her open face. But the water learns</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To heal itself and closes around her like a wound.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I should feel sorry but I drown myself in gin before</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I can. Better off dead, I say to myself</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And my family that loves me for my bitter breath.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We die to rise to a better life.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Conversion does not have a good history. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And yet today is a festival – a feast of conversion. We have little or no detail of the birth or death of </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">St Paul, Apostle to Gentiles, so we celebrate this exceptional, miraculous event which turned him from being a persecutor of the Church to being a champion of Jesus Christ and an architect of the order of the Church. His writings, rich in theology and practical advice, deeply rooted in his Jewish ancestry and contemporary culture, desperate to enliven a burgeoning Church with the life of the living Spirit of God in Christ are a substantial part of our Scriptures and his influence is strongly felt in the church today.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We celebrate his turning from one way to another, the radical diversion of his path on that road to Damascus and his realignment to following the way of Christ. This, we are told, is conversion – a fracturing of reality, often the result of a crisis moment, a moment of revelation, a moment which changes everything…</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But that is how we have so often been told conversion works, the only way that conversion works! In many traditions within the Christian faith, this is what it means to be saved – it is such a striking image that we we have the vivid account of it not only in today's reading from Acts 26, but in two other places in Acts, also in Galatians and a reference of Christ appearing to Paul alluded to in his account of the resurrection appearances in 1 Corinthians chapter 15… Obviously this conversion was a dramatic, life changing – and according to the hyperbole of some commentators, world changing – event. </span><br />
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<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Conversion_on_the_Way_to_Damascus-Caravaggio_(c.1600-1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Conversion_on_the_Way_to_Damascus-Caravaggio_(c.1600-1).jpg" height="400" width="303" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That’s how it’s been portrayed in the stories passed down, in countless sermons, in artworks through the ages – two of which I copied for you to see and which, I hope were given out with our bulletin for today… In the Caravaggio painting, one of at least two of Michelangelo Meris da Caravaggio’s portrayals of the Conversion of St Paul – Paul is so overwhelmed that he has fallen from his horse!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Which brings me to what I really want to say – like the horse in Caravaggio’s painting, or the Donkey in the nativity story, or the idea that there were three kings at the manger – there is so much layered on to what conversion is – and so much of the nuance, the variations, the different aspects of what the whole idea of conversion is and might be that it is hard to drop the baggage and consider again what this concept of Conversion might actually offer to us today!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Though I am glad for the influence of good, Christian folk, who brought me to a very deliberate start of my own pilgrimage of faith, I realise that this moment was just that – the start. I was consciously making a commitment to my journey. I turned from one way to another, but I know that God was at work long before that moment, making Godself known to me through scripture, through the people who shared my life, through the traditions and worship of the Church community that gave me a sense of belonging.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But that wasn’t my only conversion, it was a part of my ongoing conversion. Or perhaps a better word would be ‘metanoia’ – the Greek word which appears throughout the New Testament and is often translated repentance, but might best be understood as ‘turning’. I’ve used this illustration before but the word ‘repent’ is one of those wonderful English words which the Church seems to have hijacked – it crops up much more in the kind of English novel that says something like ‘Mr Smithers repented of his intention to visit Miss Lambert and instead found himself heading in the opposite direction to a nearby hostelry’. It simply means a change in direction.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Conversion too easily becomes seen as ‘flicking a switch’ – and both the Author of Acts – commonly thought to be Luke the Evangelist – and Paul himself in today’s reading are keen to stress the break between one part of Paul’s life and another. “once I was very bad now, through God’s grace and the work of Christ, I am good’, ‘once I persecuted the Church, now I am persecuted because I serve Christ’. This kind of dramatic break in the life narrative of Paul serves to show the wonder and the power of Christ. It is what the Church needed to hear in its early days, the powerful and rapid transformation which Christ affects. It’s a very black/white, light/dark, good/bad thing and easily slips into the simplistic, dualistic (as Richard Rohr might say) way of thinking that we are so inclined to veer towards.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But we all know that faith, and indeed life, are much more complex than that. Take this poem by a Theologian and writer called Scott Cairns which I found on the <a href="http://theologyandliterature.com/2013/05/05/a-quick-hi-and-a-poem/" target="_blank">Theology and Literature website</a>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Adventures in New Testament Greek: <i>Metanoia</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Repentance, to be sure,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">but of a species far</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">less likely to oblige</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">sheepish repetition.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Repentance, you’ll observe,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">glibly bears the bent</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">of thought revisited,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and mind’s familiar stamp</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">–a quaint, half-hearted</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">doubleness that couples</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">all compunction with a pledge</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">of recurrent screw-up.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The heart’s metanoia,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">on the other hand, turns</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">without regret, turns not</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">so much away, as toward,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">as if the slow pilgrim</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">has been surprised to find</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">that sin is not so bad</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">as it is a waste of time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Scott Cairns</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Conversion, metanoia, repentance – whatever we wish to call it, is a lifelong activity. Turning not so much away, as towards – towards Christ, towards Christlikeness. It is a discipline and a grace – something that comes from our openness to the spirit of God and from a longing to know and feel the life of Christ within us.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It comes partly from spiritual practice, and I have said repeatedly from this pulpit and in many groups and conversations that I believe we are being challenged to be a spiritual community in the broadest sense – a community that in word and deed turns to the way of the spirit and seeks to live by the faith to which we are called, to which we are drawn.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But conversion is, to my mind, summed up well by thinking on what it means to turn towards Christ. For me every act of compassion is a turning to Christ. Every prayer, every attempt to still the many voices of the world and open ourselves to the life of faith is a turning to Christ. Everytime we open a newspaper, or the browser or our computer and see news which disturbs us and we pray about it, and seek to act in response to it with justice and love we are turning to Christ. Every time we seek to care for those in need we are turning to Christ. Every time we open ourselves to truly listen to another human being, are willing to change and learn and grow, we are turning to Christ. Every time we speak out against injustice and challenge systems of oppression and marginalisation we are turning to Christ. Every time we come to worship, alone or together, in silence, or in liturgy and song we are turning to Christ. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is conversion. Not that we become a Christian, but that we seek through all of our pilgrimage to turn to Christ. It is summed up well, I think in the part of the Baptismal liturgy that I copied along with the Michelangelo and Caravaggio paintings for you. It’s all good stuff! But I find challenge in those last lines which ask ‘</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbour as yourself?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Will you strive to safeguard the integrity of God's creation, and respect, sustain and renew the life of the Earth?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">May we continue to learn, grown and know that conversion, that metanoia, to which Christ continues to call us. Amen.</span><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117533964126439556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608660058903144060.post-77460313164082941542014-10-29T16:05:00.002+00:002014-10-29T16:05:43.334+00:00Midweek SermonAs these don't tend to get shared elsewhere - here is my midweek thinking for today...<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">James
Hannington </span></b><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Bishop
of Eastern Equatorial Africa, </span></i><b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">and His Companions </span></b><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Martyrs, 1885 —
Commemoration</span></i><i><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">Matthew 10.16–22<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<sup><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">16</span></sup><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> ‘See, I am sending
you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and
innocent as doves. <sup>17</sup>Beware of them, for they will hand you
over to councils and flog you in their synagogues; <sup>18</sup>and you
will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to
them and the Gentiles. <sup>19</sup>When they hand you over, do not worry
about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will
be given to you at that time; <sup>20</sup>for it is not you who speak,
but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. <sup>21</sup>Brother
will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise
against parents and have them put to death; <sup>22</sup>and you will be
hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be
saved.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I’m
not sure we should have favourite Bible verses, but today’s Gospel reading
contains one of mine! “Be wise as serpents
and innocent as doves” says Jesus. Not
quite as powerful, perhaps as ‘For God so loved the world” or as resonant and
long lasting as the image of a wayward son or a good Samaritans, but still I
find it a most profound and helpful verse – and part of a profound and powerful
passage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Christians,
especially Anglicans, are often looked at as being somewhat bloodless in their
faith. We are considered by the majority
of people to be the acceptable face of religion! Whether it’s true or not – apart from the odd
fundamentalist or religious nut - we are looked on as a relatively mellow and
bloodless kind of religion. Here I could get into a long discussion about what
happens when people add the name of Christian faith to their campaigns and
crusades and the less than illustrious history of the Church – but after a
couple of thousand years and the ubiquity of Christendom in the west there’s a
certain level of blandness ascribed to Christianity. In Western Culture at least…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">But
Jesus doesn’t give us that impression.
No bloodless faith in his world.
His is a faith that is full of passion and compassion, life, love,
wisdom and grace. But also a faith that is strong, life changing, risky and
dangerous. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">There
is an expectation in Jesus’ talking of faith that it is and will be dangerous
to stand up for faith. But there is also
an expectation that those of follow the way of Christ <i>will</i> be able to stand. Far from the images of ‘gentle Jesus meek
and mild’ we see in today’s lesson a strength in refusing to fight back against
persecutors, to speak out without violence for that which is right. Jesus reassures his hearers that that those
who are taken prisoner for their faith will be given words to say and the
courage of the Holy Spirit even under persecution. I am grateful that we don’t suffer being
tortured and put to death for our faith, as Bishop Hannington and his
companions did and the persecutions we suffer are (relatively) mild in our
society – though I know some of you will have experience of the danger of speaking
out for faith – but there is still a calling to stand, to share, to change our
world with the life of faith no matter what the cost.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">And
into this Jesus speaks these words – be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">What
does that mean, though?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I
think it means be canny (as they say in Scotland and the North of England) –
listen and learn, take your opportunities where you can, be crafty. Yet at the same time be honest, and
transparent, be people of integrity.
Act, and be, righteous.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">We
are not called to naivety, or to being treated like doormats. We are called to
be strong, and committed and faithful and loving, even when it hurts. We are
called to be Christ like in our words and our actions, and even our thinking.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">If
we are willing to stand up for that which is right, and to share the faith
which Christ calls us to – a transforming, disturbing, honest and powerful
faith. A faith that calls all to leaving behind dishonesty and abuse, injustice
and inequality. Faith that calls to love and serve one another, to know
ourselves loved and to act with love towards all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">If
we are willing to stand for that faith then we will put ourselves at risky of
persecution, marginalisation, condemnation.
Or just of apathy and disregard. But in following Christ we are
challenged to live lives which are completely dependent on God, that are
different to the lives we would live without God, and that make a difference to
the world as much as we allow the Spirit moving in us to make a difference to
ourselves.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> May we be, with the Spirit’s help, wise as
serpents and innocent as doves. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117533964126439556noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608660058903144060.post-69994710805316655202014-10-15T22:56:00.001+01:002014-10-15T22:56:29.357+01:00Sermon for an early Eucharist!<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #525050; font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=280409965" target="_blank">1 Kings 19:4–13</a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #525050; font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=280409965" target="_blank">Psalm 66:7–11</a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #525050; font-family: 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.5px;"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=280409965" target="_blank">John 14:1–11</a></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 16pt;">Teresa of Avila & John of the Cross<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: white; font-size: 5.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Palatino-Roman; mso-bidi-font-size: 3.0pt;">October<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt;">Today is the remembrance of Teresa of Avila, and of St John of the
Cross – two 16<sup>th</sup> Century contemplatives. We are using the readings and prayer for
Teresa, but we keep in mind also her friend and follower John of the
Cross. From the companion to our
readings we are told that Teresa of Avila was a Spanish nun of the sixteenth
century whose visions of Christ and gifts as a spiritual director have placed
her among the greatest of all Christian mystics. She was the only daughter of a
minor nobleman and entered the Carmelite convent in her native town of A’vil-a
when she was twenty-one. Over the next two decades she endured many illnesses,
one of which left her paralyzed, and also a nagging sense that in her prayers
and devotions she was doing nothing more than “treading water.” </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt;">Then, in answer
to her despair, she began to have visions and hear “interior voices.” The most
famous of these experiences, known as “transverberation of the heart,” took
place over a number of days in 1559. At her left side Teresa beheld an angel
who held a golden spear with a flaming tip, with which he pierced her heart
again and again. Teresa later wrote that each time the angel withdrew the spear
she was ‘ ‘left completely afire with a great love for God,” and knew that her
soul would “never be content with anything less than God.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt;">Three years later, in obedience to another vision, Teresa left her
convent with thirteen other nuns to observe the primitive constitutions of the
Carmelite Order in all their strictness. Despite fierce, sometimes violent
opposition from the Carmelite establishment, Teresa eventually founded sixteen
other Reformed Carmelite houses.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt;">In the midst of her other concerns Teresa also found time to write
a number of books, which reflect her holiness, wisdom, and sense of humour; and
through them she has become one of the most widely loved saints in the Church,
attractive even to those who have not shared<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt;">Then of John of the Cross we are told he was the greatest Spanish
mystic of the sixteenth century, and his writings still nourish modern
Christians in their hunger for true experience in the spiritual life. John was
born in 1542 and became a Carmelite friar at the age of twenty-one. Four years
later he met Teresa of Avila and joined in her reform of the Carmelite Order,
serving as confessor to Teresa’s nuns. His prominence in the reform-movement made
him a target of intrigues; twice he was abducted and imprisoned. After Teresa’s
death he also suffered vindictive treatment at the hands of his own superiors
in the Reformed Carmelites, and their harshness contributed to his death in
1591.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt;">Through all his trials John was sustained by an intense mystical
love for Jesus Christ. Like Teresa, he experienced the presence of Christ in
“intellectual visions.” His reflection upon these experiences issued, first of
all, in poetry of extraordinary power and beauty. At the urging of his
disciples, he selected a number of his poems and produced prose commentaries on them, which have become
classics of mystical theology. John united the vocation of a theologian with
the experience of a mystic, and his writings are the supreme example of
theology as the fruit of prayer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt;">What bound these two together, and the reason we mark both at the
same time is this common thread of prayer.
And that prayer is sometimes dangerous, disturbing, powerful, filled
with unfilled and fulfilled longings and hopes. Even sometimes filled with
visions… And sometimes filled with nothing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt;">Often when we hear of Elijah’s journey into the wilderness – his
fearful flight from king Ahab and the king’s murderous rage. We focus on the still, small voice at the end
of Elijah’s vision but we forget what brought Elijah to this place – the fear,
the anxiety, running from his home and from all that was his. We forget that he needed sustenance for his
journey – provided miraculously by the angel in the story. We forget he was so
tired he lay down under a tree and slept – then we forget that before he got to
the place of the still, small voice he had to pass through ‘the earthquake,
wind and fire’. Considering all that he
was going through, that’s a pretty terrifying experience, if you think about
it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt;">Theresa’s vision wasn’t a pleasant one – as we hear it today we
are perhaps slightly shocked by the idea that she had her heart pierced by an
angel again and again… sometimes called the Dart of longing love… but that on
the other side of that vivid vision, experienced over days, came an
overwhelming desire to know, to feel, to engage with the presence of God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt;">From John of the Cross we gain that powerful and painful image of
the ‘dark night of the soul’ – an experience he had, and that expresses the
feeling that many people have – of a spiritual emptiness even whilst seeking
God in prayer and contemplation. It is
the title of a prayer by John, talking of the soul’s journey towards God and
the hardships one faces in that spiritual journey.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt;">We often, I think, take prayer for granted – we have words
provided for us by our prayer books, and we have the prayers of the people, we
have spiritual songs and hymns that give voice to our hopes and longings and
fears and triumphs. We have an extensive vocabulary.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt;">But these two mystics teach us that prayer is so much more than
that. Prayer is exposing ourselves to
the divine, being vulnerable to God. It is being willing to discipline
ourselves in prayer, to being silence, to seeking God in the difficult parts of
life, to clinging to the faithfulness of God no matter what is happening to and
around us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt;">Prayer is painful. To truly
journey to the heart of God is not a pleasant experience – because in doing so
we confront ourselves, and we touch something greater than we can ever
comprehend. When we are open to God in
prayer we take away all other supports and all of the things we rely on to make
us comfortable, we are willing to bear the spiritual wilderness and face up to
our fears, even to death itself. In
order that we might find our way to resurrection.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt;">We are encouraged to not let our hearts be troubled, to hold fast
to the knowledge of Christ’s faithfulness even in that face of death – to cling
to the one who is the way of truth and life.
But when we find ourselves stripped before God we might not feel that
sense of reassurance that we long for.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt;">That’s where the examples of those through the ages who teach us
about God being in the midst of the darkness, the God who is there when we
don’t feel she is – the God who is faithful – this is where their examples can
bring us encouragement. To hold on, or
as John Bell Scottish writer and member of the Iona Community once said ‘we
grasp God, that we may be grasped by God in return’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt;">These faithful pilgrims, our sister and brother in faith,
encourage us to be faithful ourselves in whatever situations we find
ourselves. They encourage us to travel
deeper into faith, even when the way seems frightening and desolate. They
remind us that God is not easily found in comfort and complacency, but in struggle and discipline. They remind us that faith is risky, and that
prayer is dangerous. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">They remind us that
God will sometimes speak through the earthquake, wind and fire with the still
small voice of peace. But that we may
have to endure the shaking and fear before our eyes and ears are able to hear the
profound stillness of God.</span>Alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117533964126439556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608660058903144060.post-76555993709578167022014-10-15T19:13:00.003+01:002014-10-15T22:51:06.967+01:00A 12 Step Eucharist SermonPreached on October 14th at Christ Church Cathedral, Victoria.<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2011:37-41&version=VOICE" target="_blank">Luke 11.37-41</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 20.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">Amazing Grace<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">We live in a
society that often seems obsessed with how we look… the clothes we wear, the
way our hair looks, or the state of our skin, whether we eat right, exercise,
look buff, whatever… We are obsessed
with how things seem, how they look, what impression we give.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">But that’s not a
new phenomenon, as the reading today indicates.
Jesus condemns those who are obsessed with religious observance at the
expense of true devotion – particularly those who actually use their religion
to distract from the true intent of their hearts – a desire to be SEEN to be
proper, to act in the appropriate way and to get credit for the way they
appear. In the older translations of the
Bible later on in this passage Jesus calls these types ‘whitewashed tombs’ – meaning it all looks nice
and well cared for on the outside, but you really don’t want to know what’s
going on underneath.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">But for those of
us who know ourselves, who have looking inside ourselves – we often feel the
other way around. That we are afraid of what is inside us, or we are ashamed of
what happens under the surface – we don’t want people to know what is going on
‘in here’ because we feel so inadequate, or bad – the word we often use in the
Church is ‘sinful’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">It is hard to open
up – to others, and to God, because we are afraid what they will see,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">I don’t know about
you, but when I pray about the God who knows all the secrets of our hearts, or
when I read about Jesus saying ‘nothing that hidden will remain hidden but all
will be brought to light’. When I read in the story of the choosing of King
David that though he was the smallest of his family God saw what was inside him
‘for mortals look at the outward appearance but God looks at the heart’. When the Bible talks about God looking within
– I get a little bit fearful. It can
cause a certain amount of anxiety.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">What if God
doesn’t like what God sees? What if I am not worthy, or God takes offence at
something I’ve done, or said, or even worse – something I’ve thought?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">I would love to be
someone, and I hope to be someone from whom goodness overflows from within – as
our reading today said. But I often feel
as though I am not. I worry that all my
good works, all the kindness I try to show, all the words I say are just a
cover up job for my general feeling of brokenness and the wrong I know I am
capable of.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">There’s an urban
legend that does the rounds every now and then about a University professor who
called around a city at random and just says to whoever answers the phone
‘everyone knows, the secret’s out, get away quick’ and that a significant
number of people did, in response to that random call, pack up and get out of
town. It’s an urban legend, so I doubt
the truth of it, but I do recognise that inside myself, and I am sure inside
many of us, there is a feeling that we are perhaps just waiting to get found
out. That there is stuff within us that we don’t like, that if people truly
knew what we were like, if God truly knew what we are like, we would be
rejected.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Well, here’s the
secret.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">God truly knows
what we are like. And God loves us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The more I read
the Bible, the more I see the stories of our ancestors in all of their
imperfections and the horrendous mistakes and the violence that characterised
their lives, and the wrong things that they did – the more I see of a God who
chooses to use imperfect people, who teaches us to use our mistakes to grow,
who does not condemn us, who loves us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">So when Jesus
questions the motives of the religious leaders, as he does in today’s reading,
I don’t think he does it as a threat, or a condemnation – but as an expression
of sadness at how we sometimes don’t let the light into our hearts. When I realise that God searches my heart, I
realise that God doesn’t do so to condemn or judge me, but in order that I might
open myself up to love, to hope, to faith.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The word is Grace.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Grace doesn’t ask
us to be worthy. Grace doesn’t demand that we are good before we are loved.
Grace doesn’t hold our mistakes or our wrongdoings up before us and say ‘you
are bad’. Grace loves us – as we are,
where we are, who we are. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Grace doesn’t call
us to be perfect before we know we are loved.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Grace doesn’t
demand that we get everything right before we are forgiven.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Grace doesn’t make
us pull ourselves up by the bootstraps and do better. Grace works with us to transform us, to help
us, to guide us, to strengthen us, to bless us, to love us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117533964126439556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608660058903144060.post-91697030879031641902014-09-25T03:38:00.001+01:002014-09-25T03:38:12.493+01:00Law, Liberation, Life, LoveAnother sermon from today, same readings, different event (this time a short Eucharist for the ACW - Anglican Church Women - group here in Victoria)<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=278612305" target="_blank">Proverbs 30.5-9</a></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=278612305" target="_blank">Psalm 119.105-112</a></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=278612305" target="_blank">Luke 9.1-6</a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Words<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">‘</span></b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Your word is a lantern to my feet and a light
upon my path’ proclaims the Psalmist. Which is nice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">But what does he mean?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Well, when the Psalmist is speaking, and
indeed when the compilers of the proverbs are writing the definition of the
word is quite clear – it is the law.
God’s law – the commandments, all 613 of them. For in the commandments – far from the
impression we have in Christian circles, is a sense of liberation and joy, a
sense of ‘this is how we please God – by living by these commands’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">And these commandments are so special, so
wonderful, so life-giving that even now any adult member of the Jewish
community becomes, on their transition into adulthood a <i>bar</i> or <i>bat</i> Mitzvah – a
son or daughter of the law. Even now, as
they have done for hundreds, thousands, of years, Jewish scholars and writers
dedicate themselves to an understanding and interpretation of the commandments
– believing that fullness of life is found within obedience to the word, the
law of the Lord. Or as it says elsewhere
in the Psalms ‘your statutes are my delight’.
How often do we think of delight, of joy, of freedom when we consider
the law of the Lord – the word to which the Psalmist and the Proverbs
refer? How often is this idea of law
taken as a liberation and as an expression of the freedom God desires?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">For within the law are not just the ten
commandments – that’s a particularly Christian concept – nor are there only
laws about religious ritual. In the law are considerations of justice and
fairness, of how we live together with care for one another, of how each member
of the community should behave in order that there might be peace- Shalom –
wholeness. There are considerations towards the stranger, the alien, and
towards the poor and needy and sick. There are guidelines about what to eat not
just for religious but practical reasons – I mean, eating shellfish in the
desert before refrigeration… not a sensible idea. Pork, when it is not subject to the kind of
rigour that pork farming is now, is stuffed with all sorts of unpleasant
parasites and diseases. These laws
became part of a ritual food code, but started as some pretty sensible advice
for the wandering people of Israel! The
law is meant to take away the stress of living, and show us how to relate to
God and one another, faithfully and joyfully. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">As Christians we kind of hijacked the idea of
law, taking a cue from Paul and holding up the law as oppressive, negative,
bound by rules and regulations, and in sharp contrast to the life found in
grace in Christ. I don’t actually believe that this is what Paul meant, for in
Chapter 7 of his most exquisite and nuanced theological work – the letter to
the Romans – he says ‘I delight in the law of God’. And I am certain that this
negative view of law is not what Jesus meant when he talked of himself as the
fulfilling of the law. Or said that not
one iota of the law would pass away until all is fulfilled…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The law, the word of God is considered to be
life-giving, life affirming, life-changing.
It is meant to be a way in which we see God’s inmost desired and we are
encouraged to meditate on this law and to live by it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">But like so many bits of scripture, I would
say that it is not the words themselves that are to be our focus – but the
meaning behind the words. The law seeks
to frame an attitude towards God, not to bind us in a blind obedience, but
calls us into deeper, richer, more profound relationship with God. Indeed, in
our Christian tradition the whole of scripture calls us that way – and though
the Church often focusses on the words of Scripture it is the Word within
Scripture we are called to discern.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Ooooer, I hear you think, what does the
Rector mean by that?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Don’t get me wrong, I love words, I love
reading, I love playing with words. And I am the same with Scripture – I love
to meditate, consider, struggle with, think on, pray on and learn from
scripture. But the words in themselves are not where God resides – I do not
worship the Bible, I worship the one Word, who we call Christ. In the well known prologue to St John’s
Gospel we hear the words used at pretty much every Christmas Night service ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God and the Word was God.’ In
the Greek the term is logos. The logos is the expression of God – the breath of
God gone forth in substance. The reality of God made manifest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Within the words of Scripture, I seek the
Word of God. I look for where the Christ leads me, I listen for the voice of
God and long to feel breath of God ruffle the pages of my Bible. It is this
word which brings the words of our Bibles to life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">We don’t worship ink and paper. It is
disturbing to see how many seek to enshrine the living, breathing, vibrant
spirit of God in words and phrases pulled from a book. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Christian faith, following Christ, is
actually a much harder, higher, more exciting calling than that. It is to be in relationship with a God who is
experienced in prayer, in worship, in sacrament, in love, and yes in study of
scripture. But not a God trapped in
scripture, we are called to discern the word behind the words, the life behind
the scriptures.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">And it is the task of each of us to set our
minds and hearts on this discovery – together, seeking to discern the life of
God. When we trap our understanding of
God in words, or traditions, institutions or even just habits of worship then
we miss out on the true and living Word.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">For a faithful Jew, the life of the law comes
from being excited about and by the life behind the commandments. For those of us who follow in the footsteps
of Jesus, our fullness of life comes from a relationship with him through our
common life, through our care for one another and of all in need, through our
shared experience of worship and prayer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">And as I said at the early service this
morning (my last sermon, found below), taking my cue from the Gospel reading where the disciples are sent out
with nothing, not even money or bread - we are not to be distracted – whether
it be by the minutiae of biblical verses, or our own comfort, or the way we
like Church to be – but to live fully in the life of Christ, abundant,
transforming, hopeful, loving, faithful life – that all the world might know
and be transformed by it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117533964126439556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608660058903144060.post-37849611451617915762014-09-25T03:32:00.003+01:002014-09-25T03:33:37.238+01:00Dust and FeetA sermon preached at our midweek early morning Eucharist in <a href="http://www.stjohnthedivine.bc.ca/" target="_blank">St John The Divine</a>, Victoria<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=278612305" target="_blank">Proverbs 30.5-9</a></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=278612305" target="_blank">Psalm 119.105-112</a></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=278612305" target="_blank">Luke 9.1-6</a></div>
<br />
<b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Dust and feet</span></b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">In today’s Gospel
reading, which is the one I want to focus on this morning, there is a
declaration made by Jesus which I have found troubling since I first heard
it. It’s that bit about ‘wherever they
do not welcome you, as you are leaving that town shake the dust off your feet
as a testimony against them’ <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Really? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">In Matthew’s
account (today’s reading was from Luke) it goes even further ‘Truly I say to
you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of
judgment than for that city.’ <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">This reminds me of
my introduction to my first ever parish where the Rector announced to the
congregation – Alastair comes as Curate to our community, and we hope that as
he comes to us he will bring peace, and that peace will rest on us – and that
he won’t turn away and say ‘Sodom’…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Which got a
slightly scandalised laugh from the congregation! Which was the point and broke the ice
somewhat…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">But these harsh
words seem so odd from the mouth of Jesus – what is he saying? Is he really
giving up on those who do not hear the message on first blush – is he really
consigning to judgement those who do not accept the disciples as they share
this message of the good news. It certainly doesn’t sound like good news if
there are people excluded, for whatever reason, from the party!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">I suspect that
these words were said by Jesus – as most scholars agree that the most authentic
parts of scripture, most likely to be accurately recorded and passed on, are
the difficult bits – the bits we find uncomfortable. The bits that the early
Church would find uncomfortable as they sought to bring all into the life of
Christ. The logic goes that if they made
a point of recording it and passing it on even though it’s difficult then the
chances are it did actually come from Jesus as if it was from elsewhere they
would have been more likely to edit it out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">So we have these
words, but like all faithful followers we are called to question. What does
this actually mean? Who was it said to and why? What is the meaning behind and
within these statements…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">I think that these
words are less a judgement on non-believers than an encouragement to us. They remind us that not all will hear and
accept the message of faith – that it is right not to browbeat, cajole or force
people into accepting our way of seeing the world. Jesus is simply
acknowledging that some won’t get it, and won’t want to get it. As for the consequences of this, it is for
God to sort out, not for us to pronounce judgement. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">As an aside, the
comment about Sodom and Gomorrah is about the lack of hospitality shown by
those cities – something that is considered sacrosanct in middle eastern
nomadic societies where survival is often dependent on supporting and caring
for one another. Throughout scripture we
are shown the importance of hospitality and welcome, including the famous
statement by the author of the letter to the Hebrews “Do not neglect to show
hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">And as for shaking
off the dust. I think this was for those
first disciples, and indeed is for us, a comment about not carrying with us our
failures, or rejection, or negativity. Let nothing hinder us from our sharing
of the life of Christ – do not be distracted. When the disciples were sent out
with nothing, not even staff, bag, bread, money or a change of tunic, they were
being encouraged to depend only on God, to strip away anything that might give
a false sense of security, anything that might possibly make them think about
anything other than what we call the ‘kingdom’ or the ‘reign’ of God. This is
to be something that is so focussed, so intentional, so much at the heart and
the foundation of what we as Christ followers are about that we are to let
nothing distract us. Not even our failures.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Which should give
us cause to think again about those things which might be distracting us from
our calling to live and to be the good news to this world. I think that we are too comfortable, too
distracted – and I certainly include myself in this. We are rarely confronted
with our calling to give of ourselves to others. From that place of knowing ourselves loved,
called, graced and embraced should come hearts and minds and lives which are
consumed with the love of God. And from this spiritual foundation comes our
calling to be and to bring the Good news – we are called in word and deed to
proclaim God’s radical message, love for all, feeding the hungry, clothing the
naked, confronting the powerful and abusive, bringing comfort for the afflicted
– living out the values of God’s kingdom and seeking to make those values real
in our own spiritual community and in the community around us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">It’s a scary
calling. It’s a spiritual calling. It’s a shared calling. It is something we as
a community are being called to – this isn’t one of those ‘what are you doing
because it all depends on you’ callings, but to ask what our part is within a
community that seeks to live and share these values. Perhaps our calling is to pray, to give of
our time, talents or money , perhaps our calling is to volunteer, perhaps our
calling is to listen to where God is leading us and to respond.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Whatever our
calling, the question that comes back to us is this – what do we cling to or
carry around like dust on our feet that prevents us from fully entering into
this wonderful, distressing, challenging, transforming life which Jesus calls
us to and what do we need to leave behind that we too might be a community
which is living the power of the spirit in transforming this world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117533964126439556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608660058903144060.post-41891307687141551202014-06-06T00:39:00.003+01:002014-06-06T01:17:48.877+01:00Bibliography for Dissertation<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">References</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Cited works</span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Avery, Brice <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">1996</i> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Pastoral Encounter</b> London: Marshall
Pickering </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Campbell, Alastair V <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">1993</i> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Rediscovering Pastoral Care</b> London:
Darton, Longman & Todd </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Dominion, J <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">1976 </i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Authority</b> Burns & Oates: London</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Green, J B & McKnight, S (eds.) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">1992</i>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Dictionary of Jesus & The Gospels</b>
Dower’s Green, IVP</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Harris, John C <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">1977 </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Stress,
Power and Ministry</b> Washington: The Alban Institute </span><span lang="EN-GB"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Howard, Roland <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">1996 </i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Rise And Fall Of The Nine O’Clock
Service</b> London: Mowbrays</span><span lang="EN-GB"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Jamieson, Penny <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">1997</i> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Living at the Edge: sacrament and
solidarity in leadership</b> London, Mowbray’s</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Kittel G & Friedrich G (Eds.), <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">1967</i>,<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Theological
Dictionary of the New Testament: Volume 2</b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>Grand Rapids, Eerdmans</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Komonchak, J A, Collins, M & Lane, D A (eds.) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">1987 </i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The New Dictionary of
Theology</b> Dublin: Gill & MacMillan </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Lake, Frank <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">1994 </i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Clinical Theology </b>(Abridged by <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Martin H Yeomans</i>) London: Darton,
Longman & Todd</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Middleton, J R & Walsh, B J <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">1995</i>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Truth is stranger than it used to be</b>
London, SPCK</span><span lang="EN-GB"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Pattison, Stephen <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">1993 </i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">A Critique of Pastoral Care</b> London: SCM</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Powell, Cyril<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>H <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">1963</i> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Biblical Concept of Power</b> London, The Epworth Press</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Reid, Bruce <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">1974</i> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Dynamics Of Religion </b>London:
Darton, Longman & Todd</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Richardson, Alan <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">1962 </i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">A theological word book of the Bible</b>
London, SCM Press </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Riddell, Michael <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">1998</i> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Threshold Of The Future</b> London: SPCK</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Tomlinson, Dave <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">1995</i> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Post-Evangelical</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>London: Triangle</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Bible</span></b></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1995 </span></i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">New
Revised Standard Version</span></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> (Anglicised
edition)</span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> Oxford: The University Press </span></div>
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<br />Alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117533964126439556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608660058903144060.post-50510027393147442442014-06-05T20:22:00.001+01:002014-06-06T01:11:55.058+01:00The Last Chapter - some conclusions on Power and Pastoral Ministry<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The nature of power in
Pastoral Ministry</span></b><span lang="EN-GB"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Chapter 5</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Observations
and Conclusions </span></i><span lang="EN-GB"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">The purpose of this study
has been to make it clear that to attempt to deny or ignore the power inherent
in Pastoral encounters is deluded and opens the way to serious, though often
unconscious, abuses of the power that exists whether it is acknowledged or
not. This acknowledgement of power and
the acceptance of the authority conveyed upon those engaged in pastoral
ministry is the beginning of any attempt to move on and tackle the related
issues that arise in pastoral work. The
presence of power will, whether known or not, influence any pastoral encounter
for ill or for better. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">As discussed in the previous
chapter, the church structure within which power is exercised and from which
authority for ministry is gained is often blamed for individual failures to use
power appropriately. While it is true
that the ‘senior executives’ within the church - whether they be elders,
Bishops, Archdeacons, Superintendents or otherwise, - often have a strong
influence over the Christian community it is recognised more and more that the
authority these individuals hold is dependent upon acceptance from those who
are part of the main body of the church.
In this way issues such as hierarchy, power sharing and accountability
are being placed on the everyday agenda of the ministry of the church. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">The Church of England has
always located the ultimate authority of a given situation in one individual -
the Bishop, priest or other figure. This
has given those in pastoral ministry in that denomination a sense of
accountability and responsibility due to the power invested in them. This has not always been successful but has
offered a working model for the Anglican Church for a number of generations. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">The truth is, that without an
obvious location of power and responsibility then power often comes out in
other ways. Churches that claim no one
leader will often still have an individual who, through the dynamics of the
group, will be an unconscious bearer of power, with the ability to influence
the congregation accordingly. This offers
more dangers than the model of a defined role taken by one person who, though
working as part of and on behalf of the fellowship is the one on whom
responsibility will lie. At least in
such a model there is some form of accountability. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">It is important to
acknowledge the ‘power factor’ in a pastoral relationship. This process involves a certain amount of
vulnerability on the part of the pastor and the client, but it is one which,
having made the issues known, leaves less room for unacknowledged power to
sabotage the process.</span></span></span></div>
<h2 style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span></h2>
<h2 style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Three
Steps in Moving Forward</span></span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">The first step in moving
towards more open pastoral relationships is to examine the dynamics that inform
the process of pastoral encounter. This
is the concern of Dr Brice Avery (1996)as stated in Chapter Three. Therefore the position of client and pastor
must be made clear and the, often unconscious, motivations of each must be
examined. This is not to advocate that
the pastor offers all of her or his misgivings, vulnerabilities, strengths and
weaknesses to the client, thereby disempowering him or herself, but that, from
the very beginning, there will be an awareness of the underlying issues of
power and authority that flow quite naturally within a pastoral
relationship. Brice Avery (1996: 46) tells
us,</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">“The
activity in the best of pastoral encounters is one in which the pastoral pair <i>work together</i> to reveal, for reflection,
activities on the emotional level that the client had, until then, been unaware
of.” (Italics mine)</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">Recognition of the nature of
the power relationship that will exist in such an encounter is the beginning of
working together in order to bring about such revelations. Pastors, especially Christian pastors, must embark on the long journey of
self-awareness, informed by reflection, scriptural understanding and personal
honesty that will allow them to be truly aware of their motivations and
desires, and not allow them to subvert the true purpose of the pastoral
encounter, to bring about the increased well-being of those who seek the
pastor’s aid. Campbell (1993: 99) states</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">“Because
caring is an interaction in areas of life where helper and helped are <i>both</i> vulnerable, the person who claims
to care must learn to recognize the intrusive quality of his or her own needs.”</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">Without this
self-understanding and self-knowledge the pastor is liable to be living out
unresolved issues, playing out fantasies and serving her or his own ends in the
pastoral encounter and thereby making it impossible to engage in a deeper
relationship, a relationship of trust - in this case the client will find it
difficult to open up to a pastor, as Harris (1977: 48) tells us “…a trusting
climate is necessary if an individual is to see purpose in relaxing his defenses,
in opening up his life and concern to others.”</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">The second step in making
pastoral relationships more open and more constructive is concerned with the
consideration of the roots of pastoral ministry which, certainly in the church,
are found in the early history of the church and in the life and ministry of
Jesus. With this basis we find a
critique of any aspects of power which involve control or manipulation, and the
ideal of the pastoral community as one of mutuality and sharing. In looking at certain biblical material in
this study we have not sought to claim that only Christian pastoral contact is
of any value, but that all pastoral ministry can be informed by the example
firstly of Jesus and secondly of the primitive church that struggled to care
for those it met, even while the church was subject to persecution, in the
early years of its life.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">The issues of ‘power’ and
‘authority’ which stand out so strongly in the life of Jesus and in the
writings of the New Testament are tied up with the need for the pastor to be
grounded in the life of the spirit and with the community of faith. This is the natural outcome of the struggles
of the earliest generations of the church between ‘charismatic’ and ‘institutional’
power being located in leaders. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">At best, power that is
acknowledged as institutional offers, a safeguard against the extreme abuses of
pastoral power. This power is rooted in the
understanding that Jesus found his home among those he trusted and gave them
the authority to continue his work.
These were the founders of the heritage to which the church clings
today. Power and authority are indeed
dangerous, unstable concepts, yet Jesus was unafraid to speak with authority
and to follow the leading of compassion and commitment to others event when it
brought criticism. This, indeed, is the
calling of pastors in every age, to be committed to the appropriate use of
power in encountering those who seek help.
</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">Ultimately the call of the
pastor is to encourage healing and wholeness, recognising her or his own need
for that healing and wholeness. Jesus
offers us a model of humanity which allows us to feel, to weep and laugh
alongside those who are travelling with us through our journey in life. Harris (1997:
167) writes that pastors must “…learn to focus on the struggles of their people
to be more fully human. The aim and
purpose of Christ’s ministry was that human beings might live more abundantly.”
This is the aim of pastoral relationships within the church.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">As a third step to fuller
pastoral contact we must bear in mind the <i>ongoing</i>
dynamic of the pastoral encounter within the community. This study is concerned to make clear the
idea of community as the background and basis of any genuine pastoral
encounter, whether it be through the network of persons in church fellowships
or the fact that the minister represents and works on behalf of the community.
Pastoral authority and power, to be used appropriately, must be made to exist
in relationship to the community of faith or pastoral organisation from which
the pastor works and such power must be acknowledged as part of the ministry of
the church, not just a personal control over others.. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">Pastoral ministry, certainly
in the long term, can only be effective, and perhaps safe, agains the background
of community. Those who are pastoral
ministers gain their identity, their authority, their grounding in being a part
of and coming from a community or organisation from which they derive their
power and authority. For the Christian
pastor that community comprises of the church, both on the level of individual
fellowships and on the structural level of the church at large. A Christian minister is recognised as having
power due to the social, historical and tradition-based processes that have
made the church what it is now. Even for
those who have no active involvement in the church the minister will be an
approachable figure because of their
office as well as, or even in spite of, who they are as a human being. Though exploring one’s full humanity must be
a part of the ministerial task.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">Because of this ‘rootedness’
in the community, the minister must always be accountable to the group she or
he represents and speaks for. To
facilitate this the pastor must be transparent, honest and open to the community
for and to which she or he ministers. This involves, from the start,
acknowledging the presence of power in pastoral encounters and being willing
and able to work on the issues involved together. If the pastor genuinely finds their grounding
in the life of the community then there is the potential for a relationship of
trust which is essential for power to be truly shared. This concern can be tackled initially by the
desire to bring about mutuality in pastoral relationships. Harris (1977: 71) borrowing
a phrase from Rollo May, talks in terms of ministers not having ‘power <u>over</u>
the members (of the Community) but power <u>with</u> them.”</span></span></span></div>
<h2 style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span></h2>
<h2 style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Pastoral
Power grounded in community</span></span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">Apart from the community the
pastor has no power to offer authentic pastoral assistance, for it is by the
commission of the community that he or she derives authentic pastoral
power. There will be times when healing
and wholeness can only be brought within a community, and the leader must hand
over to the pastoral community to allow the worshipping fellowship to do that
work. Frank Lake (1994: 14) makes the
observation that </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">“It is in
such a Christian community that the resources of Christ are meant to work. It would be a departure from the New
Testament pattern to set up separate clergymen working like therapists and
general practitioners in isolation from the Body of Christ. The resources of God are mediated in the
whole life of the Christian fellowship…”</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">It must be admitted that for
the leader of a community it can be a risk, it can be costly letting go. At a certain level, sharing power allows more
opportunity for mistakes to be made and more potential for failure, simply due
to the fact that more people are a part of the pastoral process. On the other hand holding power has the
danger of one person’s failure being ultimately equally or even more damaging
than a community sharing responsibility.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">If, as discussed in the
previous chapter, the role of the pastor is partly about being one who can
foster and appropriate dependence on themselves within the community, it is
only done in order to move individuals beyond ‘extra-dependence’ to ‘intra-dependence’. In other words, as Dominian (1976: 98) says,
“Although we are born in a state of dependence, the meaning of life is not to
be found in dependence but relationship.”
This stresses the need for a mutuality in pastoral communities. As Harris (1977: 60) explains, “Power is a
social process. In its best forms, power
is expressed as people speak and act together in a climate of mutual respect.”
In pastoral care the aim must be to empower people in such a way that it
facilitates both their own healing and the healing of others.</span></span></span></div>
<h2 style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span></h2>
<h2 style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Beyond
the Church</span></span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">Though this discussion has
been concerned with a critique of power within the church, there must never be
any doubt that the care that the church offers must be for society at large,
not for a select group seeking to be comfortable and well-adjusted at the
expense of others. Just as many caring
agencies seek to assist <i>any</i> in need,
the care of the church must be open to all who come. Pattison (1993: 15) states that</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">“One
feature of the experience of pastoral care today which is very important is the
fact that while pastoral care may be carried on primarily in, or on behalf of
particular Christian communities, it cannot be directed solely towards
Christians.”</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">This is the ‘Mission’ of the
church in its broadest sense - working in common with other pastoral agencies
to bring healing and wholeness to an often broken and confused humanity. This mission, for the Christian, reflects
faith in a God whose ultimate aim is the healing of creation, a work that is
performed by those that seek to do the work of healing as part of the Christian
vocation.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">Pastoral care is needed by
the world, by society as a whole, and the church is called to model healing
relationships, appropriate dependence and authority without abuse. Dominian (1976: 78) writes</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">“…ultimately,
what society is seeking is that the model of authority should be one of
integrity, wholeness, holiness, wisdom and love and not based on the power of
money, coercion, violence and subjugation of others.”</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">In the present era, when so
many values and ideas are being questioned, people are turning to people they
can trust rather than to ‘meta-narratives’ or cosmic explanations. If the future paradigm, the future
‘philosophy’, of western culture is to be relational, then the Christian
community of faith must live in relationship to one another and the world in
such a way as to demonstrate the love and freedom that their faith aspires to.</span></span></span></div>
<h2 style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span></h2>
<h2 style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Word
and Deed</span></span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">In any pastoral encounter
words and deeds, teaching and practice, must both work together. It is impossible to pay lip-service to empowerment
and then retain old methods of control and still retain any credibility with
those who seek the aid of the pastor.
The authenticity of such a ministry would soon come under question. The pastor cannot claim to be mutual and
concerned with sharing if their model of ministry is still dictatorial and
manipulative. Therefore, those who hold positions of pastoral responsibility
must take risks in allowing the community of which she or he is a part to be
responsible for their own healing. If we
are, however, to follow the example of Jesus as pastor then we must acknowledge
the client’s part in their own move towards wholeness. Pastors must live by values that allow them
to empower those they serve as well as talking about such values. Hannah Arends,
quoted by Harris (1977) writes</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">“Power is
actualized only when word and deed have not parted company, where words are not
empty and deeds are not brutal, where words are not used to violate and destroy
but to establish relations and create new realities.”</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">If pastoral care is about creating
a new reality in the lives of those who are seeking wholeness and healing then
power and authority must be part of a system that allows for its appropriate
manifestation. Those who are particularly responsible for the administration of
pastoral care, and there will always be individuals whose calling is to
particularly minister pastorally on behalf of the community, must be willing
and open to admit their limitations, to allow the community to be a resource
and encourage partnership in the pastoral process. There is no room for the kind of relationship
where a pastor tells a client exactly how to lead their life, though there may
be times when an authoritative pronouncement is appropriate. Instead we have sought to express mutuality,
transparency and accountability in pastoral relationships. When the pastor is seen as a person of
integrity, speaking from and as a part of a pastoral community she or he
embodies and authority that is representative and persuasive rather than
manipulative and coercive, in short, Harris (1977: 79) talks about it in terms
of “…the difference between authority and control, the capacity to have one’s
advice and insight taken seriously, verses the power to decide what happens.”</span></span></span></div>
<h2 style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span></h2>
<h2 style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Conclusions</span></span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">The pastor is a person of
authority, and that authority is part of the heritage of the Christian
community. The authority to offer
forgiveness, love, healing, wholeness.
This is a process where that authority is bestowed by the institution of
the church, but is also made real and effective by the spiritual and emotional
power that comes from integrity.
Integrity has been a much used word in this study, with a belief that
the reader will make their own assumptions as to the meaning of the word ,but a
definition given by Alastair Campbell (1993: 12) adds some meaning in relation
to our subject, Campbell writes</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">“When we
speak of someone possessing ‘integrity’ we are trying to describe a quality of
character for which the word ‘honesty’ may be too weak a synonym. To possess integrity is to be incapable of
compromising that which we believe to be true.” </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">The ultimate conclusion of
this study is that fostering responsibility and integrity is the only solution
to the difficulties of issues around pastoral power and authority. Those who are called to exercise a pastoral
ministry <i>must</i> be grounded in
community, aware of self, and seeking to do what is right for others and for
themselves. All these must be believed
to be true in order for the pastor to be truly a person of integrity. When
pastoral power, and the authority of the church, is to be exercised then it
must be done by those committed to assist their fellow travellers to live life
to its fullest extent. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">The conclusion of this study
is one made on a personal level, it must be those who are pastors who have the
responsibility to care for themselves and be honest with themselves in order
that they may care for others. It is
difficult to impose any structural changes that could foster this beyond what
seems obvious, that pastors need supervision, support and accountability
structures both within and without the local fellowship in order to facilitate
this. The church is beginning to take
seriously commercial and managerial models of support, but these cannot be
simply transferred into ecclesiastical structures, they will need translation,
interpretation and adaption. The church
at large is recognising the need for change, and as we end this study our hope
is that this recognition will grow and develop.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">There will be tensions on
this journey, as Harris (1977: 171) writes</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">“…the
practicing minister needs constantly to balance opposing tendencies within
himself, and between himself and the congregation…He is continually caught, for
example in at least three fundamental tensions: the tension between comforting
and confronting, between controlling and sharing control with others, between
encouraging healthy dependence and stimulating growth toward interdependence.”</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">This tension is where this
study ends, we recognise that the issues brought up by this work are not easy
ones, nor are they easily defined. For
the church to continue to function in service to the world and faithful to the
gospel, however, the issues must be faced by all of those who offer pastoral
care on its behalf. Pastoral power is an
unavoidable part of the pastoral encounter, and must be acknowledged, accepted
and worked with, rather than ignored, repressed and allowed to cause damage to
those who come seeking guidance and help from ministers.</span></span></span></div>
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Alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117533964126439556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608660058903144060.post-24022680654799921502014-06-05T20:01:00.004+01:002014-06-06T01:10:36.098+01:00Power and Pastoral Ministry - Chapter Four (the Penultimate Chapter)<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The nature of power in
Pastoral Ministry</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Chapter 4</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The
use of power, and its abuses</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">In the previous chapter we
saw how power has been an integral part of the ministry of the Church since
it’s inception, by the example of the power and authority within the ministry
of Jesus and by the authority conferred onto the Apostles and subsequent leaders
of the Church.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">Power, and the authority
which often makes that power possible, undergirds the relationship between
client and minister in any pastoral encounter.
The client will have certain expectations, whether right or wrong, and
will usually come to the pastor, to a greater or lesser degree, in a position
of weakness comparative to the strength of the pastor. They will assume the pastor’s ‘expertise’,
‘concern’, ‘compassion’ and ‘wisdom’ exists for the benefit of those who seek
his or her aid or advice. Brice Avery (1996: 34) writes that,</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">“The
essence of a nourishing pastoral encounter is that it teaches people that they
are valued. For those seeking pastoral help this takes place in the very
special relationship with the helper.”</span></span></span></div>
<h2 style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span></h2>
<h2 style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Problems
& Confusions</span></span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">The assumption on the part
of the client that this depth of compassionate relationship is also the wish of
the pastor is one that can influence the pastor for the worst. It can place a pastor in a mindset of superiority,
and leave open the possibility of manipulation or abuse. When the pastor realises the dependence shown
by the client toward them this opens up the possibility of a dangerously
unequal and ultimately abusive relationship.
If this happens it is usually the case that this occurs on an
unconscious level as the pastor often seeks to have their own needs met in the
relationship with a client. This is
probably quite common and not always harmful as client and pastor learn to meet
each other’s needs, but it brings about the possibility of serious difficulties
and ultimately fails to resolve the issues that brought the client to the
pastor in the first place. As Avery (1996: 35) tells us </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">“Re-enacting
our own unresolved inner dramas in the context of a victim of something that we
can identify with is a sort of Taking Disguised as Giving. It can be an unconscious motivation behind
the well-meaning help which characterizes poorly trained counsellors. It is for this reason that all credible
pastoral training revolves around the pastors’ exploration of their own inner
world.” </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">Avery (1996: 40) goes on to
say that it is crucial that “we tell the difference between our own hurts and
those of others.” A good pastor, then, will be concerned with their own
motivations, any tendencies they have towards controlling other, and any
weaknesses in their own character or method that might hinder positive
development in pastoral work. Avery (1996: 41) explains thus:</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">“…the
pastoral encounter requires a partial and mutual emotional immersion of the
pastor and the client: how else is the pastor to know what it is to be like the
client? But, and this is crucial…the
pastor has to know his or her own responses to as wide a range of emotional
contacts as possible to be able to tell the difference between their own
feelings-world and that of the client.”</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">A major danger of pastoral
power, then, is that the minister can use their position to play out their own
fantasies, to attempt to externalise their own hurts and make others the
victims of the pastor’s unresolved difficulties. It is not always so blatant, often both
pastor and client are completely unaware of the issues that form the background
to their relationship, they may not realise that what is really happening is the
projection of the pastor’s hurts, prejudices or agenda on to the client. This is because, as Avery (1996: 41)
explains, in a pastoral relationship where intimacy has begun, </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">“…the border between what is
the pastor and what is the client is blurred and dynamic. It is never completely clear and is always
shifting.”</span></span></span></div>
<h2 style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span></h2>
<h2 style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The
‘Nine O’Clock Service’</span></span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">This leads on to issues of
self-knowledge, supervision and accountability.
It is important to be aware of these issues because they so often negatively influence the
pastoral encounter. The dangers of
self-seeking pastoral power can be seen in the situation that arose around the
Nine O’Clock Service (NOS) in Sheffield.
The situation itself is well documented, especially by Howard
(1996) and the events surrounding the
breakdown of the structures of the group drew the interest, as well as the
scorn, of the national media. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">Essentially the difficulties
of NOS and its eventual demise arose from the power which the leader and
founder, Chris Brain, held over those who worked with him. Brain had an obvious ‘charismatic’ power, many
beleived in Brain’s personal authority and this allowed him power over their
lives, power which turned into manipulation and control. This charismatic power was given the backing
of institutional authority when Brain was ordained in the Church of England,
first deacon, then priest. Without the
knowledge of those in the hierarchy of the Church of England, Brain’s methods
of control and his serious abuses of pastoral power had been legitimised by the
giving of institutional authority and by conferring an office and title upon
him. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">In the introduction to his
detailed study of the situation Roland Howard writes that the story of NOS was
not the story, as the Church of England thought, of a radical new ‘youth
movement’ that empowered members of ‘Youth culture’ but that, as Howard (1996:
6) explains</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">“The real
story is of betrayal and abuse…Moreover, it is of a priest manipulating,
controlling and dominating the minds of several hundred members who thought he
was ministering to them. The real story
is about an insatiable desire for power, which was fulfilled by money and
sexual involvement. This power was power
to damn, power to humiliate, power to enter people’s minds and power to control
them.”</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">This is the danger of
pastoral power, when individuals drawn by the charisma of a leader who they
believe wishes only the best for them, find the trust which has been placed in
that leader is ill-founded and misappropriated for his or her own ends. NOS is an extreme example of how pastoral
relationships can be abused and result in damage rather than healing for the
client, and indeed the pastor. The
result of the Nine O’Clock Service’s difficulties was that the congregation,
hurt and confused, either moved away from the Christian Community altogether,
or needed intense care and counselling to go beyond their wounds and start to
build trust in the pastoral ministry of the church again. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">The principal, though not
sole, agent of the abuses of NOS, Chris Brain, also, needed counselling to
examine his own motivation and the results of his manipulative strategies. It is likely that he was ultimately unaware
of the true extent of the mental and spiritual pain he was inflicting on those
he used to meet his own power-hungry ends.
Howard (1996: 133) tells us that Brain told a national newspaper </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">“To find
that I am some kind of abuser of people I dearly love, in the areas I most
passionately believe in, and thought I had worked so hard for, fills me with
utter despair and I do not know what I can say.
I am sorry for the consequences of what I have done. I can see what I could not see before and I
am profoundly and desperately sorry.”</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">There are questions about
whether this confession and apology is completely genuine, but many of those
associated with Brain do maintain that he seemed to act without full knowledge
of the negative effect he was having on the lives of those who had put
themselves into his hands.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">There is little doubt of the
fact that the structure’s of NOS were in themselves set up to give Brain
complete control, they were engineered so that even in his absence he remained
a ‘shadowy figure in the background.’ Many
church structures in mainstream denominations have the aim of keeping the
minister at the head of the leadership structure, but few function so overtly
to ensure the power of the leader is always felt and powerlessness is
considered appropriate for all others.
The structure was engineered to make all activity of NOS dependent upon
Brain.</span></span></span></div>
<h2 style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span></span></h2>
<h2 style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Oscillation</span></span>
</span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">Dependency is not
necessarily a negative concept, it is possible to have a model of appropriate
dependence upon the pastor. Such a model
would be one which allows the pastor to make painful observations which are
able to move the client on towards healing, one which opens up the
possibilities of fruitful pastoral development and ultimately to self-awareness
and wholeness on the part of the client.
This model of appropriate dependence is put forward by Bruce Reid
(1974) in his book ‘The Dynamics of
Religion’ and revolves around a process which he names ‘oscillation
theory’. Reid (1974: 41) explains</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">“The
picture of the life of the individual is one of periods of engagements with
various tasks, alternating with periods of disengagement which may be creative,
defensive or simply periods of rest, we have called this alternative process
‘oscillation’” </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">This theory is pertinent to
our discussion in this chapter and in the next and so bears some in depth study
as we considering applying its principles to our concerns.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">Reid’s understanding of
‘oscillation’ is introduced by using the image of a child’s dependence upon
parents, as part of the process of maturing.
Reid (1974: 41: 13) uses the example of children learning to swim,
saying that when, for instance, the mother accompanies a child into the
swimming pool the child will strike out and explore the water, returning
occasionally to rest, and gain physical and emotional strength through
reassurance of the presence of mother before striking out further and further
in the pursuit of self sufficiency in the water. This might seem a purely anecdotal argument,
but the Reid’s book carries on to show the application of this analogy to
pastoral life. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">Using a variety of sources
of evidence and by interpreting and applying the works of a number of
psychological and social theorists Reid comes to the conclusion that human
beings need a certain amount of security in their lives, especially in their
relationships, in order to achieve integration as individuals and become a part
of the community/society, in other words, to function fully in everyday
life. He tells us (1974: 15)</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">“We have
used the term ‘oscillation’ to refer to the alternation of the child and the adult
between periods of autonomous activity and periods of physical or symbolic
contact with sources of renewal.”</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">These sources of renewal
take many forms for different people, as stated above, it may simply be rest,
or solitude. It may be ongoing involvement
in a group, or family life. For the
purpose of this essay, though, we will particularly consider being an active
part of the church, or having an active concern for the spiritual side of one’s
life as the main source of renewal for those with whom pastors have most
contact.</span></span></span></div>
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Dependence
& Regression</span></span></b>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">Reid’s concept of
oscillation can be expanded by using the terms ‘regression’ and ‘dependence’
which he uses as the basis for his theory.
Reid contests the often negative uses of these words and explain that
both ‘regression’ and ‘dependence’ can
be <i>functional</i> or <i>dysfunctional</i>. For instance,
to immerse oneself fully into a play or a novel one has to suspend certain
critical faculties which, he claims, amounts to a form of regression. In a similar way, says Reid, participation in
worship involves similar actions. Reid (1974: 23) writes ‘In worship our
thoughts and feelings are engaged by narratives, images and ideas which refer
to a world, or a realm of experience, other than our working or social lives.’ </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">In this way our engagement
with the world of worship does not conflict with our everyday reality. Reid (1974: 24-25)uses the example of the
hymn ‘Dear Lord and Father of Mankind’, stating that to read and sing the lyric
to the hymn, which is concerned with personal submission to God, regret for rebellion against God and
confession of the human tendency to disobedience of God, is to attempt to
engage in a reality beyond the everyday but still a part of it, that is to use
faith-language to express one’s own personal concerns about lifestyle. In this hymn there is a concern that if God
wants the very best for human beings than we are foolish and wrong to ignore,
avoid or disregard God’s will. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">Reid tells us that the
individual who might feel very embarrassed about saying the words to the hymn,
and expressing such submission and humility, in any other context can, without
self-consciousness, embrace the event of joining in the words and of
assimilating their meaning in the context of worship due to a sense of
appropriate dependence and regression.
Because of this positive aspect of appropriate regression and dependence
the words are not considered incongruous with daily living and the individual
does not feel a negative tension between the two realities of the daily
experience of life and work and the experience of worship.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">Reid (1972: 25) elucidates this concept by using
talk of two ‘frames of mind, or ways of experiencing a world.’ He explains these by talking of</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">“…one of
which is oriented towards recognising and dealing with present and future
realities in the ‘public’ world, which we have called W-activity, and one which
is oriented towards images which may be connected with the public world, but
which originates in imagination, ‘in the mind’, which we have called
S-activity. Regression is the process by
which S-activity becomes dominant, and W-activity becomes subsidiary or is
suppressed altogether.”</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">Much of Reid’s thinking is
based around the worship events of the Christian community as the focal point
of the pastoral encounter in the Christian Community. For Reid all pastoral contact takes place
against the background of the worshipping fellowship. From this fellowship the pastor gains their
authority, identity, role and function.
In this is the foundation for all contact between pastor and client.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">For Reid the focal point of
the adult oscillation process is in the gathering of the community at such
events as the Holy Communion, the Eucharist.
At this moment the pastor becomes a facilitator of the community’s
engagement with the reality that exists beyond the everyday. The pastor makes it possible to move to
‘regression’ and because of this an <i>appropriate
dependence</i> is fostered, this is more obviously visible in denominations
where there is a notion of ‘priesthood’ where the priest is the only one able
to ‘preside’ at the sacrament of the Eucharist. Developing this understanding
Reid (1974: 32) uses two terms with regards to ‘dependence’ and, though
lengthy, the appropriate quote is worth giving in full as he explains,</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">“We have
therefore coined the phrase ‘extra-dependence’ where ‘extra-’ means ‘outside’, to refer to
conditions in which the individual may be inferred to regard himself as
dependent upon a person or object other than himself for confirmation,
protection and sustenance.
Correspondingly we use the term ‘intra-dependence’…to refer to
conditions in which the individual may be inferred to regard his confirmation,
protection and sustenance as in his own hands.” </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">Worship, for Reid, is
concerned with allowing the movement from intra- to extra- dependence and back
to intra-dependence. This is the
foundation for Christian activity and of pastoral activity in general - in
allowing people a safe space to ‘receive’ the unconditional love and support of
either God, the pastor or the congregation they can move on to a state of
self-reliance and personal strength.
Whilst wary of simply transplanting this model on to individual pastoral
relationship the model of ‘safe space’ is one that many modern Christian
groups, such as ‘Holy Joe’s’ and ‘Grace’
in London and the ‘Late Late Service’ in Glasgow are striving to model and to
promote.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">It must be noted that the
priest does not become superior to the congregation in these times of
‘extra-dependence’, she or he remains as part of the community and, through the
use of authorises or accepted forms, words, orders of service, takes on a role
in common with the people as well as distinct from. Without a congregation, except in Roman
Catholic churches, the Communion cannot occur, and even in Roman Churches the
theological justification of ‘The Communion of The Saints’ sets the background
at which the priest is able to celebrate the Eucharist alone.</span></span></span></div>
<h2 style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span></h2>
<h2 style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Beyond
Reid’s theories</span></span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">If Reid is correct, and the
assumption of this study is that his observations <i>are</i> useful and helpful, then it can be inferred that the pastor gains identity from the community
of faith. Authority and Pastoral power,
as mentioned in Chapter 1 above are taken from one’s position in the community
or organisation to which the pastor is connected. Even if an individual exercises an informal
pastoral ministry, with people seeking his or her advice due to a belief in the
wisdom and compassion of that individual, there would still usually be some
recognition by the community (social and/or spiritual) of that individual’s
pastoral role. In Reid’s terms, the
pastor enables a community to move to ‘extra-dependence’ and back to
‘inter-dependence’ when the community acknowledges the pastor’s position and
role. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">To enable this to happen the
pastor seeks to be a part of that community, not apart from it, and they will
gain energy from the ongoing encounter with and within that community and will
therefore be able to reach out to those beyond the community with compassion
and openness. This places the onus for
support of the pastor on the church fellowship, but leaves the pastor in a
position where she or he must be a person of honest and integrity, of
vulnerability and accountability. This
leads us on to look at the structures of the Church.</span></span></span></div>
Alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117533964126439556noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608660058903144060.post-58552354025743976142014-06-05T19:46:00.001+01:002014-06-06T01:09:40.450+01:00Another Chapter - Power in Pastoral Ministry<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The nature of power in
Pastoral Ministry</span></b><span lang="EN-GB"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Chapter 3</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Power structures within the
Church </span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">As the church of the
Apostolic and Post-Apostolic eras had to come to terms with a need to change
the structures by which they operated, so also there is the need for the pastoral
ministers of today to consider the power structures within which they work and
the authority which gives them freedom so to do. The balance between charismatic and
institutional power will always be a difficulty, but one which the church has
the responsibility to take seriously. In
order to maintain any form of accountability the church needs structures which bind
the power a pastor has with the responsibility of representing a larger
organisation, and with the ethos of empowerment that Jesus exhibited in his own
ministry.</span></span></span></div>
<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB"> </span></span></span></h2>
<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">Present day
considerations</span></span></span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">Having considered the way in
which the church has dealt with issues of power and authority historically the subject
leads naturally towards the structures within which that community exists
today, and the way in which the historical basis might usefully inform present
day reflection. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">“Christianity claims that
all authority comes ultimately from God.” Writes Dr Jack Dominion (1976:
7). This has historically given the
hierarchy of the church great scope for justifying the activity, existence,
methods, models of ministry and structure of the church, claiming that the
authority to deal with both the members of the church and with the world
‘outside the church’ is divinely inspired and thereby answerable to none. This understanding is thwarted, we believe,
by the record of the early church found in the New Testament and in the life
and witness of Jesus. </span></span> </span></div>
<h2 style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB"> </span></span></span></h2>
<h2 style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">Structural
Abuses</span></span></span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">For many years the church
has been an ‘authority figure’, and historically it is possible to find many
examples of times the church has taken a role of control and domination rather
than compassion and service. The crusades,
the Spanish Inquisition, pogroms and many other events, as well as general
attitudes and the teaching of the hierarchy give an impression of the church as
an ‘authority figure’ existing to exert undue influence over individuals at the
expense of personal freedom. Expressing
what Campbell calls an ‘unnecessarily extreme view’, Harvey Cox, quoted by
Alastair Campbell (1993: 2) says of the history of the church in pastoral care,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">“…we should
read it more as a cautionary tale than as a treasure house of available
inspiration. We Christians today need to
understand our history as a compulsive neurotic needs to understand his - in
order to see where we veered off, lost genuine options, glimpsed something we
were afraid to pursue, or denied who we really are.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">Many would admit today that
the church has failed, and often still does fail, to live out the values which
it proclaims, of healing, wholeness and care.
It is also true to say that many church leaders have sought temporal and
spiritual control rather than taking pastoral care of those in their
charge. These shortcomings are obvious
and well documented, and cannot be ignored, but the church today is seeking,
and must continue to seek, to recognise the appropriate use of power both as a
response to changing cultural standards and a fresh understanding of the
history of the church and the nature of scripture. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">However, as Campbell (1993: 1)
says, there is a tendency to discard too much, in an effort to distance
ourselves from the failures of the church in the past.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">“…the
temptation to discard everything from the past as irrelevant to our present
situation must be resisted. This would
be an adolescent reaction to the views of past generations, as immature and
inadequate as the false antiquarianism which treats the tradition as
sacrosanct.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">As the last chapter sought
to explore, there is a need to consider the structures of the church and how
they came to be. Alongside this we can
see an ongoing critique within Christianity regarding power that may go some
way to correcting unhelpful developments in the use of power in the church.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">Issues around authority and
the power of the church and its ministers are very much the concern of those who seek today to examine the church in
the light of cultural shifts and take account new understandings of the
responsibilities and the nature of the church.
Bishop Jamieson (1997: 9) explains,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">‘We are a
faith with our own built-in critique and protection against the unwarranted
accumulation of power, so there is a real sense in which Christianity will
never rest authentically on unquestioned structures of power.’</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">As the Christian pastor
works within the constraints of church structures and with, sometimes
unwelcome, ties to the history of that body, there are a number of possible
sources of tension, both creative and destructive, in pastoral ministry. We must also consider the fact that the
hierarchical structures of the church <i>have</i>
been a home for controlling activity and misuse of power. Bishop Jamieson (1997: 53) writes </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">“There are
ways in which the very structure of the Church, its ordered hierarchy,
establishes relationships of responsibility, and power can distort and
sometimes destroy the pastoral ministry of the church.” </span></div>
<h2 style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB"> </span></span></span></h2>
<h2 style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">Changes</span></span></span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">In the church, control and
misuse of power should be subverted by our own scriptural critique. Power is to be acknowledged and shared. The abuse of power runs contrary to the
principles and aims of Christian faith founded on healing and wholeness. But to talk of power openly, and to stress
the need to share power creates for many pastors some anxiety. For many the adjunct to power sharing is a
feeling of powerlessness, and to many ministers this means losing influence
over pastoral context. John Harris
(1977: 56), Anglican Priest and trainer of clergy and laity in Washington DC
writes, </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">“In my experience
pastors now encounter the problem of power (and powerlessness) in three ways: <u>Institutionally</u>,
as they see the church’s peripheral place in society; <u>personally</u>, as
they attempt to resolve confusion about their own roles in the parish; <u>operationally</u>,
as they search for new patterns of congregational leadership that share power
in authentic ways”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">Harris believes that the
many pastors <i>are</i> seeking to work in a
way that recognises the change in the public perception and function of the
church. He also states that ministers,
in an age where change is pretty much a constant, need to constantly assess and
reassess their role, function, style of working and models of ministry. For Harris the changes in understanding and
using power need to be integrated into the structure of the churches, not just
seen as the responsibility of individual pastors. He writes (1977: 61),</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">“As
traditional models of authority have weakened, we have begun to discover <u>the
meaning of collaboration</u> – shared power between pastor and people, church
executives and clergy, in the development of the local church’s ministry.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">Many still turn to a pastor
with an expectation that she or he will have all of the answers, and that she
or he will exert some kind of control by telling them to live, think or believe
as certain way. The structures of the
church have often encouraged this, but with changes in those structures and
with cultural shifts taking place in western, and other, societies there is
some confusion about this role. This is
where ministers may find that the institutional approach of the church, which
might demand obedience and submission, must be subverted by the pastor in order
to allow the healing of those hurt by power as control. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">The pastor can become a
prophetic figure, challenging structures within their own ‘faith community’ in
order to facilitate appropriate uses of power.
It must be remembered that the church does have some kind of authority
with which it has been endowed by its founder, and there will be times that a
pastor can only facilitate healing or growth by speaking from the perspective
of ‘the representative of the Church.’
Some people may only be healed by pronouncement, either the word of
admonition, or absolution, or some other form of declaration which offers the
church’s blessing or guidance. </span></div>
<h2 style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB"> </span></span></span></h2>
<h2 style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">Sharing
Power</span></span></span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">Individuals respond to
pastors in different ways, but often there is, Harris (1997: 61) states “… a
mixture of a yearning to be dependent and a desire for partnership.” This partnership has been the stated aim of
the church for many years, but it is only in the past thirty or so years, with
patterns of ministry changing, churches experiencing slower or negative growth,
less candidates for ordained ministry and other factors that the church as a
whole, and especially the leadership, is
taking seriously the role of all Christian people in the pastoral task. Because of this church structures <i>are</i> changing. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">There are methods of
leadership that seek to take combined Episcopal, clerical and lay involvement
seriously. This has been the case for
many years in a number of denominations, but in the Church of England the
growth in the influence of local, diocesan and General synods has been a mark
of the encouragement of active participation by representatives from the whole
church in the government of the Church of England. There has also been recognition of the need
to involve individual parishes in the selection, training and ‘rooting’ of
ministers - making way for local ministry courses where individuals are
selected and ordained to serve a local area under the guidance of their own
congregation. This are two ongoing
acknowledgements, thought not always perfect, of the role of all believers. They are initial attempts to redress the
imbalance and destructive potential of a ‘top down’ hierarchical model.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">Power sharing is not
powerlessness. This is a message that
needs to be communicated to all those who are involved in pastoral
ministry. Opening up pastoral ministry
in such a way that groups take on responsibility for what ministers do in their
name, and so that pastors acknowledge in pastoral relationships a sense of
‘mutuality’, a ‘shared journey’ in
pastoral encounter, creates more energy, more power for change than
having one individual who is ‘the pastor’ holding power. The term ‘holding’ power is an important one
here, as power that is controlled and released by a single individual is power
that is often misapplied and dysfunctional.
For those who use their position and influence in this way there is
normally a need for control, and this creates dangerous dynamics in pastoral ministry. Bishop Penny Jamieson (1997: 65) explains,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">“When
pastoral care is associated with power, and pastoral ministry moves only in a
single, downward, direction, mutuality is discouraged. At times, this can produce a severe
distortion of the relationship of pastoral care. It implies that one party has everything to
offer, and the other can only receive.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">All of these ideas involve a
large amount of risk. Whether it is
challenging inappropriate structures within and around the community of faith,
or opening up pastoral encounters that may allow the client and others to see
the vulnerability of the pastor, or acknowledging the role of mutuality in any
pastoral relationship. All of this
require a pastor to go somewhere that she or he may not have been before. All of these demand that the pastor negate
the image of him or her self as ‘omni-competent’. In challenging the assumptions that have been
made for many generations the pastor risks disempowerment if her or his
approach is rejected, or if his or her support networks are insufficient to
cope with the demands of a broader approach to pastoral ministry.</span></div>
<h2 style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB"> </span></span></span></h2>
<h2 style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">Difficulties
and Challenges</span></span></span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">It is often easier to tell a
client what he or she should do. It is
easier to project an image of perfection in pastoral encounters that does not
allow for mistakes on the part of the minister.
At least it is easier in the short term.
Those who come to ministers seeking pastoral care also come seeking
authenticity. Healing is hampered by a
lack of honesty. Bishop Jamieson (1996:
65) tells us,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">“…we all
thrive best where giving and receiving are interwoven. This, of course, means that the one offering
the pastoral care needs to give away a certain measure of both distance and
control, and be willing to accept a level of vulnerability – which might well
be costly, but is frequently more healing.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">Without genuine depth within
a pastoral encounter the client is being offered false solutions to
difficulties and superficial assistance and advice. It is also unhealthy for a pastor to continue
with what is ultimately a false act that will eventually leave her or him with
problems of personal identity and integrity.
As Campbell (1993: 102) writes,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">“Without
the discipline of self-examination we shall find ourselves battling against
unseen and enervating forces in our efforts to do what we regard as our
Christian duty. Yet this discipline does
not add a fresh load, piling duty upon duty.
The discipline of knowing self frees us to offer a love grounded in our
own truth, reaching out to the truth in others.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">But as the whole area of
working at an appropriate use of power is so difficult it is important to build
new support structures for pastoral ministry, structures that make provision
for accountability and which acknowledge of the need for transparency in
pastoral contacts. Pastors who seek to
make pastoral encounters more open, more honest and more helpful are liable to
be under great strain on their personal resources, certainly in the first
stages of learning and exercising such relationships. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">Ultimately, the fruitful
kind of pastoral encounter that springs from a relationship of trust and
freedom is energising and liberating for both pastor and client, but until
these relationships are recognised by the structures of the wider church and
the members of the immediate ‘faith community’ then working for such mutuality
is difficult and draining, creating negative forces of anxiety and even fear of
the unknown. Until that fear is faced
and conquered the pastor needs the love and support of the community he works for
and within.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">The structures of the church
present both challenges and opportunities for the pastoral minister. If we do accept the self-critique which
should be foundational to the church then we are able to question, explore and
challenge from the inside. In order to
do this pastor will need to use the authority conferred upon them by their
position within the organisation as well as following the long heritage of
prophetic proclamation against restrictive and ungodly structures which is the
hallmark of authentic Christianity.
Church structures will need to change, but the task of the pastor
representing the church is to learn to hold on to those parts of the tradition
which are valuable, to speak with authority in such a way that challenges the
shortcomings of the church, and to live with integrity as an individual and
fellow-member of the faith community. In
this power and authority are used to express both a teaching/nurturing role for
those who seek pastoral aid and to speak out against that which is negative in
the structures of the church.</span></div>
<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB"> </span></span></span></h2>
<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">Back to
basics?</span></span></span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">If the Church is to take
seriously the model of Jesus as an example of the appropriate attitude towards
and uses of power then those in pastoral ministry are to follow that example
and to take seriously the instructions given to those who seek to continue his
work of compassion and healing.
Middleton and Walsh (1995: 139) state that,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">“Jesus
explained that his followers were to exercise power…in serving each other, ‘for
even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a
ransom for many. (Mk 10:42-45). The <i>imago
Dei</i> as the right use of power is thus equivalent to <i>imitatio Christi</i> (the imitation of Christ.)”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">This understanding of power
in pastoral encounters is both liberating, in that the pastor is freed from the
need to always be ‘in control’ of every situation, and demanding as it requires
responsibility, honesty and humility. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">Michael Riddell (1998: 68)
talks of ‘the dangerous memory of Jesus’- where those who seek to maintain the
remembrance of Christ are those active in subverting accepted structures of
power as control. Jesus had a radical
critique of power. A person of great
personal power and authority, he changed the lives of those he came into
contact with because of his self confident position as ‘God’s representative’
to those he met and through his compassion and his willingness to listen and
respond to the needs of those who encountered him. But as well as the authority which he
obviously carried we must remember the previously mentioned idea of ‘kenosis’,
the emptying of power taken on by Jesus which empowered humanity’s relationship
to God. This has many far-reaching
implications for pastors. Though both our records of Jesus in the Gospels, and
the writings of the Apostolic and Post-Apostolic church offer a very strong
picture of the power inherent in Christian life and ministry there are ‘checks
and balances’ that seek to prevent those who have power taking control of
others lives. Jesus talks of the
responsibility of leaders in a striking way, saying that, </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">“If any of
you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it
would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around you neck and you
were thrown into the sea.”</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">Mark 10:42
(with parallels in Matthew & Luke)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">In New Testament terms,
especially with regards to the Gospel accounts of the ministry of Jesus, power
and authority are necessary components in the pastoral process. Jesus himself wielded authority to pronounce
healing and forgiveness to those who asked and the results recorded were life changing
for the ‘clients’ of the pastoral encounter and often for those who witnessed
the events as well. That authority has been passed on to those who
hold pastoral position in the church today.
In the meantime it has gone through a transformation of being a
primarily charismatic to a primarily institutional power, a change which leaves
the possibility of bring the pastor to account through the structures of the
church. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">For those engaged in
Pastoral ministry there are many responsibilities and the basis of all care
must be concerned with healing and wholeness, with bringing those in need to a
position of self-dependence whilst fostering a dependence on the God who makes
their healing possible, and building a trust in the pastor who seeks to assist
in the process of growing to wholeness..
On many occasions Jesus affirms the faith of those who have come to him
for help, in a recurring statement, found in many forms but using similar
words, throughout the Gospels -“Go, your faith has healed you”. Jesus also affirms the act of seeking help
and asks those who come what they expect of him and what they need. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">In the same way the task of
the Christian pastor, or indeed anyone with pastoral responsibility, is to
allow people to be a part of their own healing, firstly to acknowledge their
need, then to seek the way to proceed.
The pastor offers guidance, reassurance, support - and within the
authority given to them by the institution they serve and represent, often can
pronounce some form of ‘absolution’; forgiveness and the promise of
unconditional love. The pastor also has
the opportunity to reflect back to the
client what she or he is saying and to respond, when invited, by offering help
and advice as appropriate.</span></div>
Alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117533964126439556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608660058903144060.post-11397456907137245792014-06-04T23:54:00.000+01:002014-06-06T01:06:17.005+01:00Power and Pastoral Ministry Thesis Chapter Two<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The nature of power in
Pastoral Ministry</span></b><span lang="EN-GB"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Chapter 2</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">A New Testament
Understanding</span></i><span lang="EN-GB"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">As the New Testament forms
the basis of the understanding and beliefs from which today’s church operates,
or at least claims to operate, it
provides us with a basis for examining the structures of power and of authority
within which the present day Christian community works. The New Testament has much to offer in the
way of encouragement and criticism to the structures of the church today, as
Cyril H Powell (1963: 71) says </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">“No one has
faced the full implications of the New Testament who has not realised that it
is a series of documents witnessing to the inbreaking of power.”</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">In this chapter we begin
with a detailed look at the concepts of
‘power’ and ‘authority’ in the life and work of Jesus, and in the
records of what is commonly called the ‘Apostolic era of the church’, found in
the New Testament, and the relevance of these ideas to Pastoral ministry in the
Christian church today. </span></span></span></div>
<h2 style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB"> </span></span></span></h2>
<h2 style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">‘</span><span lang="EN-GB">dunamis</span><span lang="EN-GB">’- power</span></span></span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">The first term that we will
consider is that of </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">dunamis</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">,
Grundmann (1964: 284) offers this, incomplete though useful, consideration of
its meaning, “Words deriving from the
stem </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">duna-</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;"> all have
the basic meaning of ‘being able,’ of ‘capacity’ in virtue of an ability…” This definition, when considered alongside
the meaning Harris gives to ‘power’, quoted at the beginning of this study,
offers us a start in considering how those who wrote about Jesus considered his
attitude to power.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">As is nearly always the case
with the church of the apostolic era, that is the years following the life,
death and resurrection of Jesus, all major teachings are rooted and grounded in
Christ, and any teachings are given<i> their
</i>authority from the Incarnation and life, ministry, death and resurrection
of Jesus. There are certain difficulties
in approaching Biblical material of this time as we consider how much is
authentically ‘Jesus’ and how much is the result of a generation of believers
placing their own concerns on Jesus lips with half-remembered or heavily
interpreted phrases. Whatever the case,
the material itself has value both as an attempt to interpret the life of Jesus
and as the record of Christian communities struggling with many of the issues
we are considering here. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">For the first generation of
Christians, who received their witness from the Apostles and from others who
actually knew Jesus, he was the example of one who had within himself the power
of God, and through whom the power of God is exercised. Jesus ministry is guided, inspired and
energised by the life of the Holy Spirit and his power is always exercised
within the will of God the Father and in fellowship with God.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">This power is what makes
possible the life and work of Jesus. It
is imparted as part of his relationship with God, and in relation to his
obedience and working out the will of God.
It is a power that depends on his aligning himself and fellowship with
God the Father. It is a personal power
and contains the ability to change the lives of those he encounters. It is not a magical power, it is the
revelation of the will and purpose of God. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">So for the author/editors of
the New Testament, the basis for the ministry of Jesus, the reason for his
successes in healing, miraculous works and exorcism are all rooted within his
relationship to God. His power is part
of, and the result of, his working within the will of God, a God of healing and
love, of righteousness and might. This
power was inherent in Jesus as a minister of God, as a person of ‘charismatic’
authority, as a mediator of God’s teaching and wisdom, and therefore as the one
who manifested the will and purpose of God through the action of the Holy
Spirit. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">Beyond Jesus’ ability to
make real the power and activity of God, comes an equally important understanding
of the <i>authority</i> that allowed him to
speak the way he did of God and to do the work he was engaged in. Robinson (1962: 26) says “Since authority is
useless without the power to make it effective, the distinction between
authority and power is often ignored…”
The two terms have become entwined, particularly in the structure of the
church where they are intimately bound together, but Jesus had an authority
that was perceived by others and when he acted with a power that changed lives
that authority was strengthened.</span></span></span></div>
<h2 style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB"> </span></span></span></h2>
<h2 style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">‘</span><span lang="EN-GB">exousia</span><span lang="EN-GB">’ </span><span lang="EN-GB">- authority</span></span></span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">Jesus ministry is marked
throughout the Gospels by the recurring theme of <i>authority</i>, often in the
guise of the wonderment of those who saw : “’What kind of utterance is
this? For with authority and power he
commands the unclean spirits; and out they come’” (Cf. Mt. 7:28-29, 21:23, Mk 1:22, 27, 11:28, Lk
4:36, 20:2, 8, Jn 5:27) It related not
only to Jesus’ actions but also to his words
“… he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.’ Mk 1:22 It is this authority that is the hallmark of
Jesus distinctive ministry and a break with much of the rabbinical tradition
that weighed up the arguments and interpretations that had built up around a
passage and then offered an alternative or an addendum rather than a radical
break. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">Though Jesus was educated
and grounded within a Rabbinical understanding and framework, his style was not
that of a traditional Rabbi, he presented his teaching in a different way, with
much of the past with statements framed in terms such as ‘you have heard it
said…..but I say…’ It is this authority
that astounds so many and challenges those both within and without the Faith of
the Jews. It is this authority that is
at the basis of Jesus pastoral encounters with those he meets during his
itinerant ministry.</span></span></span></div>
<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB"> </span></span></span></h2>
<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">Charismatic
and Institutional Authority & Power</span></span></span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">According to the Gospel
accounts Jesus’ authority and his power came from the security he gained from
his relationship with God, and his certainty that all he did was within the
will of God the Father. The authority
with which he taught was the basis for his ministry, Shogren (1992: 52)
examines at length the many different aspects of Jesus authority and his power
in his teaching and his work, and includes the observation that:</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;"> “On several occasions, Jesus states that the
Son of Man possesses unusual authority.
At the Parousia the Son of man will appear in power and glory (Mk 13:26
par.) But in the present the Son of man
can, for example forgive sins.”</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">Shogren tells us, “…Jesus is
demonstrating his <i>personal authority</i>
to interpret God’s law” (Italics
mine). This interpretation is only
possible because Jesus has a relationship with God and because those he
encounters are open to the transformative power that comes through that
relationship. On many occasions Jesus
explicitly cites the faith of those he encounters as the agent of change in the
experience, for example in Mk 5:27-32, Mk 9:24 , Lk 7:2-10, 50</span><span lang="EN-GB">. </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;"> In other parts of the Gospel Jesus talks about
the need for faith and prayer throughout his ministry he talks of the need to
obey God in order to receive the power and authority needed to be ministers of
the Gospel. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Jesus power was a <i>charismatic</i> power, it was based in
himself, his relationship with the divine and the way he lived and acted. There was no institutional backing for his
power, he took no authority from position or status, he held no title or office
and his function was not clearly defined.
He was a leader, a pastor, a teacher, but none of this was recognised by
the institutions of his day. His
pastoral relationships were based on his own authority, and seemed to need no
recognition by the religious or social structures of his society.</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span> </span></div>
<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB"> </span></span></span></h2>
<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">Subverting
misuse of power</span></span></span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">Jesus did not hold on to
power in such a way that he could be accused of controlling or manipulating
others. He offered a critique of power
by his words and his actions and left the church with an example of using power
that did not take advantage of those in need or abuse those who sought help or
guidance.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">Jesus used the word servant
about himself on many occasions and was, from very early in the church’s life,
identified with the figure known as the ‘suffering servant’ in the writings of
Deutero-Isaiah the . The Gospel of St
Luke, 22.25-27, recounts these words of Jesus:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">“But he
said to them, ‘The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those in
authority are called benefactors. But
not so with you; rather the greatest among you must become like the youngest,
and the leader like one who serves.’” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">Jesus himself lives out his
radical critique of power in the way he speaks out against abusive religious
structures or practices, in the way he touches those alienated and oppressed by
society, and, ultimately, in the moving act of washing the feet of his
disciples on the night before he died. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">Actions such as the symbolic
washing of feet at ‘the Last Supper’, particularly when held alongside Jesus’
teachings contradict expected notions of power which seek to place leaders over
followers and masters above servants.
Jesus life and teaching are all the more striking from the mouth of one
who held such personal authority, and such obvious power to change people’s
lives. Based, as many of his teachings
were, in notions of radical subversion of unjust or abusive systems, Jesus is
keen to prevent ‘power’ being used to enslave rather than to free. Early on in St Luke’s Gospel Jesus is said to
have spelled out his agenda by quoting the prophet Isaiah. In the synagogue he is quoted as reading:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">“The Spirit of the Lord is
upon me,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;"> because
he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;"> He has send me to proclaim release to the
captives</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;"> and recovery of sight to the blind,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;"> to let the oppressed go free,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">to proclaim the year of the
Lord’s favour.” Lk. 4:18-19 </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">Jesus’ ministry was one
characterised by a charismatic style of leadership, brought about by his own
conviction of the authority, and the corollary of power, given to him by his
calling. He acted decisively, often disturbing
the preconceptions of those he ministered to and those who sought to criticise
his work. But, alongside this confidence
and the effectiveness of his pastoral care, the Gospel records tell us that
Jesus was also aware of the fact that all of his ministry took place within
limits, the limits of the faith of those who sought his help, and of this own
human frailties. As part of this his
life was lived in response to his understanding of God’s care and provision for
human beings and was punctuated by prayer and reflection which allowed him to
assess and direct his actions.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">This model was passed on to
the first followers of Jesus, who became the Apostles, leaders of the first
generation of the Church. Following the
earthly life of Jesus we see further developments in the way that power and
authority come to be a part of the ongoing life of the Church.</span></div>
<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB"> </span></span></span></h2>
<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">The Apostles</span></span></span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">The power and the authority
that Jesus demonstrates throughout his ministry is conferred to the disciples
both throughout his life and after his resurrection. Shogren (1992: 52) says</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">“…even
while he (Jesus) is on earth he enables his disciples to duplicate his deeds:
to preach and to do powerful acts in his name, such as exorcism, healing and
raising the dead.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">Jesus also delegates to the
Apostles the authority to forgive sins, as they are told they may ‘bind and
loose’ (Jn. 20:22-23), and Jesus says that they will surpass him in the works
that they will perform. They are to
carry on the work of proclaiming and of living the Gospel, the good news, which
means they will share in the work that Jesus declared was his, of freeing
people from injustice, the misuse of power and of abuse.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">The ‘charismatic’ authority
given to Jesus by his relationship to God is, it seems, to be carried on by
those who follow him, who also must continue in relationship with God, who will
be guided and inspired by God and from whom all power that they might exercise
will come. Those who carry on the work
of Christ, who follow the example of his ministry and who perform similar
healings, exorcisms and ‘signs of the Kingdom of God’ exercise their
evangelistic and pastoral ministry within the framework of the power and
authority that Jesus advocated. Not only
this but they gain their identity and their <i>raison
d’être</i> from this relationship with the Christ who they believe to be alive
and active in their own lives and the lives of those they encounter.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">Probably the greatest
exponent of these apologetics is St. Paul, who through an encounter with the
‘risen Christ’ turns from persecuting the church to being an apostle alongside
those who lived with Christ through his ministry, death and resurrection. St Paul himself has the experience of a life
changed through the intervention of Christ and he adds to the debate on the
nature of power in pastoral relationships as he teaches what he believes the
church should be as Christians follow the example of Christ. </span></div>
<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB"> </span></span></span></h2>
<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">‘</span><span lang="EN-GB">kenosis</span><span lang="EN-GB">’ - emptying</span></span></span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">One of the most startling
terms that Paul uses with reference to Christ is the verse from the letter to
the Philippians in Chapter 2 verses 6 and 7, he states,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">“who,
though he was in the form of God,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">did not
regard equality with God </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">as
something to be exploited,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">but emptied
himself,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">taking the
form of a slave,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">being born
in human likeness.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">The key Greek term in this
passage is ‘</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">ekenwsen</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">’ - from
the root verb ‘</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">kenow</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">’ - ‘to
make empty’. This is an important factor
in St Paul’s understanding of power and authority in the Christian church.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">For St Paul, one of the
foundational theological understandings he held and taught was the divinity of
Christ alongside the humanity of Christ.
This contains the understanding that alongside the loss of ‘divine
status’ in the incarnation Jesus allowed himself to lose the inherent
superiority, power and control that is part of the divine nature. In this Jesus is an exemplar for those who
seek to continue his ministry and continue the work of proclaiming the ‘reign
of God’ in the lives of human beings, and its concomitants of bringing healing,
love, liberation, peace and ‘life in abundance’ ( a paraphrase of Jn. 10:10) to
those who respond to the <i>‘evangel’</i> -
the good news.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">This first generation of the
Church took their grounding in the charismatic style of Jesus. They led from personal authority rather than
from institutional backing. In one of the
New Testament Epistles St. Paul even disparages those who rely on ‘letters of
commendation’ to give them authority claiming that his authority came from
Christ alone.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">In this St Paul continues
the charismatic style of leadership.
Having no ‘institutional’ power or authority vested in him, he is keen
to explain his credentials in terms of his encounter with Christ and his
faithfulness as an Apostle. Many of his
letters contain long passages concerned with spelling out his right to be
called an Apostle and to exercise leadership in that manner. For St Paul the concept of being an ‘Apostle’
would seem to be a mainly functional concern, being an Apostle is something he does,
it represents the task assigned to him by Christ. At this point there is no concern between
clarifying the relationship between office, title and function: a concern that
would arise in the next generation of the church.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">This tension, between
‘charismatic’ and ‘institutional’ power is one that carries on through the
first generation of Christians up to the church of the present day. In simplistic terms ‘charismatic’ aspects of
power are personally based and gain their authority from the character of the
individual minister. On the other hand,
‘institutional’ aspects are based in the structures within which the church,
caring agency or community operates and mean that the minister is accountable
beyond his or her self, as well as holding a certain depth of power offered by
the minister’s place in a larger organisation. </span></div>
<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB"> </span></span></span></h2>
<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">The
Post-Apostolic Era</span></span></span><span lang="EN-GB"> </span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">As the church becomes
established and grows, we see in the New Testament accounts the development of
a framework within which leadership take place. In the time following the
apostolic era, as those who had personally known Jesus died out, the authority
given to leaders by virtue having been part of Jesus life on earth began to die
with them. The Post-Apostolic Church of
the second century would have been made up of many diverse groups who up to
that point were in contact with an apostle, or one of those who was close to
the first followers of Jesus. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">With the death of the
‘Apostolic generation’ comes a need to bind the </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">ekklesia, </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">the ekklesia, together: moving from the ‘charismatic’
model of those inspired by their contact with Jesus to a more structural,
‘institutional’, model of leadership which would bind together the many groups
of Christians spread throughout the Near and Middle East. It is in the light of this that the idea of
‘overseer’, the ‘</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">episkopoV</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">’, takes on
more meaning. Those who were recognised
as gifted leaders of small groups of Christians were probably given a
structural role in the Church as they sought to bring together various separate
groups of Christians under a more consolidated leadership.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">As leaders take authority
within the burgeoning church fellowships there comes a need to rationalise and
explain their roles and create an apologetic for their function, authority and
administration of power. It is widely
accepted that initially the early church had two models of ministry , </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">diakonoV</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;"> (diaconos, deacon) & </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">episkopoi</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;"> (episcopoi, bishops), the former
of these terms means ‘servant’ and the latter ‘overseer’. The individuals who filled these offices were
considered to be the ‘ecclesiastical descendants’ of the apostles who were the
original followers of Christ. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">In the New Testament,
however, we have no clearly defined roles for these individuals beyond their
titles. It seems obvious that the bishop
existed to bring together groups of disparate believers who lacked a common
leader. Likewise within the small units
of Christian fellowships there was a need to have certain individuals who
‘serviced’ the community, taking care of daily considerations and the care of
the everyday running of the fellowship - these became ‘deacons’,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; line-height: 150%;">It is as this development
occurs that we discover a tension between title, office and function. At what point did being a bishop become a
recognised office over and above the general function of ‘keeping people together’,
and therefore have an implicit role of being ‘in authority’ over Christian
believers. Likewise, when did bishops
become ‘title-holders’ in recognition of that ‘implicit authority’. These questions may be unanswerable, but
asking them means we recognise that the structures of the church changed
drastically in the time of the Post-Apostolic era.. Broadly speaking the church goes from being
small groups loosely bound by allegiance to charismatic leaders to a structure
that endeavours to hold itself together by transmitting authority through
office and title, so the functions of leadership and the function of the church
can continue.</span></div>
Alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117533964126439556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608660058903144060.post-90504211290964505092014-06-04T19:24:00.000+01:002014-06-06T01:07:57.986+01:00Power and Pastoral Ministry Part ye Seconde<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The nature of power in
pastoral relationships</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Chapter 1 <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The roots of power in
pastoral relationships</span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
<h2>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> </span></h2>
<h2>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">The Fear
of ‘Power’</span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">In many Christian groups the
idea of ‘power’ is considered to be dangerous, John Harris (1977: 55) writes
that, as Christians, “…we have been afraid of power and have tried to hide its
overt exercise from ourselves.” This has led to concealing power or pretending
that in the church there are no holders of power, that we live in a situation
of mutuality, free from the undue influence of power. Harris continues “Against this background,
many pastors have sought to wield influence while appearing as neutral and
benevolent parties, as <u>disinterested</u> in power.”</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">But power is a very real
part of pastoral ministry, especially within the structures of the Church. As we attempt to deconstruct the bases of
that power and of the authority that gives ministers certain power in pastoral
encounter we must consider how power might be acknowledged and used
appropriately in pastoral encounters.</span></span></span></div>
<h2>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">Initial
Structural Considerations</span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">T Howland Sanks (1987: 74)
writes:</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">“Like any
other human sociological group, the Christian community requires some authority
to maintain its identity, its unity, and to resolve internal conflicts.”</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">That authority within the
church has come to be concentrated in the hands of ministers of the church,
both lay and ordained - though in the majority of cases with those in a
recognised position of authority such as clergy. This role has extended into the world beyond
the Church, especially in western societies, where the minister often holds a
status within the community at large as well as within the community of
faith. It is worth mentioning here that
it is being recognised by many contemporary Ecclesiologists that this role and
status in the community at large is, in many cases breaking down, with ministers
finding themselves unsure of the position they hold both within the Church and
in society as a whole. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">Michael Riddell (1998: 6)
talks of the ‘…loss of status of the Church’ and says </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">“There was
a time when not only the Church was held in high regard, but also the
profession of ministry. To be ordained
was to be somebody; to have a certain degree of standing and respect by virtue
of one’s vocation. This is no longer
true.”</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">This in itself has created
for pastoral ministers, not only ordained but laity also, issues of insecurity
and loss of identity, which can lead to both positive and negative
results. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">One response to such
insecurity is to consider new models of ministry, looking at issues such as lay
involvement, non hierarchical structures and empowering both sides of the
pastoral encounter. There is more commitment among many ministers to exploring
new ways of working, examining issues such as motivation, accountability,
sharing power and the relationship between lay and ordained ministry. As a
cautionary note, Riddell (1998) comments that, especially in Protestant
Evangelical structures, much of the adoption of new models can involve the
inappropriate taking on of commercial managerial methods without considering
their impact on a pastoral role </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">A more negative
approach to such insecurity may (often
unconsciously) seek to reinforce often, literally and metaphorically, crumbling
structures and hold on to the vestiges and/or illusion of power. This approach might involve maintaining strong
boundaries and refuse to change structures, methods, ideas or doctrine -
becoming reactionary and containing a ‘siege mentality’ that finds it
impossible to be open or flexible. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">This subject is too large to
be examined any further in this paper and is one being explored by many
present-day church thinkers and writers, including Riddell (1998), Newbigin
(1996) and Bosch (1995). It does,
however, highlight the need to examine the issues of power and authority in
pastoral ministry, especially in the church, as times of change such as the
current era can often create such insecurities that positions of power are even
more open to abuse than in a more settled society.</span></span></span></div>
<h2>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">Power-brokers</span><span lang="EN-GB"> </span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">Leaders who have pastoral
power and authority, whilst ultimately answerable to the people they serve, are
still usually the holders of power in most pastoral encounters. This is not to deny the power that the client
holds in a pastoral relationship, as those who often initiate the pastoral
relationship. From the start,
therefore, we will work from the assumption that the pastor is the ‘power
broker’ in the pastoral encounter and that the power within the relationship is
mainly in their hands.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;"> The minister (often, though not always,
ordained) is the one to whom both members of their church fellowships and,
sometimes, the general public turn at times of deepest joy and of deepest need,
looking for answers which make sense of the world around them from a
perspective of faith. The pastor is a
leader of a community and much of his or her authority comes from the
community’s recognition of their position.
As Bishop Penny Jamieson (1997:</span><span lang="EN-GB"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">12
) writes, “It is natural then for individuals seeking leadership for their
community to seek an individual in whom to locate the power enabling that
leadership to function.” </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">Traditionally in both
‘sacred and secular’ situations, especially in small communities, the minister
of the local ‘faith-community’ has taken on some kind of public leadership
role, and this carries on still to a greater or lesser extent depending on the
makeup of a community.</span></span></span></div>
<h2>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">The basis of
pastoral power</span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">Often the issues brought to
these individuals in leadership by members of their congregation and by others
who come to them as pastors are of a personal, even intimate nature. This can engender a relationship in which the
minister is privy to quite sensitive, painful and confidential nature. This, alongside the power inherent in their
position of authority, can be a combination that leaves both pastor and client
open to abuse within the pastoral relationship.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">Much of the pastoral contact
which a minister has is based upon trust. The individual comes to her or him in
an attitude of humility - to a greater or lesser degree - and this opens up a
relationship in which the minister, the pastor, has a certain amount of power
and the potential to control, or at least have a strong influence on, the
client. In the light of the fact that
this approach to the pastor has occurred voluntarily, and that the church is a
body consisting of those who have made a choice to be there, there is the
possibility that the pastor has a great deal of influence over those she or he
is responsible for. People place
themselves in the hands of their pastors, and allow the pastors great sway in
personal decisions. People also look to
the church for guidance, and expect the minister, as the representative of the
church to speak on behalf of the church, and even on behalf of God, as pastors
and prophets.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">This power springs from the
very beginning of the Church and is part of the foundational principles of the
Christian community. T Howland Sanks (1987 :74) states that “Authority in the early church was understood
to be more than a mere sociological necessity; it was a <i>spiritual </i>authority.” This type of authority is related to the
understanding that we examine more in Chapters Two and Four and of this study,
that, originating in the person and work of Christ, power and authority are a
part of the nature of Christian ministry.
As such, any authority held by a Christian in pastoral office is an
offshoot of the power that Jesus held and administered in his ministry and
comes also from the understanding of power held by the first Christian
communities and passed on through the ages of the Church. Sanks
(1987: 74) elaborates, explaining that</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">“Authority
in this community is based on the authority of Jesus himself and his commission
to his disciples ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to
me. Go therefore and make disciples of
all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and, lo, I
am with you always, to the close of the age.’ (Mt 28: 18-29)”</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">Those who are leaders of the
Church are given their position by those they minister to, and in many
traditions, by others who are already in leadership. In Churches those engaged in pastoral
ministry are usually ordained there is normally a process of examination of
candidates by both laity and clergy and, after a period of training and
teaching, authority is conferred by someone of higher office in the Church
through a recognised symbol such as the laying on of hands. This activity is a visible sign of the power
and authority conferred upon ministers who serve those Churches. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">Authority and power are
therefore two of the keys to effective pastoral ministry, not only in the
Church but in any pastoral situation.
Those who act pastorally, whether Priests, Social Workers,
Psychotherapists or any others with similar roles operate effectively because
of the personal or institutional authority that it is perceived that they
have. This power and authority may come
through qualifications and training, position, professional standing, or even
from trust built up in previous relationships.
It is this sense of ‘speaking from/with authority’, that opens up the
potential for both meaningful and effective pastoral contact and for the abuse
of those who seek aid from a pastor - either intentionally or unconsciously on
the part of the pastor.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">There is inherent in
Christian ministry, indeed in any pastoral contact, many opportunities to offer
help to those in deepest need, but alongside this there are always
possibilities of misusing power by controlling those at their most vulnerable
who come seeking assistance from a pastor.
This control may be conscious or subconscious - it is often related to
the dynamic that exists in the relationship between client and pastor. We will examine this in more detail in Chapter
Four and consider further implications in Chapter Five, but in brief, Dr Brice
Avery (1996: 40) explains: </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">“… the
pastoral encounter requires a partial and mutual emotional immersions of the
pastor and the client: how else is the pastor to know what it is to be like the
client? But, and this is crucial,…the
pastor has to know his or her own responses to as wide a range of emotional
contacts as possible to be able to tell the difference between their own
feelings and that of the client.”</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">So the pastor is in a
position where she or he is vulnerable to abusing their position by the very
nature of their openness to the client.
As the dynamics of pastoral relationships unfold it is often difficult
to distinguish between the needs of the client and the needs that the pastor is
seeking to fulfil - this is a dangerous situation and leads very easily into
misuse of the power invested in the minister as they, often unconsciously,
project unhelpful and destructive ideas upon the client. The implications of this and possible means
of guarding against the situation are examined more fully in later chapters (as
mentioned above.) But it is important at
this point to note that no pastor is infallible, and that the power they have
to heal or to harm is constantly open to misuse. With power must come responsibility and the
pastor has to be aware at all times of the fragility of the people they hold
power over.</span></span></span></div>
<h2>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: large;">The
‘Suspicion of Power’</span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">There are dangers in the use
of power that means that some are always highly suspicious of any institution
or figure who claims holds authority or power over any other person. The presence of power in any relationship
suggests to such people a fundamental inequality. Many ‘Post-modern’ thinkers work from the
basis of a ‘suspicion of power’ and the imposition of any opinion upon another
human being is seen to be threat to their individuality and self-hood. Middleton & Walsh (1995: 40) describe
this understanding thus:</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">“…not only
is reality a human construct, it is more particularly a <i>social</i> construct. It is
always <i>someone’s </i>or <i>some group’s</i> construction of reality
that ends up being the dominant construction that guides social life…‘why is it
<i>your</i> construction of reality, <i>your</i> collective hunch, that rules?’ Why
is any one construction of reality given privileged status, thereby
marginalizing all others?”</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">In many ways this critical
viewpoint has caused those holding power to feel vulnerable to attack and many
have felt the influence they have held over certain events, groups and
individuals slipping away. This added to
various identity and role crises can cause great strain for any pastoral
minister. However, the positive aspect
of this ‘sea-change’ in popular perception has been an increase in structures
of accountability and in the checks and balances that need to exist to prevent
power being exercised inappropriately.
Many organisations have had to step back and examine the methods and
processes by which power is exercised by those within the organisation - the
Church is no exception to this. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">In order to further inform
this debate we will move on to examine the life and teaching of Jesus and the
Church of the Apostolic and Post-Apostolic eras, as the foundations upon which
modern day pastoral ministry is built. We
will examine the implications brought about by the development of structures of
authority in the church of the first two generations of Christians and examine
the tensions between ‘institutional and
‘charismatic’ power and authority.</span></span></span></div>
Alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117533964126439556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608660058903144060.post-39638678451941973722014-06-04T06:50:00.001+01:002014-06-06T01:08:26.637+01:00Power and Authority in Pastoral MinistryI've just managed to get my MA Thesis transferred from an old disc onto more contemporary readable Media. It's taken 18 years, but on reading it back I realise just how much what I read at that time, and the thesis I ended up with, influences my approach to ministry today. So I thought I would share it. I'll do a chapter at a time over the next few days...<br />
<br />
Here's the introduction:<br />
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The nature of power in
pastoral relationships</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Introduction</span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">Power exists as both a
personal and structural ingredient of pastoral ministry. It is present in any relationship of trust
where one person seeks advice, aid or guidance from another. Bishop Penny Jamieson (1997</span><span lang="EN-GB">: </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">23) writes:</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">“There has
always been fascination with power - who has it, how they came about it, how it
can be used or misused, how it can change the course of history and how it can
be challenged. Part of that fascination,
I believe, derives from the potential that power has to hurt.”</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">Power is a difficult word to
define, and its relationship to authority makes it more difficult to offer a
definition that can separate the two words from one another, particularly in a
pastoral setting. In simple terms we can
start from the basis offered by John Harris (1977: 55), quoting Rollo May, who says power is, “…the ability to affect,
influence and change other persons.”
This is what pastoral encounters seek to do, to stimulate growth and
movement, to heal hurts and to offer aid to people seeking assistance, both in
times of trouble, and times of searching. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">There is a dynamic
relationship for those in pastoral positions between the power one has to make
a difference in a person’s life and the authority that allows one to do
that. In the Church there are various
sources of authority - local, structural, global. Authority, in the church is founded in the
pastor’s office, title and/or function, and rooted in the community. These foundations give the minister the
ability to speak on behalf of the church, to offer an opinion that is somehow
‘bigger’, more meaningful than just the pronouncement of an individual
person. These three aspects of ‘office,
title and function’ are also in a dynamic relationship with one another which
will be discussed further in Chapter 3 as we consider the development of the
structures of the church.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">Within the structures of the
church there is an authority given to those who have particular pastoral roles
that allows them to make pronouncement, to offer the view of ‘the Church’ to
those who seek their aid. The message
the New Testament gives seems to be that this a necessary and proper part of
the work of those who seek to ‘minister the Gospel’, but alongside this power
is a great responsibility, to act in the best way for those who seek such aid,
to remain within the Christian constants of love, care and concern, and to seek
to make the Gospel real to those who ask for help, meaning that the ‘good news’
of healing, liberation, joy, peace and hope are to be both the methods and the
aims of pastoral contact.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">This authority, and the
power it bestows. enables those in emotional, spiritual or sometimes physical
need seek assistance from a pastor with the expectation that she or he will be
able to assist them in their need. This
authority may come from a number of sources but without it the pastor is unable
to connect with the client in such a way that change can be made and the
client’s needs may be met. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">The bases for that authority
and the power that is concomitant with it are many and varied, and exist within
a complex web of personal, communal and structural networks.
This study is an attempt to look at the nature of that power, the basis
for such authority and at some aspects of the use and abuse of this power in
pastoral ministry. We will attempt to
unravel some of the strands of the web that makes it possible for a minister to
function in the pastoral encounter, we will examine the grounding of power in
pastoral relationships, and critique the power structures and the exercise of
power by those in pastoral ministry. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">This study is primarily
concerned with the Church as a particular community within which pastoral power
is manifested on an everyday level. We
will therefore look at the sources of the authority that is given to pastors in
the Christian Church and how those who are responsible for pastoral ministry as
part of the Church might be aware of their own power and authority. We will consider the appropriate and
inappropriate uses of power and authority and how those who have this power
might bring about meaningful and helpful change in the lives of those who seek
their help.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">The aim of this study is
threefold: to explore the foundation of pastoral power and authority in the
Christian setting. To consider the
nature of pastoral power and how it may be used appropriately or abused. To think about issues of accountability,
transparency and other ways in which power might be guarded and made safer in
its use and how this might be a part of the life of the Christian community in
a constructive way. This work is partly
a reflection upon this growing need to understand power relationships in
pastoral matters and partly an attempt to bring out into the open the need to
constantly examine issues of power in modern society.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">The material used in this
dissertation is primarily concerned with
being a Christian critique of power and the authority that makes the use of
that power possible. It would, in many
places, I hope be applicable for anyone in a caring position, but it
intentionally focuses on Christian pastoral practice and the strengths and
weaknesses of the church’s pastoral work.
As Stephen Pattison (1993: 7) tells us “…it should be noted that the
historic pastoral care tradition very much revolved around the activities of
recognized church leaders.” </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">Pattison (1993: 7) goes on
to say that the many care agencies that now exist to promote well being all
offer forms of pastoral care. Of these
agencies the church is a distinctive one in offering pastoral care from a
certain perspective, tied up with ‘elements of healing, sustaining, reconciling
and guiding’ within a Christian understanding of wholeness in the light of
God’s love for humanity.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">It must be said that this
study, by its very brevity and nature, cannot examine all aspects of the issues
it raises and in some ways this is a very inadequate document in relation to
the task facing pastoral agencies. This
dissertation does, however, seek to make clear the issues involved regarding
power and pastoral ministry - even if unable to go into the detail of many of
them.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">Another area that lies
beyond the scope of this work concerns the <i>correction</i>
of abuses of power. Many of the ideas
discussed here consider how power might be used effectively and appropriately,
and looks at ways in which those in positions of power might be encouraged to
work and act appropriately and responsibly.
To that end we will consider ideas such as transparency, accountability
and openness in the exercise of power.
We do not, however, deal with issues concerning the aftermath of abuse -
physical, sexual, psychological or otherwise.
This would be the concern of another, much greater, study. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">Because this has not been
the intention of the work, therefore, some of what is said might not apply to
those situations. Ideas such as
‘appropriate dependence’ and the very issue of the use of power for empowerment
might in themselves further the damage an abused individual might suffer,
especially in the case of child abuse victims - the considerations of this
study are therefore limited to the everyday life of the church as a pastoral
institution in a very general sense, recognising that in certain cases the
issues are of such depth that only professional counselling and assistance can
hope to take the abused individual through their experience to a place of
stability and safety.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">It is also important to
mention that at no time do we examine in depth the types of abuse that are
possible in pastoral relationships.
There may be spiritual, emotional or physical abuse which may be
obvious. There are also more subtle
forms of abuse, such as using a client to fulfil the needs of the pastor in
such a way as is detrimental to the client.
There are, in fact, so many shades of abuse that this would constitute a
study in its own right. In this work we
will concentrate on how abuse may come about, with some examples of the results
of abuse, and consider how abusive relationships might be avoided and planned
against. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 150%;">This study offers us the
opportunity to consider a model of pastoral power that works with the idea of
‘appropriate dependence’ and to look at how the structures of community might
facilitate and encourage this. With this
basis we go on to look at the existence of power in pastoral relationships, the
authority held by leaders in the church and the roots of this power and
authority in pastoral encounters. We will continue by looking at the Biblical
roots of issues of power in a Christian setting, namely in the life of Jesus
and the experience of the Apostolic and Post-Apostolic Church, before moving on
to look at how the concerns brought to us there might lead us on to a modern
critique, and indeed an apologetic, for the appropriate use of pastoral power</span></span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117533964126439556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608660058903144060.post-46981376517484843852014-04-17T01:36:00.000+01:002014-04-17T01:36:58.954+01:00A sermon on healing and wholeness<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Tuesday in Holy Week 2014 - Eucharist with prayers for healing</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The kingdom of healing</span></h1>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">What would you say is the key message of Jesus?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Some might say it is about loving neighbour, loving God and loving
ourselves. That’s a good foundation.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Do unto others as you would have them do unto you? OK, helpful life advice.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">God so loved the world. Yep. I like that too, and the verse that follows!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Well, if we were to go by the number of times a word or phrase is
mentioned then the ‘kingdom of heaven’ or ‘the kingdom of God’ or ‘the kingdom’
must come pretty high up the list – mentioned a wopping 105 times in the
stories and teaching of Jesus in the Gospels.
Money is mentioned 25 times, the poor 11 times, hell (or rather
gehenna or sheol, outer darkness, fiery
furnaces etc) 12 times – each in a story I might add and sexuality, well, um,
not at all.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">But this kingdom,
this is the heart of the Gospel. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">It’s important to
remember that when Jesus talks in terms of Kingdom he doesn’t mean a physical
place located in this world or the next.
Nor does the word ‘heaven’ mean somewhere beyond this life. The kingdom is perhaps better described as a
way of being – and more accurately described not using the word king (which has
lots of other often unhelpful connotations) but talking of the reign of
God. The reign of God is when we allow
God to live within and through us, when we seek to align our hearts and minds
with God’s values, when we open ourselves to the work of the Holy Spirit and
when we become Christ-like.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">So though we use
the words ‘kingdom of God or kingdom of heaven’
There is much more to it than that.
It is a concept much more in line with the Hebrew concept of ‘shalom’ –
another multi-faceted, multi-layered word variously translated as ‘peace’,
‘wholeness’ and ‘healing’. The idea of
the kingdom of shalom is a place – not physically located, but based in the
hearts of human beings – where there is harmony and the broken things of this
world, of our lives, of all creation, are put back together again.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">It’s not a
destination, but a calling, not a one off but a lifetime journey. It’s a state
of being to which we relate, and one into which we are growing. It is a place of resurrection and renewal,
integrity and wholeness and the deepest healing – where we find ourselves in
loving relationship with our true self, with God and with others.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">It’s a kingdom of
healing.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Everytime we
gather to celebrate the Eucharist we are proclaiming and celebrating this
kingdom. Every time we pray ‘your
kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven’ we are commiting
ourselves and expressing our yearning for this kingdom. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">And here this
evening we are again opening ourselves, intentionally, carefully, prayerfully
to this hope, this desire for healing.
Not just for ourselves – that our past hurts may be healed, that our
bodies and minds might be made whole, that our spirits receive the balm of
Christ-life. But for the whole world,
that all might know their part within the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of
healing.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">When we talk about
salvation we often think about being ‘saved from eternal perdition’ or
‘rescued’ from something. The very root
of that word is, though, a kingdom word – coming from the same root as salve,
in the same way that we place a salve upon our wounds. Salvation is the ultimate healing – and
salvation comes through God’s reaching out to us in Christ and offering us his
own salve for our troubled souls, and for the world which he embraces.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Here this evening,
as a symbol of our hope for healing – both for ourselves and for our loved
ones, for the church and for the world – we are invited to receive, just for a
moment, the laying on of hands at the altar rail, an anointing with holy oil as
an echo of the oil of healing and forgiveness talked of in scripture. It’s a symbolic act – and if there are other
issues you would like to talk about and seek prayer for I would encourage you
to make use of the gift of our healing ministry team and seek one of them, or
indeed one of the clergy should you so wish, for specific prayers for healing.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">More than anything
what we celebrate here today is a hope, and a longing, for healing. For ourselves, for friends and neighbours,
for our society and for all creation. We
seek the deepest healing –and I would encourage each one of us to receive this
act of laying on of hands anointing.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">May we continue to
enter more fully into the reign of God in our hearts and minds, and know the
wholeness, integrity and life of the kingdom of shalom. Peace be with us
all. Amen.</span></span></div>
Alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117533964126439556noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608660058903144060.post-47758249607552238862014-04-16T02:13:00.000+01:002014-04-16T02:25:48.138+01:00A Short Sermon on Death...and Resurrection<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Tuesday in Holy Week 2014 – 12 Step Eucharist</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 6.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=264611504" target="_blank">Ps 71:1–14</a></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=264611504" target="_blank">Jn 12:20–36</a></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<br />
<h1>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Death and resurrection</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></h1>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We don’t like
talking about death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At least as a
society we steer clear of talking about death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s a strange reversal on the Victorian era where they took almost a
delight in all the things that surrounded death, they observed mourning very
visibly and even took pictures of deceased loved ones – known as momento mori –
to keep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But they were very uptight
indeed about sex and (the urban legend goes) even covered up the legs of tables
in order that the menfolk not get aroused.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We, on the other
hand, talk about sex a lot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have
highly sexualised advertising, magazines proclaim the latest way to excite your
lover and we get hung up about issues of sexuality particularly in the church –
as if God really cares what happens in our bedrooms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But we don’t talk about death. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Jesus wasn’t quite
so uncomfortable talking about death. Of course in the world he lived in death
was much more visible and the death of younger people much more common so it
would not be a subject anyone could really avoid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But still, he talks of his own death (often to
the horror of his disciples) and about death generally.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today’s long reading from the Gospel of John
is a case in point… verse 24 of John 12 says <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">unless a grain of wheat is planted in the ground and
dies, it remains a solitary seed. But when it is planted, it produces in death
a great harvest.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Now for those
of you who remember your high school science you’ll probably realise the inaccuracy
of that statement – seed’s don’t die when they are planted, they germinate and
grow – but the image is still a striking one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s an echo of Jesus’ own death – which is also mentioned in the
reading – but also a statement about the way God works.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">For us who
follow Christ we don’t<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>follow a dead
saviour, but a resurrected one. One who has passed through death to a new kind
of life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Scholars differ on what exactly
that means, but it is the key belief and understanding of the Church – Christ died
and was raised to life again by the power and the love of God.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We’re quick to
divide things in two, in the Church, and indeed as human beings – death one
side, life the other, darkness one side, light another; hope one side despair
another etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But there is more to what
Jesus says than simply one thing or another.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Without the darkness we don’t see the shape or depth of things as pure
light leaves no shadows.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Without despair
some of us never get to the point where we need to recognise that we need help –
from God or from others – to bring us hope and set us free.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Without death, says Jesus, there is no
resurrection.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">But of course
he isn’t just talking about physical death, but of those things which have to
die in order that new life may come.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We see it in nature, every year the leaves
fall, the trees seem dead, but are renewed in this wonderful spring season as
the world burst with colour.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We see it
in childbirth where the pain and the struggle of labour have to be borne in
order that a child may come into the world.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Perhaps it
would help if we didn’t think in such black and white terms as death and
resurrection – but of renewal and new life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Church at its best takes things which are old and makes them new,
bringing them to life with the light of Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So the pagan festival of light, saturnalia, is taken and made into a
celebration of the light of Christ and called Christmas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The festival of springtime alonngside the
powerful images of Passover from our Jewish heritage are taken and renewed in
the story of Easter Day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We are called
to renewal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To new life. To
resurrection.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">But in order to
do that, perhaps there are things that must die in us or around us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps our pride and reliance on ourself –
so that we learn to trust in God and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in
others again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps our desire to
achieve and always be ahead of the crowd in order that we find community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps those things, activities, substances,
people or events which bind us and stifle us and drain the life from us – in order
that we might be renewed again.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Are there things
that we need to let go of, things that we need to allow to fall into the ground
and die in order that our Christian Faith may truly live?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps there are distractions, things we
take us away from truly giving all to God. Perhaps we are afraid to what might
happen if we truly gave up everything to God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Perhaps we are not sure what it means to hand over the whole of our
lives to God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps we struggle to let
go of these things – for it is true that we can do none of this without a power
and a strength that is beyond ourselves – the power of God in the Holy Spirit
as those of us who are Christians would say.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">When we are alive
in our faith, when we have allowed our distractions, fears, misunderstandings
and apathy to fall into the ground and die, it is then that we can bear the
fruit of renewed lives, resurrected lives – life – as Jesus himself says in
this Gospel of John chapter 10 verse 10 – life in all its fullness, or life
abundant..<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">And we pray that the seed of this old world may pass away and God may
bring resurrection life to all of creation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That the fullness of life in Christ can come.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>May we
be given the strength to let go, to let die those things which distract us from
and destroy our well-being.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That we may
know resurrection life.</span><span lang="EN-GB"></span></div>
Alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117533964126439556noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608660058903144060.post-60210363192394008992014-02-24T03:11:00.000+00:002014-02-24T03:12:09.500+00:00Foundations, Rules and Temples<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Epiphany
7 (2014) Year A RCL Principal </span></div>
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</span><br />
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<a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=260211300" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=260211300" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">1 Corinthians 3:10-11, 16-23</span></span></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=260211300" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Matthew 5:38-48</span></a> </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Foundations, Rules
& Temples</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">God is here!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Remember that? Those
three words, our words for the presentation, a reminder that God is a part of
our community and found in one another. They aren’t bad words to call to mind
as we go into our Annual Vestry meeting and indeed as I share something of my
understanding of what our Church order and governance consist of .</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">I should say that
when I put the question out a couple of weeks back ‘would you like me to say
something about what our Church structures are’ the response was quite
overwhelmingly ‘yes please’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in fact I
only had one person say no and that was because, as they said. “People really
should come to the vestry meeting to find out”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I can see the logic in that, but I think that it might be worth saying
something of why vestry is important to encourage you all to come and take part
in this part of the life of our Church fellowship.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">I want to mix this up
a little with my reflections on today’s readings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because, and this does make me wonder whether
God is just demonstrating her great sense of humour, these readings couldn’t
really be better suited to this vestry Sunday.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">St Paul’s first
letter to the Corinthians isn’t a bad reading to begin some thoughts on Church
structures and order.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Paul is desperate
for the first fledgling churches to survive and flourish, and recognises that
to achieve this there needs to be some kind of order.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In certain parts of these letters to the Corinthians
Paul expresses his concern about the disorder, particularly in worship, that is
putting people off the church – and though Paul’s writings, much to the delight
of many literalists – say things which we might find uncomfortable, the
background is that he longs for the Church to be a shining example of faithfulness,
ordered and exemplars of good conduct – all for the sake of spreading the
Gospel, that people will not be turned off by the chaos of a disordered and (as
he sees it) immoral church!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We could
spend a lot of time contextualising, debating, arguing Paul’s teaching, but I
do believe the principle of sound governance isn’t a bad one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Even more though,
Paul holds the Church up as something rather special.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Church community is a place where the
Spirit dwells – <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">God is here</b> says St
Paul.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">What a difference it
would make to all of us if we behaved in such a way that honoured this
fact.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That we looked at one another and
said ‘God’s Spirit is in that person’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">I’m not going to
labour the point further, but the basis of Church order is this belief that the
Spirit dwells in each of us, and the desire to be built upon the foundation of
Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And St Paul is very keen to talk
about each one of us having our place – you are being built into a living
temple, each one of you living stones(though I pinched that particular phrase
from Peter’s first letter), with the spirit within you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s worth noting that the form of the
pronoun ‘you’ is a the plural form here – in verse 16 of Chapter 3 of 1 Corinthians
‘you (all of you) are God’s temple and God lives in you (that’s all of
you).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is something about
acknowledging that the spirit is known in us together as well as individually
that I think is crucial for our understanding of being a community – of being
dedicated to one another in this exciting, but also challenging journey ahead.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Being in community
comes with a cost, a discipline about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We are challenged to look beyond ourselves and commit ourselves to this
wider endeavour, this act of being bound together, of loving one another, of
being the body of Christ.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">And in this
particular expression of the Church that we call Anglicanism, we have
structures that are meant to help us in that, we have rules called the Canons
which are there to hold the disparate parts of each parish and of the church at
large together, to give us (in the words I have used frequently in the past
months) a sense of the bigger story, and our part within it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">So what do I mean,
you say? Enough about principles and St Paul. What do we do? How is this worked
out? I promised you some info about the governance of the Church so here it
comes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">I must just make a
confession here, though.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As an incumbent
and Rural Dean in England I was often called upon to give advice regarding
canon law, because I have a particular interest in these things and a
surprising love of Church Order. For about 13 years I have been offering advice
on the understanding and interpretation of the Canons, the rules and
regulations of the Church, and have made sure I am well versed in the legal
grounding for the Churches structures. I am a canon law nerd.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am, though, learning a new set of canons,
and though I have read and re-read the canon law of the Anglican Church of
Canada and the Diocese of BC, I am not as experienced in them as I am with the
C of E.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I read the canons again
yesterday and I am basing this stuff on my newly gained knowledge – apologies
for any gaps…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>but here we go.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Well, first of all
the Anglican Church is – and I quote, though I am not sure who I quote –
‘Episcopally led and synodically governed’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That means that the Church heeds the voice of our bishop in whom there
is vested a certain amount of authority.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When we elect a Bishop – with the help of the Holy Spirit – we expect
her, or him, to lead us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Bishops
hold the role of both leading and serving the Church – they assist in the
formulation and they uphold the canons, they have a pastoral role, they speak
on behalf of the Church and they uphold clergy discipline.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">But we are a Church
which also operates with certain democratic or at least pseudo-democratic
structures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The idea of a Synod is a
gathering of the people of God. The word simply means ‘assembly’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is often used to refer to a gathering of Christian
Leaders, but in our Church we would (taking the principle that we are all
priests and rulers in the church of God) say that the synod is <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">us</b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The basic unit of a synod, for all practical purposes, is a Parochial
Council acting on behalf of vestry, the body elected for oversight of the
Church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Other synods in the
Anglican Church of Canada are the Diocesan Synod which consists of member
selected from parishes and the General Synod which is the gathering of
representatives from all over the Anglican Church of Canada.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ultimately, in partnership with Bishops and
Clergy the Synods officially run the Church. The wider Synods formulate policy
and have responsibility for the finance, discipline, mission and ministry of
the Church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh it’s worth saying that
Synods consist of three houses – the Bishops, Clergy and Laity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Usually it is expected on matters of policy
or business that all three houses will vote separately but each must reach a
majority for or against the policy or proposal.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Our Synod is
basically our Vestry, but it would be impractical to meet as the general
gathering of parishioners all of the time, so the Vestry gives authority to the
PC to act as its regular committee.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Alongside that are the Treasurer, Secretary who sit on the PC but don’t
have voting rights unless they are elected as PC members. Then we have the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ex officio </i>members: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the Diocesan Synod reps who may be the wardens
and maybe one or two others and the Wardens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We have six Diocesan Synod reps, two from the current PC and the two
wardens and deputy wardens.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">And then we have the
delight that is our wardens!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Officially
we have two – one people’s warden and one rector’s warden.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As might be obvious, the people’s warden is
elected by vestry and the rector’s warden is appointed by the rector.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because of the size and activity of St John’s
we also have two deputies to that position, elected or appointed in the same
way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wardens are there to support the
Rector – and by extension other Clergy and staff – in making sure the ministry
of the Church continues.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Wardens have a
consultative role and they have legal responsibilities in relation to the
supervision and reporting of financial matters, making sure there is regular
worship and that the Rector is paid and housed. Which is good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Wardens are to represent the people to
the Rector and the Rector to the people – seeking to consult and consider the
needs of the congregation and to make sure the Rector has what she or he needs
to fulfil their ministry to the Parish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If things go terribly wrong then the wardens are the ones who report to
the Bishops that there are difficulties and who seek the counsel of the Bishop
for extraordinary needs. They are also the ones who sign contracts on behalf of
their church. Thank God for wardens. And I mean that most sincerely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>St John’s wardens have much to bear, and they
have worked diligently in the vacancy and in my first months here to discharge
their responsibilities faithfully, thank you.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">So what are we doing
in vestry later on this morning, well after our soup and bun (thank you to
those who have prepared this) we will hear the annual reports of all the
officers and staff of the Church. We will hear about our finances and vote on
our financial report of the last year and on our proposed budget.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We will also elect new members to the PC and
hear of the appointment of a new Rector’s warden. Though Wardens can serve for
up to six years, and then have to stand down for a year at least, it has been
usual for wardens here to serve for three years, sometimes four.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>PC members usually stand for two years
extendable to three. We are electing three new parish council members this year
who will be proposed at vestry by the nominations committee before opening to
the floor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It may be that in the years
to come we need to revisit this method as the church and the world around it
seem to change at a mindboggling speed – but for now we are sticking with this
model which is not dictated by canon but comes within the canonical structure.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">There is a
misconception, and it is a misconception, that the PC and wardens are somehow
distinct from the congregation, or (and I have heard the phrase used) they are
‘the suits’ who make decisions in darkened rooms which affect us all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is not the case – our wardens and our PC
are members of our congregation, faithful members of the everyday life of the
church and they work hard to listen and respond to both encouragements and
criticisms which come from the wider parish – please make use of your PC
representatives and our wardens, they offer themselves graciously in service of
the parish and I know – like all of us – only want the very best for our
Church.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Any questions (it’s
unusual, I know, but I do feel I should allow you to ask for any clarifications
you might need to ask for – though there will be time for that both before and
after vestry)?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">I hope this gives
some idea of how we do things, I do want to end by saying a little bit of
why.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In our reading from Leviticus we
have a little glimpse of some of the law of the Jewish faith which is the
foundation of our own faith.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You might
question both with regards to the canons and structures of the church and in this
passage why we take any account of the law at all because surely Jesus takes
away all that need to follow the Hebrew law?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Well, that’s a good point, but it is important to note that these
structures, these laws are for our benefit – not to constrain but to free us
from the fear of knowing what we can and can’t do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They take away the uncertainty and
subjectivity of the way we often act and offer us a shape and boundaries to our
activities.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The reasoning behind
the Jewish law was to give the people of God standards to live by – which is
why in our lesson from Leviticus we don’t just get a bit of religious
mumbo-jumbo but real, challenging, practical demands – do not defraud, take
care of the needy by allowing them to share in your harvest, nurture and make
allowances for the physically less able, don’t hate, learn to live together.
Follow God’s standards.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">It comes back to our
calling to live together in love, to see Christ in one another, to recognise
the Spirit between and within us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And as
human beings we sometimes forget how to do that, we sometimes need the checks
and balances that these structures provide.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And behind all this, if we were to delve into our Gospel (which I will
do only for a moment) we realise that God’s standards are very high indeed,
that we might even say they are greater than we could ever achieve – to be
holy, to be set aside, even to be perfect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This is our calling, and I don’t think I’ve reached it, perhaps we feel
we have.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Behind all this structure is an
acknowledgement that sometimes it doesn’t all go as well as we would hope and
long for, and that sometimes we let each other down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">And along with all of
that comes the promise of grace, of the Spirit of God living within us who says
‘I love you’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The God who calls us to
perfection doesn’t demand that we confine ourselves to rules and regulations,
though we may accept they can be helpful, but does promise to strengthen, to
guide, to inspire, to love and where necessary to remind us that we are
forgiven.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">As a community may we
be a place where love reigns, and as we together wrestle with faith, and what
it means to be people of faith in a changing world, may we be open to one
another, graceful and respectful of one another and willing to bear with the
structures – and where necessary challenge them – in order that we can be an
effective and safe church, a place where we can explore the depths of being in
God and know that there are things, even rules and regulations, that seek to
give us the safe space we need.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Amen. </span></div>
Alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117533964126439556noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608660058903144060.post-66703260791748062032014-02-02T08:36:00.000+00:002014-02-02T08:36:07.942+00:00Struggles with Suffering<br />
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Presentation
(20</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">14</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">) Year A RCL Principal</span></div>
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<a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=258330096" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" target="_blank">Malachi 3.1-5</a></div>
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<a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=258330096" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Hebrews 2.14-18</span></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=258330096" target="_blank">Luke 2.22-40 </a></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">A Sword Will Pierce
your Own Heart also</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">God is here!</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">You’ve already heard
that phrase a few times this morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That bold proclamation which is the foundation of today’s Gospel reading
– when Anna and Simeon encounter the baby Jesus and proclaim ‘God is here’ –
both in word and in action.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Simeon
through the words we have come to know as the Nunc Dimitus, Anna with words of
praise and speaking of all that the child would accomplish.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">These proclamations,
which are – Luke is keen to point out – fully the work of the Holy Spirit (a
theme that will crop up again and again in Luke’s Gospel)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>burst in on the activity of Joseph and Mary
as they seek to fulfil the holy law and offer the sacrifice due.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God is here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>God is here in this child, in this place, in this activity, in the
promise of who Jesus is, in the embracing of those outside of the expectations
of the day (notably the gentiles), in this act of taking, blessing and sharing.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Just as an aside,
these are the formal actions of the Eucharist – that the bread and wine is
‘taken’, ‘blessed’ and ‘shared’ – and in my understanding of this sacrament,
and one I believe is the common Anglican understanding, it is in the sharing,
the communion, that this sacrament is made efficacious, in which the moment of
grace is present.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is not in what the
presider does, not in the words we say, but in the sharing.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">So Simeon takes Jesus
into his arms, says words of blessing, and then shares the truth of who Jesus
is with all who are there and gives Jesus to his parents who in turn will share
him with the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">But the words Simeon
says are not easy words, not just about how amazing Jesus was, they are words
of departing ‘Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace.’ And they
are words which discern the end of Jesus’ ministry, the inevitable consequence of
confronting this world with the reality of God, as Simeon says to Mary words
which have resonated with me for years, but particularly since considering
these verses for this week “so that the hearts of many will be revealed and a
sword will pierce your own soul also’ – or indeed in some translations of verse
35 of chapter 2, your heart will be pierced (though the Greek word psyche,
which is used in this verse, is most commonly translated soul it means essence,
the seat of who we are, our very being, the heart of things)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">This time of
amazement and wonder – there was a lot of amazement and wonder going on in
these passage and in the preceding passages in Luke, was also a time which
presaged pain and suffering, of struggle and even (for those of us who know the
end of the story) despair and death.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">One of the hardest
conversations any Christian can have, and it’s one I (and I am sure we all)
have repeatedly, is about suffering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
questions ‘why does God allow suffering?’ or even worse ‘is God testing me’ or
the really difficult one ‘what is the meaning of this suffering?’ crop up again
and again.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The reason I put them
in that order is because I think that as we move from one of those to another
we betray a certain vision of God which I suspect most of us would not, indeed
could not, buy into. So I am not going to answer them in any logical order but
to say something about suffering, meaning, testing, the will of God and all
that in a kind of messy blob – because that is what this is, messy, difficult,
heart breaking, heart piercing.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">There is some stuff
that I feel I can say boldly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I suspect
some interpreters would disagree with me, but I am going to say these with
absolute conviction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These things are:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">God does not cause
suffering nor direct it at us. But nor does God stop suffering.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">God does not want us
to suffer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">God did not want
Jesus to suffer in order to take his anger at sin out on someone.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">God does not cause us
to suffer (or avoid suffering) due to our behaviour, good or bad.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">God does not have a
plan for you and I that includes trying us through suffering, leading us
through pain and teaching us by making us suffer.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Oh boy, this is a big
subject, perhaps I should have allowed a few more weeks for this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All I can do is offer some of my own understanding,
using the scriptures from today and the wider picture I feel comes from
Scripture, the tradition of the Church, the reason and heart that we have as
Christ followers, and indeed Christ bearers.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">We see in both the
Luke and Hebrews readings for today a lot of reference to things which are
uncomfortable for us to consider and which on first look might jar with our
understanding of a loving, gracious God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Or at least that point us towards theologies that might jar!</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">First of all we have
in Hebrews a theology of sacrifice which uses this word ‘atonement’. Now when
linked with the word ‘substitutionary’ atonement it comes to mean that Jesus
suffered in our place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some would even
go so far as to say that God demanded punishment for the sin in the world and
that Jesus stepped in to assuage God’s anger and suffered for our sins in order
to deflect God’s wrath from us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is
a vast oversimplification of the understanding of penal substitution, but it’s
not an unfair one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sin causes God anger,
God cannot live with sin, sin must be paid for, and Jesus paid the price.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">No.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just no.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s a theology that seems to suggest that God can’t forgive without
someone getting it in the neck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That
mercy can only happen if a certain set of circumstances are fulfilled. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That somehow suffering is necessary for God to
love us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">It’s a theology that
can’t cope with the idea that things happen just because they happen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of the hardest things that Christians
seem to struggle with getting to grips with is that God might not control
everything that happens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps stuff
happens because things happen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On a
philosophical level, if we truly believe that God gives us freedom, then the
concept of God guiding every act and consequence contradicts that idea
completely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">In my youth there
were a series of movies based on the mythology of ancient Greece – Jason and
the Argonauts, Clash of the Titans, that kind of thing – they often had the
groundbreaking work of Ray Harryhausen and his stop motion animation – but
that’s my inner nerd showing… Anyway, one of the most striking images that
repeatedly appeared in these movies was that of the Gods playing chess with the
lives of Perseus, or Jason or whoever – moving him and his companions around on
a chessboard on a whim, controlling and manipulating every move.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">That is not the
teaching of the Christian Church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">It’s a view that
absolves us from responsibility – an immature view that prevents us from being
truly adult and taking credit and blame for our own lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think it was CS Lewis who once wrote ‘God
and the Devil get a lot of credit for things they have nothing to do with.’ </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">And it’s hard to let
go of the idea that a God who is all-powerful, infinite, all knowing and all
loving – that understanding of God rooted deep in Christian tradition and
philosophy – it is hard to let go of the idea of control, that everything
happens ‘for a reason’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As if God uses
suffering and pain to teach us – like an angry parent standing over us saying
‘I’m going to teach you a lesson’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Well that’s a deeply
inadequate view of God.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">It’s much harder to
get to the point where we join with the writer of Ecclesiastes and say
‘meaningless, meaningless, all is meaningless’ – or as another translation says
‘useless, useless’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes all we can
do is look at suffering and say it is meaningless, there is no reason, God is
NOT trying to teach us something through it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>God is not getting us to fit into a plan, God is not causing suffering
to teach us something.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God does not say
that so and so gets ill and so and so gets rich either because of their
wickedness or their righteousness, or in order that they might grow,
spiritually, through the experience.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">BUT – and this is the
witness I find in Scripture – God is with us in all things, in joy and in
suffering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Alongside us, suffering with
us, heartbroken, soulpierced.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The God
who chooses to act through and in us, is the same God who is with us and in us
in good and bad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">This God was
alongside Christ in all he went through, but did not make it happen in order to
satisfy some kind of heavenly bank account against which there was a debt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we hear that Christ is a Sacrifice there
is an aspect of self-offering, of self-giving that was the result of Jesus
absolute commitment to the values of God and the life of what we call the reign
of God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus’ dying was a result of his
dedication to the outcast and the unloved, to the truth of God in all things
and the calling to justice and the removal of those things which drew people
away from God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He spoke out against
injustice and intolerance, and the misuse of power for personal, political or
religious ends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was why he was
executed, not to satisfy an angry God who needed appeasing.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">That was why a sword
would pierce Mary’s heart. Because this commitment to the truth would bring
Jesus to death and suffering. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">It reminds us too
that as Christians we are not exempt from suffering, we don’t – as this
community knows – get an easy ride because we are people of faith.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact if we are committed to the values of
Christ then we too find ourselves in danger of suffering, even to the point of
vilification and pain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Even within the
discipline of opening ourselves up the God we will find things that might cause
us pain – facing up to the things which turn us inwards to the exclusion of
others, of God and of that which is best for us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I believe that is the judgement which Malachi
talks of, not the kind of judgement often held of God looking at humankind and
saying ‘you are bad and need punishing’ but a judgement which says ‘you are
graced, come to me that I may give you life’. In the adversarial view of
justice which our contemporary society holds we see the judge as adjudicating
between right and wrong, in the view which seems more consistent with scripture
the Holy Spirit is described as an advocate, speaking for us, encouraging,
enlivening, bringing hope and affirmation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In an adversarial judicial system someone must be punished, in an
advocate system, reconciliation and healing is the mark of true justice.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">So, we come back to
the opening of my thoughts, and of the introduction to this day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I believe that these readings, with their
talk of suffering and pain, of atonement and judgement, hold a very positive
message behind them – the one I began with. God is here!</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">God is here alongside
the one who is broken by suffering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">God is here alongside
the one called to stand up for what is good and right, no matter what the cost.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">God is here with
those whose path of faith is a struggle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And with those whose path is a joy.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">God is here, even
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">God is here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Amen.</span></div>
Alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117533964126439556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608660058903144060.post-13743804887396450352014-01-19T22:09:00.002+00:002014-01-19T22:09:58.106+00:00Thinking with the heart, grace and inclusivity<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">First up, a
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The vet says,
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">So, that
extremely tenous link brings me to the snippet of information I really want to
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have been intrigued to discover recently that using various technological aids
to map the human body it has been discovered that our internal organs -
particularly the gut and the heart - have neurons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That may seem and odd way to start a sermon
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too!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">It’s something
I mentioned last week in our Iona service when we invited you all to enter the
river of prayer and faith which is represented by the river running into our
font.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Entering the river like we enter
the story - not just with our minds, but with our hearts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are invited to engage with and encounter
the stories of faith on an emotional level - again I pay tribute to our First
Nations Brothers and Sisters in being able to feel stories and share stories by
heart - by which I don’t mean by memory, but by heart.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">I can’t stress
enough just how much I feel that emotional engagement is something we as people
of faith need to rediscover. In a world where many are unsatisfied by rational
argument, where people want not to just explain mystery but experience it,
where doctrine is rejected but story is valued - where the Church is seen not
as a family of faith, but a club of those who follow certain rules and
regulations - into this world we have a story to speak, a spirituality to share
and a love to give.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">And our heart
is underrated - at least in western Christianity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have bought into the rational thinking of
the enlightenment, we so often prize thinking, even without realising it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">When I brought
back the creed into worship there were a number of people who were very pleased
about again having something that was part of their experience of worship, part
of their history, part of their tradition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Those who have expressed some concern - despite me trying to reassure us
all that this is not an attempt to force us down a route of doctrinal
conformity - have done so because they feel that in saying a Creed they are
being asked to say things they don’t ‘believe’ in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s an interesting use of the word believe,
a very post enlightenment, rationalist use. It’s not a use that the early
Church would have recognised, nor one that many of our Christian ancestors
would have understood.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">To believe is
to feel, not just to think! Really? I hear you think.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The word be-lief which is our English translation
of Credo in Latin, or pistos in the Greek - is actually to have an alliegance
to, it is to trust, to give creedence to, meaning to rely on, to lean on, to
ally one’s heart to.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">We have tied
up our understanding of ‘believing’ to mean ‘intellectual assent to’ - wheras I
believe it is better expressed as ‘grasp’ or ‘cling to’ or ‘hold tightly’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we recite the creed together we are
sharing the story, clinging to something greater than ourselves, being a part
of something that stretches back centuries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I would say that it’s about saying ‘I cling to the mystery’ though I
don’t pretend to have intellectually got it all together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bishop John Shelby Spong put’s it beautifully
(and thank you Sarah for the link to this piece) in a Q & A from 9<sup>th</sup>
January that addresses Creeds:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 12.0pt; mso-para-margin-left: 1.0gd;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">“I see this creed primarily as a love song that our
fourth century ancestors wrote to sing to their understanding of God. I have no
problem in joining in the singing of this ancient love song, but it would not
occur to me that saying these words in worship somehow committed me to a
literalized belief system....”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">We are joining
in the song.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are feeling the greater
story every time we say these ancient texts together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Likewise the use of a confession in our
worship is not about ME and MY BADNESS, but about taking that invitation as a
community to both admit our complicity in a world which turns away from God’s
love, and to acknowledge our brokenness and hope for healing, laying them
before a loving God who opens herself to us and offers us, again and again, new
life, grace, and the embrace of being accepted without strings, without
conditions, without reason.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">So many of our
Scriptural encounters are about how it feels to encounter God, and how it feels
to be desolate without God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In our words
from the Servant songs of the second book within the book of Isaiah - probably
a later writer who added to the original works of Isaiah of Jerusalem - we have
a story of faith.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s about that
profound sense of being completely known and called by God - twice the writer
uses the phrase ‘you knew me in the womb’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s a much misused phrase by those who wish to use it purely in
arguments about abortion - the sense it is trying to convey is a sense of purpose
and of being deeply and intimately connected to God.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">It’s a deeply
emotive and moving thought - I don’t know about you but some of the most
powerful feelings I have are related to feeling known, and feeling accepted and
loved - and my greatest moments of despair come when I feel rejected or when I
am not accepted as I am.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">And our
calling as Christian people involves sharing those feelings, and a sense of
honesty about our sadness, our loss, our struggles as well as the joy we find
in community and with the love of God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Our stories contain peaks and troughs, good and bad, despair and hope,
laughter and tears.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">To see the
depths and heights of being human and seeking faith we don’t have to look much
further than the Psalms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And today’s
Psalm is, again, sharing deep feelings, and sharing a story of a faith journey,
‘I waited patiently for the Lord, he inclined and heard my cry... He lifted me
out of the mud and mire, out of the pit and set my feet upon a rock.’</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Of course we
don’t think this is literal language, it is about that sense of being without a
foothold, of sinking, of being lost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
in contrast to this the Psalmist feels deeply grounded, firmly planted in that
sense of worth that God gives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is
what puts the new song in his mouth, this is the cause for celebration -
standing firmly as one who is known and loved by God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And the result of this is to ‘hide God’s law
in one’s heart’ - not in the head, not solely in the intellect, but to hold to
the truth of God revealed in the heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Remember ‘the law’ in the understanding of a faithful Jew was not the
words of law, but the sense of being chosen, of serving and obeying God and of
being set free to be obedient to a way which was created for the benefit of
humankind - the law designed to liberate human beings from harmful values and practise
and bring us into a lifegiving relationship with a loving God.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">And as we
continue this theme - recognising that there is more I could say from Paul’s
words to the Corinthians, but recognising too that we only have so much time
here this morning, so I will move on to the real place where I think we can
gain a perspective today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our words from
John’s Gospel,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is what our Sermon
Circle spent much of our time talking about yesterday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is much to it, and much I could say -
and I must confess that most of my thoughts this morning come from this Gospel
passage, even though it is the last passage I want to tackle today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here we find the key.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And we find the key,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would say, in three words.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">In our reading
from the Gospel today we are again invited to encounter Christ again and to
find our place in the story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This story
of the first disciples put in a uniquely Johannine way - just as many of the
accounts of events in John are markedly different to the other Gospels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unlike the Matthew 4, Mark 1 and Luke 5
accounts where there are nets being mended and fishing taking place in this
story we have Andrew and A N Other with John the Baptist who have Jesus pointed
out to them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These two are already
followers of John the Baptist, we are told, and Andrew goes to fetch his
brother Simon, who later became known as Peter, and show him this individual
described by John as ‘the lamb of God’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>These disciples ask Jesus ‘where are you staying’ and are given the
response ‘come and see.’</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">And it’s worth
considering those few verses carefully.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We have this account which John is keen to firmly root in time, telling
us it was about four in the afternoon when this happened, and this question
‘Where are you staying.?’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An odd thing
to ask a stranger perhaps, but the author or authors of this Gospel, are
another attempt to ground this account.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Gospel of John wants us to see the reality behind this story -<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and the ‘where are you staying?’ is a
deliberate echo of the verse we heard just a few weeks back at Christmas from
the prologue to John ‘The word became flesh and dwelt among us’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>- that word dwelt is a deliberately resonant
one - tabernacled, pitched tent, made home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It talks of the identification of the divine with humanity not just as a
bystander but intimately bound up the story, in the reality of being human.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">So the answer
to ‘where are you staying’ is, at least in part ‘ right here with you’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the openness of the invitation is
something that deeply resonates with me - those three words.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Come and see”.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">In those words
are an invitation to a world of faith, a shared journey, to love, to joy to a
life of colour and texture and depth. A life that is not immune from pain or
free from suffering but is one which is still hopeful, one that is graced, life
- as Jesus himself describes it in the tenth chapter of John’s Gospel - in all
it’s fullness.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">And I believe
- by which I mean I cling to, I give my heart to - in the love which is there
in that gracious invitation “Come and see.” That’s the invitation which we as a
church are called to give - come and see love in action, come and see faith,
come and see mystery, come and see hope, come and see struggle and life, and
death, and resurrection, and family, and acceptance and light and darkness and
failure, and forgiveness and compassion and trust.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Come and be a part of our journey, come and
explore, come and feel, come and share.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">It’s not a
recruiting campaign.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because that come
and see is not just about getting people through our doors, it’s about us continuing
to speak up for justice and to speak out against injustice - here, or on the
streets, or in our social action, in our ongoing campaign for full recognition
of equal marriage within our wider Church and care for the excluded.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our speaking out for justice for First
Nations and our questioning of the inequality of our society where many cannot
afford to eat, or who are abused, or suffering from addictions which consume
and control them. Come and see our commitment to radical inclusion lived out.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">It’s about
taking that invitation with us in our working lives, in our relationships with
others, in our homes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Come and see a God
who is among us in love.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">It’s about
being Christian people - dedicated to one another and to Christ, seeking to
live in community, and welcoming all who come to us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Come and see.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God loves you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Love one Another. Love yourself.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Amen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>May it be so. Amen and Amen.</span></div>
Alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117533964126439556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608660058903144060.post-15889454576375737312013-09-15T21:16:00.000+01:002013-09-15T21:17:07.947+01:00Count the cost. Or not.<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Proper
18 (2013) Year C RCL Principal<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=246276214" target="_blank">Jeremiah 18.1-11<o:p></o:p></a></span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=246276214" target="_blank">Psalm 139.1-5 & 12-18<o:p></o:p></a></span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=246276214" target="_blank">Philemon <i>verses
</i>1-21<o:p></o:p></a></span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=246276214" target="_blank">Luke 14.25-33</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h1>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Count the
cost. Or not.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></h1>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">OK,
how’s the lego – have you had fun building?
Show me what you’ve made… What do you mean you’ve not made
anything??? Why is that? </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Hmmm.
So we will have to do something – any suggestions? </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Work
together, now there is a good suggestion.
And if there are any young people, say, elementary and middle school
kids, perhaps you’d like to go around the Church and ask folk if they would be
good enough to give you their lego blocks.
I believe Craig is going to help you with some construction work at the
back….<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">And
for the rest of us. What does this
mean? Why lego?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Well
let me start with a little more of my story.
When I was first being encouraged to consider looking at this position
of Rector I discussed it with Jo, who very quickly said that I needed to talk
it over with my Spiritual Director. My
Spiritual Director is a very thoughtful woman with a lot of wisdom and grace
which she shares generously. I explained
what I had learned of St John’s via the profile and various conversations and
her response was ‘I’m not trying to sway you,but you must go, and be prepared
for the cost.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">She
carried on – this is a great opportunity for you, and may very well be where
God is calling you. It is exciting and
will be challenging and whether you take it or not there will be grief and
loss. If you don’t take this
opportunity, or they don’t appoint you, then you will wonder what you have
missed. It will probably be something
that will always be a ‘what if’. If you
do go then you will have to deal with losing everything that you are used
to. You will move away from family, from
the security and success (and even failures) that are a part of your present
position. You will leave your home and
family and friends.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">But
I think you should go.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Elizabeth
was right, as it turns out… But what I really really appreciated was someone
laying out in start terms exactly what the cost of following this process of
job application and discernment might be.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Sound
familiar. Well it’s Jesus way of doing
things as well. He says we must count
the cost of being disciples, of being his followers. In no more stark terms than in today’s Gospel
reading. Whoever does not take up their
cross cannot be my disciple.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Crumbs,
Christian life is hard.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Jesus
doesn’t pull any punches. Jesus compares
following him to setting off to war, or preparing a major building operation,
not something to be taken lightly, and not something to be undertaken without
planning to see it through to the end.
Even more so he says ‘Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me
cannot be my disciple’. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Crosses
would have been a relatively familiar sight to the people Jesus was speaking
to. A grisly, agonising and long lasting
form of execution it was used as much as a deterrent to those thinking of
disobeying Roman law as a way of punishing lawbreakers. Crosses were put in prominent places where
people would see them, and before each crucifixion the condemned would be
forced, as in the Good Friday story we know so well, to carry their cross to
their place of execution – a very public spectacle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">So
Jesus refers to something that is both familiar and shocking to try and give
some idea of the cost of discipleship.
There is no hint in this passage, or indeed in any of Jesus words, that
being a disciple is an easy option, or the route to a cushy life. In fact throughout the Gospels Jesus talks of
his own homeless status, about the need to endure suffering, about the threat
of persecution, about working hard and about absolute devotion to God’s cause –
a devotion that is equivalent to hating family, friends and even life itself. It’s not an easy thing to hear, it’s not an
easy thing to preach and it is a subject that Jesus touches on repeatedly
throughout the Gospels. Being a faithful
follower is hard. It will involve
sacrifice, letting go, openness to God’s way of doing things, loving the
loveless and the unlovely. Being a
disciple will involve suffering.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">But
this <i>suffering is not an end in itself</i>,
it often comes as a part of the life of the disciple, part of every life – but
we don’t follow in order that we might suffer, but we endure suffering that we
might be faithful. Our call is not to
suffer, but to remain true to our faith and to the truth of Christ no matter
what we endure.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">And
even from suffering God can bring life.
Jesus suffered and died on the cross that he might defeat the greatest
suffering, that of death and the power of sin.
Then through his faithfulness was brought back to life again through the
power and the love of God. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“But
what has all this got to do with lego blocks?” you may ask. Well, our life of discipleship is costly and
we must be realistic about this. We are
facing change in our Parish and we must be prepared for the cost of that. As individual followers of Jesus we are told
through the Gospel, and in our reading from the book of the prophet Jeremiah
today, that being formed into the likeness of Christ can be, indeed will be,
painful. Like a potter who needs to
break the clay, and mould it and shape it in order to create an item of beauty
or usefulness, or both, then God’s work in us, calling us to let go of the
things which distract and divert us from being formed into Christlikeness and
in learning to seek and serve Christ in one another. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">But
even more as a community we are being called to consider the cost of our
discipleship. We are undergoing a major
building project here, and no I don’t just mean the redevelopment project, but
we are seeking to build up our community of faith, our community of worship,
our community of worship. This endeavour
is something we have to mindfully set ourselves to doing, and to count to the
cost.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Which
brings me back to the lego blocks. They
didn’t have a lot to offer when we gave you each a brick on the way in. But in working together, and in some of us
giving up our bricks, and in some of us sharing our resources we, I hope have
managed to create something….<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In
the church we must all take responsibility for the ministry of the Church
and no longer leave it to someone at the front, or that the work of
ministry will be done only by clergy, staff, or wardens – we all have some
responsibility for our own spiritual growth, our education, our calling to
serve in the name of Christ here in St John’s and the community to which God
has called us.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">It
means being willing to take up our cross and follow.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Let’s
pray not that we might escape all the troubles of the world, but rather that
through everything we may endure and be faithful, allowing the potter to
reshape and create something new, fashioning from the struggle something
beautiful and filled with purpose. That
we may mature through good and bad and grow up into Christ our head. And let’s pray that we will have the faith to
see God at work, even when it seems the struggle is too much. Let us pray that we will be realistic about
the cost of our discipleship, of being community, of serving our sister and
brother in need and of becoming the people we are called to be.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">May God bless us in
all we endure, and give us strength, faith, hope and love.</span>Alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117533964126439556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608660058903144060.post-12092040180986796772013-08-06T19:48:00.000+01:002013-08-06T22:25:49.781+01:00The First Sermon for St John The DivineWell, this is it, my opening sermon. Don't get too excited, it won't win any preaching awards, nor lead to revival in BC, but I wanted to be clear and straightforward for my first Sunday serving in this place....<br />
<br />
It will be available as a podcast soon (oooh, I hear you say, or maybe not)<br />
<br />
Warning, I may have used the opening story before....<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=242814236" target="_blank">Hosea 11:1-11</a></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=242814236" target="_blank">Colossians 3:1-11</a></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=242814236" target="_blank">Luke 12:13-21</a></div>
<div lang="en-GB">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 20pt;">Eat
Drink and be Merry </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">?</span></span></b></div>
<br />
<br />
<div lang="en-GB">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A priest
takes up his new role as rector of a parish. All seems well during
his first Sunday service and as people start leaving the minister
says goodbye at the door and has the usual 'lovely sermon', 'thanks
for joining us', 'welcome', 'glad to have you on board' etc from
those leaving, until about ten people along a dishevelled looking man
says 'long winded', and 'dreadful voice' and then wanders off back
into the church. A few more folk shake hands and say farewell with
'thank you for your words for today', 'good to have you here' etc and
the same chap returns saying 'boring', 'what have we done?',
'dreadful sermon'. </span></span>
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div lang="en-GB">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It
happens two or three times, a dozen or so of the congregation come by
offering welcome, with this chap returning and saying very negative
things. At the end of the welcome following the service the new
minister goes to the vestry and the Associate Priest asks 'so how was
your first service, then? To which the priest answers 'it was great,
though there was this one guy who seemed very strange.' “Oh, says
the Associate, don't worry about him, he just goes around repeating
what other people are saying.”</span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div lang="en-GB">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Hope I
don't that kind of reaction....</span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div lang="en-GB">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I should
say 'hello I'm Alastair and I will be your Rector for today... and
hopefully a number of days to come” It is a huge privilege to be
here, and to have the responsibility for serving you as your
Incumbent, and to support you all in your ministry to this local
community, and to the city of Victoria. It is a joy for me to be
able to share worship with you and to offer some thoughts and
teaching to you. In short, I am very pleased to be here, and I look
forward to getting to know you and to being your minister.</span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div lang="en-GB">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So, you
are probably wondering what your new Rector has to say for himself.
I did wonder whether to hijack this sermon and take this time to say
something about myself, but actually I want to start as I mean to go
on and to offer some thoughts from the Scriptures set by the
Lectionary for this Sunday. Also, you have plenty of time to hear
about me, and you will discover that sometimes this pulpit, or the
front of the dais, or wherever can take on something of a
confessional aspect on my part – because I am sharing this journey
with you. I am not standing here as the expert with all the answers,
but as a fellow pilgrim on this strange, wonderful, disturbing,
exciting, hopeful, life giving journey which is following Jesus, on
being a person who is struggling with, celebrating and embracing the
life of faith. So you`ll get to hear plenty about me. I look
forward also to hearing your stories in these coming weeks and
months.</span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div lang="en-GB">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">When I
read the lections for this week, and as I started to really think
about how I might start my preaching ministry with you good people of
St John the Divine I had a couple of reactions. One was oh yes, what
a great set of readings, the second was that if I wasn`t careful I
could easily come across as somewhat negative and grumpy as I tried
to share something about these passages, particularly the Gospel
reading for today.</span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div lang="en-GB">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">What I
mean by that is, for instance, that when Jesus is asked to sort out a
problem for a person in the crowd – when he says tell my brother to
divide the family inheritance with me – Jesus says no, I am not
going to do that for you. It would be too easy to apply that to a
discussion on the role of a new Rector. </span></span>
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div lang="en-GB">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It`s true
that I don`t come to sort everything out and I am not a miracle cure
to what we might feel ails the Church! I heard Larry`s excellent
last sermon </span>(</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">http://podOmatic.com/r/lEywnE) </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> and this passage fits beautifully with the idea of the
rescuer, victim and persecutor. The kind of game playing, as Larry
called it, that Jesus refuses to join in with! I could take that as
foundation for my thoughts today and say that I won`t be the rescuer,
should anyone feel in need of it! This may be true, but firstly you
had a very good sermon on this two weeks ago and secondly what I am
sure you would want to hear is what we are going to do, not what
isn`t going to happen.</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div lang="en-GB">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So what I
want to do is ask some questions. Questions that I hope will
characterise our life as a Church, and our own individual walk as
Christ followers.</span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div lang="en-GB">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">My first
question is `where is God in this` I don`t mean in a simplistic `God
turns up at the end of the parable`kind of way – but to ask
something which we should ask about every part of our lives. In what
way is God active in the whole thing, and in what way do we include
God in our activity.</span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div lang="en-GB">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It
strikes me that before the shocking denoument of this parable, where
the `rich fool` as he is often called is struck down by a God who
challenges the man`s self obsession – before that moment God is
quite obviously, and deliberately, excluded from the story. In
sharp contrast to last week`s passage from Luke`s Gospel where Jesus
teaches the prayer we call `the Lord`s Prayer`, the rich man is not
content with `daily bread` but stores up treasures for himself. He
is concerned not just with fulfilling his needs but with getting as
much as he can. He way well have done this through wise stewardship
and thoughful planning, though it seems much more likely that is was
just `luck` as the passage says `his land produced abundantly`. For
this provision there is no gratitude, just a consolidation of the
man`s own wealth. And in response to this bounty is not to give
thanks to the giver, nor to use it in provision of others, but for
this rich man to turn inwards.</span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div lang="en-GB">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">`I will
say to my soul, Soul you have ample goods laid up for many years;
relax, eat, drink, be merry`</span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div lang="en-GB">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">One
writer, Robert Hamerton-Kelly says this turn of phrase is no
accident. The word translated `soul` is the greek word `psyche`-
the man – with almost comic effect -<i><b>formally</b></i>
addresses his own ego! There is no acknowledgement of a world beyond
himself, but only of his own self-sufficiency, and a sense of self
congratulation and, indeed, selfishness!</span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div lang="en-GB">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
result of this, in Jesus` parable is God`s direct, even vengeful,
intervention. And a word of condemnation `You fool! This very night
your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared,
whose will they be</span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div lang="en-GB">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So where
<i><b>is</b></i> God in all this.</span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div lang="en-GB">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">God is
there in the challenge to us, as we engage with this scripture, to
consider whether we include him in our lives – not just in our
church, but in our attitude to the things we own, to the things that
fill our lives, our time, our families. </span></span>
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div lang="en-GB">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">God is
the there in the challenge for us to look beyond ourselves, both in
the sense of being ourselves open to the need to engage with the
other – in the form of neighbour, colleague, friend and stranger
and in the form of the God who wishes to be a part of our every day.
Another recent lection, the Gospel for July 14<sup>th</sup> just
gone, sums up this outward looking attitude. Luke 10.27, a young
man`s summary of the law to Jesus</span></span></div>
<div lang="en-GB">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">`Love the
Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind and love
your neighbour as yourself`. </span></span>
</div>
<div lang="en-GB">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In that
summary we have balance between loving God with all that we are –
intellect, emotion, soul, alongside loving our neighbour, and having an
appropriate love for self! It should not be one at the expense of the
other. But that may well be a sermon for another time!</span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div lang="en-GB">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">But as we
are challenged to look beyond our own internal world, we are
challenged also as a church community to do the same. And this is my
challenge to myself and to each one of us at the start of my service
here in Victoria!</span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div lang="en-GB">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">There is
a phenomenal amount that St John the Divine can be pleased about in
the way that this Church community engages with the world around, in
the care and compassion that characterises so much of the activity
and life of this parish. There is much to celebrate and give thanks
for in the shared life and spiritual growth that this parish Church
has obviously enjoyed over some years. This is much that is good in
St John`s. There is so much going on that I find inspiring,
exciting, and I have no doubt enjoyable too! Enjoyable is good, fun
is good, inspiring and exciting is good!</span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div lang="en-GB">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">But we
cannot as a community, as the pilgrim people of God afford to rest on
our laurels, to consider ourselves a `successful church`. I know
there are things which we want to address and explore as a church in
the coming weeks and months. I know there are issues, ideas,
concerns and hopes. I`m glad I can be here to share these things
with you, as you will all no doubt – as is says in investment
advertisements - `past performance is no guarantee of success` we
cannot just look to the past, to what we have achieved before and
what we have done – but together we will, I hope, discern where God
is leading us as his people serving downtown Victoria and one another
in this body of Christ.</span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div lang="en-GB">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I believe
that God is calling us together to continue to engage with our faith
in worship, prayer, learning, wrestling with and understanding
Scripture. I believe that God is calling us to engage with one
another in this community and to continue to be a place where all are
welcomed, embraced and have a place in our life together. </span></span>
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div lang="en-GB">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I believe
that God is calling us to be a people who share our bounty with
others. Who continue to reach out to the people beyond our walls and
who help the needy, speak out for the oppressed and powerless, and
seek the welfare of all. </span></span>
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div lang="en-GB">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I believe
that God is calling us to challenge ourselves to grow, to be
faithful, to be loving and to be willing to follow where Christ
leads. And in all of this I believe the Spirit of God will be the
life affirming, live giving inspiration that will help us do and be
these things.</span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div lang="en-GB">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And so I
will say again that I am very pleased to be a part of this next stage
of the life of our Church of St John the Divine, Victoria. I look
forward to being with you, to sharing all that is to come, and to
laughter, life, love and faith held in common and enjoyed.</span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div lang="en-GB">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">May the
love of Christ dwell in us richly, and may we Christ indeed be all
and in all for us.</span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div lang="en-GB">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Amen.</span></span></div>
Alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117533964126439556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608660058903144060.post-52282547686796453232013-05-19T21:35:00.000+01:002013-05-19T21:35:20.330+01:00A Sermon For PentecostWoohoo - it's celebrate Church day! <br />
<br />
Here are my thoughts and words from this morning, at least the script - there was a fair amount of departure from said script!<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Year C Pentecost (2013) RCL Princpal</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoList" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=235995476" target="_blank">Acts 2.1-21 <o:p></o:p></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoList" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=235995476" target="_blank">Genesis 11.1-9<o:p></o:p></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoList" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=235995476" target="_blank">John 14.8-17,25-27</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoList">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Celebrating Church</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWFLqzoeunmrv8VAOqIKolotl7g2HsHHX_SCdrukiSwnoV0j170mdwp0IE1Bv8YACa0EX19RggKS6uFmcc8nak9CyzFuKJUhvoZBFTWS0OVFB9N4Lo9PjhQ1MPGpjsy8YBX3HxfFC5Fao/s1600/SJD+broad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWFLqzoeunmrv8VAOqIKolotl7g2HsHHX_SCdrukiSwnoV0j170mdwp0IE1Bv8YACa0EX19RggKS6uFmcc8nak9CyzFuKJUhvoZBFTWS0OVFB9N4Lo9PjhQ1MPGpjsy8YBX3HxfFC5Fao/s200/SJD+broad.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Today is a celebration – a day to celebrate Church! Not a phrase we use very much – hooray let’s
celebrate Church is not the usual attitude I have experienced in my years of
ministry. And for those of us in the
business of leading within the Church our minds are more often than not on
‘how’ we are doing Church in any given week and how the component parts are
going to fit together when we get there!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It’s not often, I suspect, that any of us really think about
what it means to be Church and why we ‘do’ Church. We just get on with it – sometimes
struggling, sometimes anxious about what is going to happen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So to hear the stories of Scripture – the amazing start of
the Church at Pentecost, or Jesus talking in terms of doing things greater than
him through his Spirit – seems a bit distanced, a bit abstract… not really the
kind of Church that we are used to.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But WHY NOT?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Why should the Church not be filled with the same life and
excitement, the same peace, hope, love, faith, grace and wonder that we hear
about in the stories of Jesus’ relationship with his friends? Why are we not filled with the power and the
worship and dedication that we see in this story of the outpouring of the Holy
Spirit at the first Pentecost? After all, we have the same relationship with
Christ. He is alive, and we are called to follow him and know him in our every
day lives, to talk to him in prayer, to worship and obey him. Jesus is here with us- we may not see him but
he is! And we certainly have the same Spirit – the one who came as what
appeared to be tongues of fire and like rushing wind, who inspired the apostles
to speak in many languages and to proclaim the truth of faith – who transformed
them from a fearful huddle into a group boldly sharing the life of Christ and
who changed Peter from the faltering, stumbling, often blustering one who
denied into one who would preach with such authority that three thousand would
be added to the believers’ numbers that day!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Why aren’t we like that? Well the truth is that even for the first apostles and those early
Church members it didn’t stay like that.
Pentecost, the outpouring of the Spirit with signs and wonders soon
became the everyday life of prayer, worship and sharing that we read about at
the end of the chapter – the bit just after the reading from Acts we heard
today. We are told that they dedicated
themselves, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><sup><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #777777; font-size: 7.5pt;">42</span></sup><span lang="EN-US">They devoted
themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread
and the prayers. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #777777;">43</span><span lang="EN-US"> Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done
by the apostles. </span><sup><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #777777; font-size: 7.5pt;">44</span></sup><span lang="EN-US">All who believed were together and had all things in common; </span><sup><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #777777; font-size: 7.5pt;">45</span></sup><span lang="EN-US">they
would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds</span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5608660058903144060"><sup><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #0000bb; text-decoration: none;">*</span></sup></a><span lang="EN-US"> to all, as any had need. </span><sup><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #777777; font-size: 7.5pt;">46</span></sup><span lang="EN-US">Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke
bread at home</span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5608660058903144060"><sup><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #0000bb; text-decoration: none;">*</span></sup></a><span lang="EN-US">
and ate their food with glad and generous</span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5608660058903144060"><sup><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #0000bb; text-decoration: none;">*</span></sup></a><span lang="EN-US"> hearts, </span><sup><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #777777; font-size: 7.5pt;">47</span></sup><span lang="EN-US">praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day
the Lord added to their number those who were being saved. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So the Church began to establish itself. They met to pray, they learned to share, they
supported and loved one another. This is
the honeymoon period of the Church, they are learning what it means to be
Church, they are enthused and excited – but they are winging it, they don’t
have a plan, they don’t have structures or any aims beyond growing in
faith. By the time we get to Acts chapter
6 they appoint Deacons to serve at table in the sharing of meals and of
resources, they start to have a weekly pattern of worship and the Church starts
to spread across the Roman world, learning to incorporate different types of
person – slaves, soldiers, tradespeople, families, even eventually becoming the
official Religion of the empire.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And as that happened the structures we recognise start to
appear. But they did keep this
enthusiasm, they committed themselves to meet together, to share, to pray, to
learn from the teachings of Christ, and to have fellowship. Everything the early Church did was rooted in
these things.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So we celebrate Pentecost in order to remind us of the
wonder of that first flush of the outpouring of God’s Holy Spirit, and that way
that inspired women and men to work together to grow in faith and to continue
that wave of the Spirit – living, proclaiming and being the Gospel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But we have to ask, and it is a hard question, why are we so
far from that kind of expression of Church?
Yes we have two thousand years of experience (good and bad) since then,
yes our world is different – but we have the same God, the same Spirit, the
same saviour. Have we tamed the Church,
contained the wild and unpredictable Spirit within our buildings: quenched the
fire and sheltered ourselves against the wind?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There is still much that this passage of Scripture has to
say to us, there is still a challenge and hopefully, an inspiration within
these verses.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">First of all the promise of the Spirit is still real – still
on offer, perhaps not being poured out as was the case in those first days, but
promised to us in Baptism. If we were to
carry on with this passage we would read that the family of the Church had an
ongoing commitment in which they were sustained – the Holy Spirit was not just
for the big stuff, the wonder and ‘wow’ of Pentecost, but was alongside the
believers as they learned what following Christ together meant. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But in order to draw on the Spirit they had to meet
together, together – we know how hard it is to get people to travel beyond
their village boundaries to worship, but it is part of our calling as God’s
people, God’s body, to be united and share together in worship. Jesus didn’t pray ‘father I pray that they
will meet in individual groups dotted around the country, as you and I do’ – he
prayed ‘Father I pray that they will be one, as you and I are one.’ The reason for encouraging our parishes to
meet together more frequently is NOT because it makes the life of the clergy
easier – but because meeting together is what the Bible says we should do. And when we do, we are encouraged, we grow in
faith and we learn to love one another as Christ has called us to.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The story of Pentecost reminds us that the Church was, and
should be, radically inclusive. The
Spirit gives different languages in this story so that none miss out on hearing
the message. Now I know that our
Churches feel they are welcoming – and you are, you are lovely people/ And yet there is so much more we need to
consider if we want to include the 96% of people in our country who have little
or no contact with Church. We need to
consider whether the hymns and music that we enjoy are the kind of thing that
anyone outside of the Church would get, or enjoy, or feel a part of. We need to consider whether the words we use
are understandable to those who have not heard of prayer books or bibles, and
think about how we include them. We
should ask ourselves about whether a world which rarely uses books, where being
handed a book or books and bits of paper is completely alien, is well served by
all that we give out when people arrive, should we consider again the option of
screens, or other ways of encouraging worship.
It is all very well saying “It’s good enough for us” or “I like it as it
is.” But the Church is only ever one generation away from extinction, are we
going to be the last generation? We
should consider whether our welcome, and our refreshments, are not just ‘good
enough’ but make a statement about generosity and hospitality? And we as a Church need to think whether we
are truly able to cope with those who are truly different, those of different
colour, or sexuality, or tattoo’d and pierced, the single parents, those who
don’t ‘quite know how to behave’? Do we
reflect Christ’s values of being open to the outsider, the stranger, the
difficult and the disturbed or would we rather Church stayed as it is for as
long as we are a part of it?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And another thing we can take from the early Church, another
challenge – they GAVE freely, they shared their money, nothing was
withheld. Now, there’s a lentil eating,
kaftan wearing hippie inside me which says “wow man it would be so cool if we
all lived in like a totally big house and shared everything.” But common sense
prevails and I realise that the commitment was to give – and our own Churches
need that. It is our Christian
responsibility to give to the life of the Christian community. I know I don’t say that enough, but we should
be making a significant contribution to the life of the Church if we expect our
Churches to continue to stay open and to serve our communities. We need to consider our priorities and ask
whether we give generously in the way that the Bible expects us to.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And the last Challenge I want to consider from this story
and that is who is given the Holy Spirit in this Pentecost account? Well Peter and the Apostles at the start, but
the Spirit is poured out on ALL – the work of the Church then proceeds apace
and the Church grows exponentially – and though there are leaders and teachers,
the work of the church, the ministry of the church, the life of the Church is
sustained and maintained by the whole Church.
It is all God’s people that make Church possible – when each one is open
to the life of the Spirit, then the Church grows.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We all have a part in the life of the Church. We all have a responsibility for living and
sharing the life of Christ. It is not
the province of ministers, Clergy or lay, or churchwardens or PCC members to
‘do’ church for us. We are all one in
Christ Jesus, called to his body. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So even as we celebrate we are challenged to devote
ourselves again – to be devoted to learning from and about Christ, to be
devoted to fellowship: meeting and working together, to be inclusive and
completely welcoming, to be devoted to
giving and generous with our finances, time and energy and to be filled with
the Holy Spirit that each one of us might find our part in the life of Christ
and in the work of the people of God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thank God for the Church! Amen.</span></span><br />
<br />Alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117533964126439556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608660058903144060.post-47841325176916414472013-02-25T23:41:00.001+00:002013-02-25T23:44:56.847+00:00A Sermon on Trusting God and being honest...<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lent 2 (2013)
Year C RCL Principal<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=228835657" target="_blank"><o:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Genesis 15.1-12,17-18</span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=228835657" target="_blank">Philippians 3.17 - 4.1</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=228835657" target="_blank">Luke 13.31-35</a></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20pt;">Honesty
and Trust</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If someone came to the Rectory telling me that they hear the voice of
God, I must admit that I would think the worst.
Just as if someone approached you telling you that they had
conversations with the almighty then we might feel a little disturbed. This is not the kind of person we want to
sit next to on the bus….<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">BUT Imagine what it would be
like if we could talk to God freely and hear his voice! If we shared such an intimate relationship
with God that we were able to sit and chat and be chatted to in return.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">That’s the kind of relationship that we are told Abram (he’s not yet
Abraham in the passage we heard this morning, his change of name by divine deed
poll comes later on) had wit God. It’s almost
chatty, and at times is quite forthright and perhaps even a little bit
cheeky. If we know the story of Sodom
and Gomorra we would know that Abram negotiated with God that the Lord would
spare the city if a certain number of righteous people could be found – and
Abraham pushes his luck – and he knocks God down, we can imagine with a bit of
a glint in his eye, and with God responding with a kind of humourous
exasperation – to one righteous man. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="EN-US">That is not to say that Abraham forgets his place: when God
seems to ask for the sacrifice of Isaac, on whom all the fulfilment of God’s
promises hangs, Abraham prepares the altar. But the ability to whinge at God,
or even to question God, is one that Christian piety has rather bred out of us. </span><span lang="EN-US">And this is the relationship that Abram had
with God – a freedom, and openness, a relaxed attitude. It didn’t distract from the worship, the awe
and the respect he showed to God, but there was an ease about it that is
inspiring and wonderful.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And this relationship is made possible by Abram’s honesty, by the fact
that when God promises a reward to Abram in a vision Abram doesn’t grovel, he
doesn’t worship, he doesn’t fall down – he responds to God with complete
candour. “O Lord God, what will you give
me, for I continue to be childless…”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Abram tells God what really matters – he doesn’t beat around the bush
(that doesn’t come until Moses!). Abram
let’s God know his deepest longing – no fluff, no diversions, straight to the
point. I don’t know about you but when I
pray I sometimes fall into the trap of ‘O Lord you are so great and wonderful,
and if you could just do this or this…’ Worship becomes a way of twisting God’s
arm. Sometimes prayer becomes a shopping
list, or a bargaining session – well Lord if you’ll just do this then I promise
I will do this, and if you’ll just do this then I will etc etc’;<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And God responds to Abram’s honesty by making a promise, that if Abram
will trust then this deepest desire will be fulfilled – more than that, Abram’s
descendents will be as numerous as the stars in the sky… And Abrams’ response – this is perhaps the
most amazing part of the story – verse 6 of Chapter 15 of Genesis ‘…he believed
the Lord: and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.’. The enormous compassion of God in responding to what Abram
desperately wants is matched only by Abram’s trust that God will deliver it.
God sees his trust and “reckons it to him as righteousness” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This relationship is one of mutual trust, one of giving, of listening,
of responding. And to show just how
solemn this trust is we have a ritual that was considered one of the most
binding and important symbols of a contract that was possible in those
days. By cutting animals in half and
walking between them a person was saying that they would keep their half of a
contract, they would be bound to their promise, or allow themselves to be
slaughtered like the animals they walked between.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And God passes through these carcasses in the form of a flaming torch
and a smoking fire pot. God is the one
who makes this binding agreement, to give Abram the land which was to become
Israel. God responds to Abram’s trust
and to his faith and to his honesty by piling on love, by graciously giving to
Abram all he could long for.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And this theme of trust carries on in the passage from St Paul’s letter
to the Phillipians that was our other reading for this week. Philippians picks
up the theme of trust in God’s promises. Just as Abram trusts that God will
give him a son and a land and an inheritance as incalculable as the stars in
the sky, so, Paul urges his readers, we too have to trust in the bigger
promise. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
Paul offers harsh criticism too those whose trust is not in God, but whose
‘minds are set on earthly things’, as he says.
He actually calls these people ‘enemies of the cross’. It’s a difficult thing to hear, particularly
if we are trying to be as honest as Abram – for if we are honest we will
probably all say that perhaps we are a little to focussed on the things of the
world, and not really as open to God’s ways as we should be.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But that honesty is the basis for a relationship of trust with
God. If we trust God enough to confess
our own lack of faith God will respond to that trust. Apparently, this willingness on the part of
God to accept our trust in him as the equivalent of actual goodness is an
abiding characteristic of God. We see it over and over again, not least in
Jesus’s response to the penitent thief on the cross.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So we have these two themes of trust and of honesty. In our relationship with God one begets the
other. If we will be open with God then
God can be open with us. God will not
turn his back on us, he will always give us the benefit of the doubt, no matter
how inadequate our trust feels. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And God will respond – we may not hear his voice, or see visions, or
feel led to cut up animals – but our faith will grow, our closeness to God and
to other Christians will grow. And if we
learn to listen we will hear the voice of God – through the Bible, in the
traditions of the Church, through the teaching and words of fellow Christians,
and sometimes in the blinding insight that seems to come from out of
nowhere. God will speak to us in so many
little ways – and as we grow in faith we will learn to hear him more and more.<br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And so let’s begin by being honest with God about what we long for, and
by being honest about our lack of faith and our need for God’s help. Just as God does not laugh at Abram’s longing
for an heir, so he does not laugh at our needs and desires. But their
fulfilment will be his doing, not ours. Abram has the extraordinary and
terrifying privilege of seeing the signs of God as he commits himself to his
promise. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now if we ask if God is still willing to keep his promises to us, we
only have to remember that we have seen the Son of God allow himself to be
slaughtered like Abram’s animals to fulfil that promise. May we all learn to
trust in that promise more and more.</span></span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117533964126439556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608660058903144060.post-68137487139635557292012-12-30T15:12:00.003+00:002012-12-30T15:12:58.167+00:00Sermon for Christmas 1Yes it has been a while, but I thought that as I have managed to breathe a little life into New Kid on the Blog (the Mothership of my blogging world) I should really add something here. There's lots of stuff I said I would put online, some thoughts on silence, my notes on Social Media Spirituality etc and maybe I will get them here, or maybe put them straight onto New Kid - but for now here is my Sermon, preached this very morning and written just hours ago (a sermon about which I got quite excited, as I grabbed my Greek Lexicon and looked up various words) - some thoughts about today's set reading for Colossians...<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Year
C Christmas 1 2012</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=223880277">1 Samuel 2.18-20,26<o:p></o:p></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=223880277">Psalm 148*<o:p></o:p></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=223880277">Colossians 3.12-17<o:p></o:p></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=223880277">Luke 2.41-52</a></span><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Striking Images</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">One
of the things I love about the Bible is the rich and varied images that leap
out of the pages whenever and wherever I read it. From what we might call the ‘mythologies’ of
the Creation stories in Genesis 1 & 2, Noah and the Ark, Jonah and the Big
Fish to the vivid visions of Daniel, or Ezekiel and St John’s Revelation with
creatures covered in eyes or wheels within wheels. And in between all of that we have poetry,
some of it pretty fruity if you read the Song of Songs anytime, we have sublime
expressions of what it means to be human, and of both the joy and despair of
the human condition in the Psalms, we have earthy wisdom with some very down to
earth imagery in the Proverbs & Ecclesiastes – for instance “a fool
returning to folly, is like a dog returning to its own vomit” (Proverbs 26.11)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">And
then there’s Jesus whose storytelling was rich and filled with ideas and images,
many rooted in everyday life yet with a twist, gave new insight into a Grace
filled world which is intruding into this one, a world called the Kingdom of
God, filled with feasts and rulers and sparrows and trees and so much
more. Jesus’ images have stuck in our
collective consciousness and our language, even in the meaning behind the images
has been lost – sheep and goats, prodigal son, good Samaritan… the list goes on
and could get very long indeed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">And
then we have Paul and the other letter writers of the early Church, recycling
ancient concepts and ideas from Jewish and Greek philosophies and
traditions. They use age old titles and
ideas to talk of Jesus and of this new way, this following Jesus way, what came
to be known as the Christian Way. Rich
ideas such as Jesus the High Priest, building on the image of the Lamb of God,
talking of the Church as the body, or of following God’s way as being like an
athlete. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Paul,
and those who wrote the letters ascribed to him, (and Colossians, from which
today’s reading comes is one of those letter where authorship is disputed) but
the New Testament epistle writers were masters (or mistresses) of wordcraft –
they had to write concepts which had never been writer, explain ideas that made
use of existing philosophical and religious concepts whilst at the same time
broke out of any existing belief or faith system.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
use of words in our Bibles is very carefully done. In the Epistles there is not a concept or
idea in there that isn’t meant to be there – either by the hand of the author
or by Divine intervention, or both… And
this long preamble is to say that the images in these five verses are, for me,
some of the most wonderful images that we have from the Pauline or
Pseudepigraphal letters. I want us to
spend some time looking at three, rich, warm, powerful and thought provoking
images – though I will refer to others from this short passage… today’s
reading, Colossians 3.12-17 – three images<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Clothing<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Ruling<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Dwelling<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Here’s
the passage again, it bears repeating:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="vv"><sup><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">12</span></sup></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> As God’s chosen ones, holy and
beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and
patience. <sup>13</sup>Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint
against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord</span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5608660058903144060"><sup><span style="display: none; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">*</span></sup></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> has forgiven you, so
you also must forgive. <sup>14</sup>Above all, clothe yourselves with love,
which binds everything together in perfect harmony. <sup>15</sup>And let the
peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one
body. And be thankful. <sup>16</sup>Let the word of Christ</span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5608660058903144060"><sup><span style="display: none; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">*</span></sup></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> dwell in
you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in
your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.</span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5608660058903144060"><sup><span style="display: none; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">*</span></sup></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> <sup>17</sup>And
whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through him. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Paul
is keen on the image of Clothing – let Christ be as close as the clothes you
wear it says in Romans 13.14 which was probably Paul’s last letter and in his
first, passionate, letter to the Galatians, Chapter 3 verse 27 has Paul saying
‘as many have been baptised into Christ have been clothed with Christ.’ It’s a wonderful image of intimacy and
closeness, and a sense of being surrounded by Christ in the same way that we
are surrounded by the clothes we have on.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">If
we are clothed with Christ there are some other things, it says in this letter,
that we should clothe ourselves with alongside this too - compassion, kindness,
humility, meekness, and patience it says in verse 12 and even more in verse 14
‘Above all, clothe yourselves with love’.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It’s
important, I think, to note that this is an active process, something you must
choose to do. It’s not offered as an
option, though, this is something that goes with being a follower of Christ. And it begs the question if we are not
compassionate, kind, humble, meek and patient then in what way are we clothed
with Christ too – these are his attributes, they should be ours. And above all this we put on love – love
which is tough, forgiving and giving, which mirrors the love of Christ. Love which seeks the best for and in other
people, that loves God, neighbour and self as the greatest commandment
instructs us to. Love which makes
everything complete and whole. God’s
love. We have to put it on, and just
like the clothes we choose to wear every morning we have to choose to put on
these clothes too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
second image that strikes me is the ruling – or </span><span class="word"><span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', serif;">βραβευέτω</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', serif;"> (brab –yoo-o) </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> determining,
or deciding, as the Greek says. (Yes these images were so striking I felt I had
to look up the Greek they were originally written in, just to be sure I’d got
something approaching the right idea.)
In this context we are to let the peace of Christ determine or decide or
rule our hearts. And that peace isn’t
just a bit of quiet, or an absence of conflict, it is a deep and powerful peace
– a peace of eternity. Again the Greek is </span><span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', serif;">εἰρήνη</span>, \{i-ray'-nay} <span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">a word with layers of meaning, external peace, in the world
around, in oneself, between people, but also a peace of salvation and
assurance, of fearing nothing from God and being content on earth. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">If we truly held on to that peace
then our Churches and our world would be significantly different. We would be seeking always to be at peace
with one another and to recognise the grace that has been given to us, holding
on not to the things around us, but to the deepest truth of the life and love
of God. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">And there’s something quite
telling about the fact that we must allow this peace to rule in our
hearts. Perhaps the writer is reminding
us how quick we are to actively resist this type of peace, and that we have to
let go, perhaps to submit and allow this state of peacefulness, and the longing
for this peace, to be that which determines and guides our hearts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">And last, but not least. The third image which has grabbed me from
this passage is the one that made me want to do such an indepth Bible study in
this short time here today. It’s a beautiful and deeply powerful image found in
verse 16. This time it takes the theme
of allowing something to happen – not active, like clothing ourselves, nor
submissive like being directed – this is something else, something wow…</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><sup><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">16</span></sup><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Let the word of Christ</span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5608660058903144060"><sup><span style="display: none; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">*</span></sup></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> dwell in you richly, or in the Greek<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="word"><span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', serif;">ὁ</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', serif;"> </span></span><span class="word"><span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', serif;">λόγος</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', serif;"> </span></span><span class="word"><span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', serif;">τοῦ</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', serif;"> </span></span><span class="word"><span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', serif;">Χριστοῦ</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', serif;"> </span></span><span class="word"><span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', serif;">ἐνοικείτω</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', serif;"> </span></span>{en-oy-keh'-o}<span class="word"><span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', serif;"> ἐν</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', serif;"> </span></span><span class="word"><span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', serif;">ὑμῖν</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Again,
I’m not trying to impress or befuddle you but I want to point out one word in
that sentence – as well as dwell, which is enoykeho – there is this word we
have heard again and again over Christmastime – logos, in fact it means (as you
will all know) … word…. Jesus is the logos we read of in our Carol services, in
our Christmas Night services and throughout this time and through the Christian
year when we use the words from John chapter 1 – In the Beginning was the word. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Now
the important thing to remember, and some of you will have heard me say this
before, is that a logos, a word, was considered in the philosophy of Jesus’
time not just to be something said and lost – but an integral part of the
speaker. A word remained part of you
even when it was out, it contained something of the essence of you. And so when the eternal Word is spoken by God
in that well known passage, then it, or he, is something of the essence of God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">So
letting the word dwell in you richly, as that wonderful phrase says, is allowing
the essence of Christ to inhabit you.
And just as the Word being made flesh to dwell amongst us in John 1
changed the world so the Word of Christ dwelling in us will change us, and
change the world around us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">And
it’s both active and passive – allowing the word to dwell, to influence, to
motivate and transform – to welcome the word into our hearts and minds, and to
be changed by Christ in us. And then
everything we do – from the love we show to our family and friends, to the
compassion we reach out with to the needy and stranger, to the lives of prayer,
worship and service we lead – all of it will indeed be done in the name of, and
with the power of Christ. May the Word
of Christ Dwell in you richly, indeed….<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117533964126439556noreply@blogger.com3