Refreshing lives, transforming faith, at the heart of the community Haere Mai, Piki Mai
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A Sermon by Dean Charles Tyrrell
Nelson Cathedral
Sunday, 25 May 2008
God ... reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.
2 Corinthians 5:18
What a wonderful text for the Friends of Christ Church Cathedral, Nelson AND what's more, what a perfect text for the rest of our sisters and
brothers in Christ in the Anglican Communion. These words place our personal and universal concerns in context, don't they, when Paul writes,
God ... reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.
Before we even dare to think about the Anglican Church and her current challenges, let's start nearer home, with ourselves. As Jesus himself
said one day, First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbour's eye. St Matthew 7:5
There Jesus was talking about those who spend their time judging each other when all the time they have a need to sort out their own problems.
In the same light, we could go on and on about the threatened schism in our Church, when what we really need to do is to take a look at ourselves,
our own hearts - if you like, and discern what is breaking us up, what it is that is pulling us apart, inside, deep down in the core of our being.
For in my understanding the ministry of reconciliation begins with self and our personal relationship to God in Christ.
One place we would do well to look is in the Book of Psalms, the hymn book of God's people. Almost every Sunday in this Cathedral we hear
two psalms, one in the morning the other in the evening. The choir's ministry to us in this area is truly appreciated.
The Psalms are a collection of prayers and petitions which fit well in the context of worship as well as in our daily devotions at home. I was very
interested by the words of introduction to the Psalms, found in our New Zealand Prayer book. Allow me to quote some of it to you.
The wide appeal of the psalms rests on their ability to give words to some of our deepest feelings in the face of life's experiences. Whether for joy,
worship and exaltation, or degradation and rejection, or hope, faith, love, anger, or despair, the psalms contain verses that reflect such moods. In
them the various writers expressed to God the thoughts of their heart and spirit.
If you want an example, listen to these beautiful words from the start of Psalm 42:
As a deer longs for flowing streams,
so my soul longs for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
When shall I come and behold
the face of God?
My tears have been my food
day and night,
while people say to me continually,
'Where is your God?'
These things I remember,
as I pour out my soul:
how I went with the throng,
and led them in procession to the house of God,
with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving,
a multitude keeping festival.
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my help and my God.
Beautiful words, aren't they? The inner turmoil of the writer demonstrates the need to be reconciled to God for his soul seemed
like a dry desert needing the refreshment of God's Spirit. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. How many times have you
thought that of your own situation? I have known it to be a fact many times and the only answer is to be open to the refreshing
stream of God's love and healing power and then life can begin to blossom again.
Then again, the writer of Psalm 51 puts it this way,
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
and do not take your holy spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in me a willing spirit.
Openness and honesty in relationship to God, that's what the psalmist shows, don't you think? This is where we need to effect
the work of reconciliation at the seat of our being, our hearts. There used to be an old saying in some circles of the Church which
fits in here: JESUS first, OTHERS second and YOURSELF third - J-O-Y. To put God in Christ first in our thinking and being isn't
putting oneself down, indeed much the opposite. Being put right with God puts life into perspective making reconciliation within
self and with others eminently possible.
O God, you are my God, I seek you,
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
beholding your power and glory.
Because your steadfast love is better than life,
my lips will praise you.
So I will bless you as long as I live;
I will lift up my hands and call on your name.
Much to think about there, I am sure you will agree. The ministry of reconciliation is a divine imperative, in other words, we must be
involved in this aspect of the Christian life, no arguments! Any reading of Church Newspapers or Church news websites seems to
lay the lie to that, unfortunately. Now, I don't intend to rehearse all the current arguments that are pulling up apart, enough has been
said already. What I want to add is this. Whatever the cause of the tensions, be they theological or cultural, we do God and the
Church a disservice when we allow such variance in opinion to separate us, believer from believer. Not only that, when we allow
divisions to occur, we devalue the Mission of Christ to the world, the world for which he died and rose again. Inner strife means
that people on the fringes of the Church will want nothing to do with us, and who could blame them?
Surely the key is found in the letter to the Corinthian church where Paul writes: And Christ died for all, so that those who live might
live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them. We live in our risenness, the gift of the risen Lord, not
for self but for Christ and because we live for him first, then we cannot but help to be at one with all other people of faith. Here is the
heart of true reconciliation, something for which we need to strive day by day.
May this dear old church of ours not die because of our principles! Too many people today are refusing even to worship with people
with whom they disagree, not about the fundamentals of faith, but about lesser matters, usually man-made (to use that non-generic term!)
We cannot afford to go down that route to death, for that is what it is. Hold on to those truths by all means, but do not allow differences of
opinion come between you and another follower of Christ. We must be big enough to agree to disagree yet yearn to love one another.
We cannot sacrifice love on the altar of principle for that is blasphemy.
So, this evening we celebrate the reconciling ministry of the Friends of our Cathedral. We give thanks for their work which extends the
handship of fellowship not only within the Cathedral congregation but beyond, to other parishes in our Diocese - like Bishopdale Parish
here this evening, and even to people of other churches altogether.
Let us pray that their work and influence grows and develops to the glory of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Amen.
This sermon was written and delivered by Dean Charles Tyrrell QSO at Nelson Cathedral on Sunday, 25 May 2008
