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Weekend of 150th Anniversary of the Diocese & City of Nelson
A Sermon by Dean Charles Tyrrell QSO
Nelson Cathedral
Sunday, 28 September 2008
The Church
This weekend has been one of celebration and praise. Together with our bishop, we have marked the 150th anniversary of the diocese and the city with great style and rejoicing. We can feel very proud of the concerted efforts of everyone who has made this possible. Congratulations!
As well as all of this, the diocesan synod met this week, starting with Eucharist on Wednesday evening and running until Friday afternoon. Synod is the local church in council and although we sometimes ‘pull a face’ at the prospect of days of debate, it is an important opportunity for the diocese to seek God’s will for its proper functioning and development. When synod works well, and by that I mean when people carefully and prayerfully listen to each other whichever side of the argument they may be on, then progress can be made. Synod at its best is the church in action and the first beneficiaries of that ought to be the poor and the marginalized members of society and those who have not heard or understood the good news of God in Christ.
With these things in mind, I amended the Bible readings and the collect set for today so that we can think about and give thanks to God for the Church, as established by his Son and our Saviour Jesus Christ. The Anglican Church as we know it is experiencing some convulsive change at the present time. Some of this is to do with the fact that some of the smaller denominations are failing and the Anglican Church is an attractive option to many seeking a path to ordination and leadership. This in itself is not a bad thing but it presents us with many challenges. But before I proceed any further, I want to inject a word of scripture at this point. In the Gospel of St Matthew we read these words:
At a place called Caesarea Philippi in the north of Israel at the source of the river Jordan, Jesus said to the disciples, ‘Who do you say that I am?’
16Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah,* the Son of the living God.’
17And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven.
18And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.’
St Peter is given a special place in the history of the church and rightly so. The old tradition was that because of the pre-eminence given to him by Jesus, he went on to be the leader of the church in Rome and became the first of the popes. However, I think there is another way of reading the passage I have just quoted. In response to the Lord’s question ‘Who do you say I am’, Peter – or Simon as he was known then - was quick to acknowledge that Jesus was the long awaited Messiah of the Hebrew people and indeed, the Son of God. And so Jesus commissioned Peter for leadership because this word of truth had come to him by divine inspiration. Jesus went on to say that the statement quoted by the Big Fisherman was the rock on which the Church was to be built. It was the earliest Creed if you like. If Christians believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, and God’s only Son, then we can say that whatever trials and temptations fall upon us – up to the very the gates of hell – then we will prevail. Yes, Simon became Peter – ‘Man of Rock’ – but he was still that, a man – and still a servant of Christ, and as we would read later, would deny Jesus and abandon him to his fate. Thank God, he was restored to leadership by the risen Lord beside the lakeside of Galilee.
So what is all of this telling us? First, we have to get our priorities right and acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord and let that stand as our foundational belief in a Church threatening to get out of control. St Paul underlined this in his letter to the new Church in Philippi when he wrote:
‘Every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’
Where this is believed and understood the Church may be shaken but it cannot be damaged. Yes, I am concerned about present tensions and debates. Yes, I am worried that good and honest people on both sides of current controversies are in danger of being hurt BUT I have a greater belief and trust in the Lord of the Church, the anointed one of God, Jesus Christ. Jesus would never have engaged in clever argument to try to win the point but would reach out in love to those who had a contrary view and seek to reassure them by the Spirit of Truth.
My other point comes from the writing of Peter himself who wrote:
‘Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and 5like living stones, let yourselves be built* into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.’
Peter ‘man of rock’ gives the credit back to Jesus, the one and only foundation of our church. The challenge is for all of us to be as the spiritual building blocks of the church, built upon this strong foundation. We need each other because an individual building block doesn’t amount to much on its own. A true stone built building has building blocks of different sizes and dimensions, a living parable of how the church ought to be. It is representative of the many gifts and abilities that come together to form the spiritual house that is the Church. As the successors of Jesus and Peter, we now hold the keys of the kingdom and our words and actions take on great responsibility as people will wish to join us or not, dependent upon our openness and the warmth of our welcome.
There is so much more I could say but I will bring my sermon to a close with these words. Today’s challenge in the church is not helped if we engage in the business of exclusion. I am not threatened by anyone who has a contrary opinion to mine; indeed, I may grow because of it. I just ask that we lay aside all arrogance and pride and human self-righteousness and return to the humility of the Christ who is the foundation of his body on earth today, the Church. Please remember, by ‘church’ I mean all those who adhere to the worship and service of the one true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Our God is dynamically present in the world today and may be revealed in ways meaningful to people of different cultures and histories.
For 150 years the simple Gospel of Christ has been preached faithfully in this Diocese and lives and communities have been changed as a consequence. May the tireless Spirit of God give us hope and energy to walk into the future with confidence and humility so that many more may join us on the greatest journey ever, the journey of faith.
Thanks be to God.
Amen.
This sermon was written and delivered by Dean Charles Tyrrell QSO at Nelson Cathedral on Sunday, 28 September 2008
