Bishop's Sermon at Chrism Mass 2007
And now I appeal to the elders of your community, as a fellow-elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings, and also as a partaker in the splendour that is to be revealed. Tend that flock of God whose shepherds you are, and do it, not under compulsion, but of your own free will, as God would have it; not for gain but out of sheer devotion; not tyrannizing over those who are allotted to your care, but setting an example to the flock. And then, when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive for your own the unfading garland of glory.
1 Peter 5:1-4
I want to begin and end on a personal note. This service is for me one of the highlights of the year. I always look forward to the opportunity of gathering here in the cathedral with the presbytery of the diocese and with the deacons and laity as we take some time out together from our busy lives to reflect on what it means to be priests and ministers of the gospel today.
This week is the liturgical highlight of the year as we are drawn into the awesome events of our Saviour’s suffering, death and resurrection. It is a week when we shall be spiritually, emotionally and physically drained as we seek to make real the events of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Day. It therefore seems a fitting time to gather together as the presbytery and diaconate of the diocese to seek spiritual refreshment and renewal for ourselves, to take us back to our first love and to feel again something of that call – that nagging – that first moved us to offer ourselves for ordination. The fact that there are so many of us gathered here today should strengthen our sense of solidarity – that we are all in this together – and I hope that the increased attendance is because we have changed the day of the week and not just because there is a free meal afterwards!
Firstly, let me say to you, priests and deacons, thank you from the bottom of my heart for your servant leadership and faithfulness. Thank you for the hours you take in preparing to preach and teach. Thank you for celebrating the sacraments and for every baptism you have performed, every eucharist you have celebrated, every sick person to whom you have ministered, every visit you have made, every meeting you have attended, every wedding and funeral you have led, every grieving person you have comforted, every sinner you have pardoned, thank you for every ‘phone call and door bell you have answered, every parish row you have diffused, every difficult parishioner you have endured, every form and questionnaire you have completed – and thank you for being here today to renew your commitment to this ministry ‘which is both yours and mine’.
Every bishop in every age has reminded his clergy that we live in difficult times. The television News reminds us of the problems in Iraq, in Zimbabwe, the Sudan and elsewhere. We are reminded of our need to go ‘green’ and tackle climate change. Britain struggles with what it means to live with religious, secular, racial, ethnic and cultural diversity. In Wales, we explore our Welsh-ness as something to do with language, religion and rugby. And the Anglican Communion appears to be tearing itself apart on issues of sex and power. As one writer said, Anglicans wash their dirty linen in public, but at least they wash it.
It would be easy to say that we have never lived in such difficult times, but you have only to look at the New Testament or study church history to realise that the church has constantly faced new challenges, new situations and new struggles, but through prayer and the study of God’s word, by listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit and through courageous leadership, God’s will can be discerned and his kingdom enlarged.
In the text I used at the beginning, Peter is writing of what it means to be a presbyter, an elder, and he writes as a fellow-elder himself. He begins by linking eldership with the sufferings of Christ. He writes, And now I appeal to the elders of your community, as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings, and also a partaker in the splendour that is to be revealed. Our new Ordinal says something similar to those who are to be ordained as priests. It says, ‘Remember with thanksgiving that this ministry now to be entrusted to you is a sharing in the ministry of him who died on the cross. It will require sacrifice and bring suffering, but lived faithfully, it will also bring you joy and peace’. The invitation to discipleship is to ‘take up your cross and follow me’.
Peter also reminds us, Tend that flock of God whose shepherds you are, and do it not under compulsion, but of your own free will, as God would have it; not for gain but out of sheer devotion; not tyrannizing over those who are allotted to your care, but setting an example to the flock. We are not in the priesthood for what we can get out of it – financial gain or a power trip, but what we can bring to it.
It always seems to me that the importance of this passage about ministry is that it is coloured through and through with Peter’s relationship with Jesus. He could describe himself as a witness of the sufferings of Christ because he was there at the arrest in the garden and he saw the pain in the face of Jesus when he denied him in the courtyard of the High Priest’s house. But Peter could also write of being a partaker in the splendour that is to be revealed because he was there at the Transfiguration and Jesus had promised him and the other disciples that he would share his glory.
When Peter says Tend that flock of God whose shepherd you are … out of sheer devotion he was recalling the command of the risen Christ to feed my sheep. One of the earliest paintings of Jesus is as a shepherd, - caring, feeding, protecting and loving his sheep. As the new Ordinal reminds us ‘Pray that each day the Lord will renew your calling that you may follow the Good Shepherd wherever he leads’. Yes, our relationship with our people can only be priestly if we are rooted in prayer each day, so that we are for ever deepening our relationship with the Good Shepherd whose shepherds we are.
Some clergy of course, have been led astray by the Internet. If you type ‘St Woolos’ followed by ‘Services’ into a search engine on the Internet you might expect to be enlightened as to what this cathedral gets up to. In fact, you will find the services offered by St Woolos Auto Repairs garage here in Newport. They offer three things by way of service – courtesy, valeting and recovery. I suppose that is also what this cathedral and all our churches are offering as well. Courtesy – treating one another with that respect that is due to those for whom Christ died. Indeed, receiving one another as Christ himself. Then Valeting – that is, working on what is inside of every human being to help sort out the mess, throw out the rubbish and to bring order where there has been confusion. And recovery – to lift up those who are down, to repair the broken hearted, to heal the sick and give new life through the risen Christ. St Woolos Services - courtesy, valeting and recovery - the Dean will also do clutch repairs for a donation to the Rescue Appeal!
At ordination we made solemn vows and entered into a covenant relationship with God. He set his seal upon us and he equips us for ministry. Today, we bless the oils which you will use in your ministry to bring healing to the sick, and to anoint those who are being baptised and confirmed. It is also a reminder to each one of us that we ministers must also be on the receiving end of ministry and allow ourselves to be inwardly (and sometimes outwardly) anointed by Jesus the Messiah, the Anointed One. The first reading from Isaiah and the Gospel reading remind us that Jesus is the great High Priest who came to make peace between heaven and earth and as we share in that ministry so we are sent to reconcile men and women to one another and to God.
And I want to end on a personal note. I am aware that as a diocese we are all under pressure – pressure to turn things around and grow. I know that there are the pressures of maintaining historic buildings, paying the parish share and ministry with a smaller number of stipendiary clergy. I know what it is like to be on the receiving end of initiatives being sent down from on high although I hope it is slightly better than being in a diocese that is in terminal decline and without any sense of direction. It is possible to look at ministry with deep pessimism – having a gospel that nobody wants to hear, feeling isolated by changes in the law that widen the gap between Church and State and discovering that as you get older you are still among the youngest in church!
The good news of course, is that as a diocese we are balancing the books. Clergy have a good degree of security. Some parishes are MAPing and planning and growing. People are still being confirmed. We have more ordinands than any other diocese in Wales and hundreds of lay people are involved in ministry.
The Russian Orthodox theologian, Alexander Schmemman says that the Church is the new world transfigured by Christ that constantly celebrates his victory, but the biggest problem facing the Church (says Schmemmam) is that we have lost our joy, and he is not talking about a happy-clappy type of joy, or a false joy in the face of the world’s sufferings, but of that deep sense of God’s blissful enjoyment of the world he has created and redeemed.
So let us pray that we may rediscover that deep sense of joy that attracted new Christians to the early Church even in the face of suffering and persecution. May this Easter fill your hearts with that joy which God shares with those who have died and risen with Christ. And to Him be the glory. Amen.