Revd.
Canon John Robertson
Sermon given 8/7/12
Introduction
I have now been in the
post of Director of Ecumenical Mission in Milton Keynes for 2 months.
Before that I was vicar of Grove Parish Church in Oxfordshire, having
previously been Chaplain at York University and before that I trained
and worked as an engineer.
I am slowly getting
used to MK especially the size of it, all the roundabouts and its
many churches.
Mission Partnership
Hands up all those who
have heard of the Mission Partnership? What do you think it does?
The Mission Partnership
brings together churches across MK and other Christian Agencies under
the same umbrella. They are brought together to enable, encourage and
stimulate MISSION.
Mission
Mission is the central
calling of all churches.
It is NOT a separate
entity from the churches;
It is NOT just for
Local Ecumenical Partnerships
It is NOT a
bureaucratic structure
Mission depends on
following the 5 Marks of Mission:
- to proclaim the Good
News of the Kingdom
- to teach, baptise
and nurture new believers
- to respond to human
need by loving service
- to seek to transform
unjust structures of society
- to strive to
safeguard the integrity of creation
The five marks outline
an enormous and grand vision but..
It leads us to ask the
following questions:
- how effective are
we in the central calling of Mission?
- how do we gauge our
effectiveness?
Story
When I was a Chaplain
at York University I was involved in a scheme to promote skills
beyond degree/academic but broadened out to languages, IT, city
action, even theology. The launch of the scheme brought together
students, academics, business sponsors who were formed into teams to
solve a problem.
Problem: A pile of
about 40 lego bricks had to be assembled into a complex 3D model
which we were only allowed to view for a short period of time.
My team struggled and
ultimately had to admit defeat. However, a student working alone
produced a perfect solution. How did he manage it? Where did he get
the extraordinary collection of abilities in spatial awareness,
memory and logic necessary for the task which my team so singularly
lacked? He was a very ordinary looking student, a mere teenager,
whereas my team possessed the best part of 10 degrees. Did he cheat?
I noticed a look of collective jealousy as he was awarded a bottle of
champagne. We clapped and smiled and took offence. Somebody suggested
his talent was God-given, which excused us from competing with him
but hardly lessened our envy and rejection.
Text
Our reaction to the
student was identical to the response of the citizens of Nazareth to
Jesus in Mark 62-3. It is not that his neighbours deny his
wisdom or his ability to perform mighty works, but that the source of
his activity lies with God. It is not that they deny the ordinary
humanity of Jesus, quite the reverse, but that God is revealed in
that humanity, that it is as ordinary flesh and blood that Jesus
shows forth God and manifests the power of God to transform human
lives.
The effectiveness of
Jesus is found in the question: Where did this man get all this? Of
course Jesus has no control over the reaction of the citizens of
Nazareth who take offence, but the effectiveness of his ministry is
already indicated by the fact that the people find themselves asking
that question “Where did this man get all this?”
Now look at the episode
which follows. Jesus sends the disciples out two by two to reflect
his ministry in theirs
- they have authority over unclean spirits
-
they anoint the sick
- they proclaim a message of repentance. ( Compare Mk.1 v15 “The time is fulfilled. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the good news.” Implication is that ‘repentance’ here is shorthand for this wider programmatic message of Jesus)
- Jesus anticipates the same response of offence vs 10-11.
- Which means that he expects their activity to raise the same question
“Where
did the disciples get all this?”
Their
effectiveness will be shown in the raising of that question by their
activity.
Church
Which
brings us back to the Church here and now and the question of our
effectiveness.
a) We are now the disciples: like them, the church is now sent
by Jesus
our
mission reflects their mission
our
mission reflects the mission of Jesus
Note
the impulse towards the 5 marks of mission in the task of the
disciples:
Repentance
(in extended sense of Mark 1v15) is about proclaiming good news of
Kingdom
Casting
out demons concerns a confrontation with evil which reflects the
transformation of unjust structures in society
Anointing
of sick is an example of acts of loving service
b)
Are we doing those things??
i)
Reflection Day produced 84 things to celebrate under 5 marks
That
was just one morning with 40 people
Cornerstone
will have its own list
Added
to which there was a real willingness to work at improving what we do
ii)
My own observations would reinforce that
eg
Christian Foundation, Sector ministry in hospital/prisons/hospice,
Venture FX, Foodbank, winter shelter, bridgebuilders, soup runs,
holiday clubs.
c)
Is the Question being raised?
“Where
did these Christians/this Church get all this?”
What’s
behind all this activity? What drives it?
And
the implied answer that it is driven by faith, with God known in
Christ at the source of all we do.
It
is the raising of that question which shows how effective we are.
d)
I don’t know the answer to that yet….
BUT
I have yet to hear it coming back at me
Which
means that if it is being raised, it is only in muted form.
Does
that mean that we are afraid of generating offence??
If
so, does that mean that the church has become a nice club like the
Rotary or the Round Table doing nice things because we’re nice
people?
To
that extent, mission is constrained, discipleship half-hearted.
We
need to be bold about articulating why we do what we do. When we dare
to do that, however tentatively, the Question will be raised
Some
may take offence: like Jesus, we have no control over the response of
others.
Others
will respond positively and seek to know the God revealed in Christ,
and then we will know that our mission is truly effective. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment