‘Without God, we cannot; without us, God will not.’

St Augustine penned those words in the fifth century; they also formed the basis of the address given to those who gathered for the Diocesan Visioning Weekend a week ago.

I want to speak about that latter gathering in a moment; but first of all I want to set the scene by drawing our attention to the significance of our first reading today.

Let me begin.

Most of us, I am sure, can think of moments that have defined us as individuals. 

It may have been a word or an experience. I recall, for example, walking into my vicar’s office, when I was in my early twenties, and saying, ‘I want to talk about being a priest’.  

That moment was to shape my life; it is why I am here today.

Similarly, most of us can think of moments that have defined us as a human race. 

The other day I parked outside a bookshop in Petone and a book on display caught my attention. ‘Speeches that changed the world’, it was called. It drew me into the shop and I was soon reminded of those great moments in history, like Winston Churchill’s addresses to the House of Commons in 1940, and Nelson Mandela’s ‘Free at last’ speech in 1994.

They are moments that have shaped who we are.

But what about the church; what have been the defining moments in our life? 

Now, of course, there are too many to mention. The conversion of the Roman Emperor Constantine, and the church councils of the first centuries, is an example; and the nailing of Martin Luther’s 95 Theses to a church door and the reformation which followed, is another. 

But perhaps one of the moments that has defined most who we are, is not quite so well known; and yet without it you and I wouldn’t be worshipping in this church today.

We heard a snippet of this in the reading from the Acts of the Apostles. Luke tells us in chapters 10 and 11 of an experience that was to change the direction of the church.

You see, up until this point the Way, as it was called, was a movement within Judaism. Jesus was a Jew; the disciples were Jews; and on the Day of Pentecost, which we will celebrate in a couple of weeks, it was to a mostly Jewish Audience that Peter and the Eleven spoke. 

But a radical shake-up was about to happen.

Jesus’ ministry may have extended to gentiles, but his focus was on the Jewish community. And it was an encounter between Simon Peter and a Roman centurion called Cornelius that was to determine the way forward for the early church. 

It was a defining moment.

Luke tells us an angel instructed Cornelius to find Peter, and in a vision Peter was told to regard no person as unclean or profane. And as we heard in our reading, it was while Peter was speaking in Cornelius’ house, ‘the Holy Spirit came upon those who were listening’.

It was a turning point for the church.

The Jews at first didn’t know what to make of it; but Peter, recognizing the movement of God’s spirit, ordered Cornelius and the others to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. 

He knew the good news was not for Jews alone; it was for all people. His decision ruffled a few feathers and raised all sorts of tricky questions. But the moment was to become known as the ‘Pentecost of the Gentiles’ and set the scene for Paul’s mission to the Gentile world.

It is a reason we are here today; for that mission has extended to ‘the ends of the earth’.

This brings me back to last weekend. 

Every so often we are reminded of how the activity of God did not stop at the end of the first century; God’s life and love continues to sustain our world, and when we are attentive to God’s being, amazing things can still happen; and in those moments of attentiveness, we are challenged to look beyond the barriers we build to see the world through God’s eyes. 

This was certainly true for those of us who took part in the visioning process. 

The weekend began with some two hundred and fifty people from across the Diocese descending upon Palmerston North. And warmed by mulled wine on a cold Friday night, we sat in a full church listening to Bishop Victoria Matthews from Christchurch set the scene. 

‘Without God,’ she reminded us, ‘we can not; without us, God will not.’

But the real work took place on the Saturday and Sunday. 

Ably led by two facilitators, we used a process called Open Space. The way it worked was people were asked to write out the topics and questions they were interested in, and then to invite others to enter into a conversation with them. The topics ranged from worship to clergy welfare, from youth to a Christian film festival, from just living to church structures. 

And there was only one rule: the law of two feet! Simply put: if the group you were in didn’t interest you, or you felt you had nothing further to contribute, move on to another group.

As you can imagine, it was chaotic at times, but there was also an enormous amount of energy and the ideas expressed were anything but staid. But most importantly, for me at least, here was a group of Anglicans passionate about their church and its future direction. 

I suggest it will be a defining moment in our church’s life.

Then, it was left to a much smaller group to pull the threads together on the Sunday. 

I have to say, at the start it felt like an impossible feat. How do we distill the key themes from the day before? But an opening exercise offered us hope. We stood in a circle and told to choose two other people in the group, without their knowledge. Then, moving around the room, we had to form an equilateral triangle with them, and they with the people they had chosen. It was chaos, for a time at least, and then all of a sudden there was calm. 

We were told this was the how the day would unfold, and the facilitators were right. 

Tired and exhausted late on a Sunday afternoon, a straw man was put up. Then, we were asked, ‘does this capture the mood and hopes of the weekend?’ We were silent. We looked at one another and then someone spoke for us all, ‘why didn’t you put this up on Friday!’

God had been at work in our midst.

So where did we arrive at? What does the future direction of the church look like?

Well, while still in draft form, with further work to be done, this is where we got to. Our hope, we said, is ‘to be a vibrant, spiritual and co-ordinated faith community that reaches out and transforms our world’, by: 

(1) Educating and empowering the laity, you people. 

We spoke of the need to become more biblically and theologically articulate. We need to understand what we believe and to be able to give voice to the faith we proclaim.

(2) Building a strong foundation in personal spirituality. 

On Friday night, Bishop Victoria told us this story. Mother Theresa was asked on one occasion how she began her day. ‘We rise early,’ she said, ‘and go to the chapel. We listen to Scripture and spend time in adoration before the sacrament.’ ‘Why is that?’ asked the reporter. ‘After all, you have a long day ahead of you.’ Mother Teresa replied, ‘Oh you see it is very important to spend time with Jesus at the start of the day. Otherwise we might not recognize Him when we see Him in the faces of the dying, on the streets later on.’ 

(3) Being a strong voice for justice in our communities. 

The church is often too slow to speak up for the downtrodden and the well-being of the earth; and yet these are gospel concerns. We are challenged to live just lives, to take a lead in social and environmental issues, and to partner others in working for a just world. 

(4) Creating a future in children, youth, schools and family. 

We know if we neglect to nurture and to reach out to a new generation, there will be no future for the church. So, we must continue to make room for the church of tomorrow.

And, (5) Thinking and acting as a unified Diocese. 

We need to share resources. We need to ensure church structures support the mission and ministry of the church. We need to communicate to our communities with a single voice.

And if we can do these things, if we can centre our lives in Christ and look beyond the limitations of our vision, and if we can partner God in the ongoing work of the gospel, then the future looks bright; and last weekend will be a defining moment for our church.

‘Without God, we can not; without us, God will not.’

So, like Cornelius and Peter, may we be open to the new things God is doing in our midst; and may we be willing to share with others and with God the challenge and joy of reaching out to our world with the gospel of love; for the future of the church is now in our hands!

 

Let’s stand to affirm our faith…

 

 

A sermon preached in St Alban’s Anglican Church, Eastbourne, on 17th May 2009, by the Ven. Damon Plimmer.

Posted in Sermons |