29.01.2011
Sermon by the Very Revd Dermot Dunne, Dean, at the Eucharist to mark Archbishop Neill's Retirement, Christ Church Cathedral
Sermon Conversion of St Paul
When I was asked by our archbishop to be the preacher at this the twenty-fifth anniversary of his consecration as bishop and “His retirement Do,” I felt both honoured and humbled and thought: ‘Hold on now, who am I to give the address at such an auspicious occasion and in honour of someone I really believe to be a great man. A man who has proved to be a worthy archbishop of these united dioceses.
I promised that this would not turn into a eulogy for an archbishop. John Neill is very much alive and kicking and I look forward to his continuing ministry for many years to come, with his beloved wife Betty at his side. Mind you John, when you look up your name on the online edition of Crockfords Clerical Directory it states that you are retired already and that your present address is temporarily unknown, in other words of no fixed abode.
What I want to talk about is the life and cost of discipleship today and how living the life of a bishop in our church truly follows the apostolic tradition which calls for a total commitment to the gospel and the building up of God’s kingdom.
It is opportune that we should be celebrating the anniversary of the consecration of John Neill as bishop on a day which is marked out as that which honours the conversion of St Paul, the apostle to the gentiles. The life of St Paul provides us with a living example of what Christian discipleship is about and what ministry in the church of God should be.
Through the fourteen Pauline letters in the New Testament we get an outline of his missionary journeys to the gentiles, his exhortations and admonishments to the early Christian Churches, his discussions on ethical and doctrinal issues and underpinning all this we get a revelation of the man himself, his inner character, his problems and his fears. One would have to admit that Paul, of all the apostles, was the broadest in outlook and the best to carry Christianity to foreign lands.
The conversion of Paul has to be the most interesting and profound account of change that any individual can engage in a lifetime. Unlike the other apostles Paul was born into a well off family and was educated in what was the best education of the time, namely the Jerusalem Rabbinical School of the famous Gamaliel. Something like the Cambridge or Oxford of our day. Even though immersed in Judaic culture, Paul grew up in a society heavily influenced by Greek and Roman culture. This was to have more of a bearing after his conversion than before because Paul graduated as a self righteous Pharisee who was fanatical, bordering on the fundamental in his drive to preserve the Judaic traditions and so consequently anti Christian and anti anything that challenged the traditions of Rabbinical Law. This makes his conversion all the more incredible because how can someone so bigoted (for want of a word) change overnight and move from a safe, familiar and known tradition to one where he is threatened by those left behind in the old tradition and not trusted by the Christians he previously persecuted. Conversion for Paul is a lonely road but one he must take.
It is on conversion that Paul changes his name from the Judaic Saul to the Roman Paul signifying his embrace of other cultures and his mission to bring Christ to those cultures. What follows has to be the most extraordinary career of preaching, writing and church founding on record. Paul himself in his letter to the Corinthians tells us that he was stoned, thrice scourged, thrice shipwrecked, endured hunger and thirst, sleepless nights, perils and hardships. He suffered disappointments and anxieties over the weak and fledgling Christian communities. Yet such opposition or isolation did not hinder the Apostle to the Gentiles in his drive to preach the gospel to the known world of the time. Embarking on three and possibly four missionary journeys, Paul was to prove the most influential in building up the Christian Church in the known world of the time.
Paul reveals the dynamic of his whole career when he says “I press on towards the goal, to the prize of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus.” His mission and ministry provide us with a clear image of how our ministry should be shaped. Paul personifies conversion and ministry when he states ‘I live no longer but Christ lives in me.’
The key areas of conversion for me are exemplified in the conversion of St Paul. His conversion begun with a personal encounter with Jesus where Jesus identifies himself with the Church— ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ When you compare Paul’s life before and after conversion one can see that it was a journey from preserving a lifeless tradition to embracing and proclaiming the living gospel. A journey that takes us out of a stagnated self righteousness into an unknown territory where we are uncomfortable and where every part of us is challenged.
Ministers of the gospel and priests in the church of God are challenged to style their ministry on that of the life and witness of St Paul. Sometimes we may be accused of embracing Pauline teaching without having a willingness to embrace and follow the life of that apostle because it is too uncomfortable. If our ministry is solely about the preservation of a tradition or of a certain style of Christianity then we cannot call ourselves followers of Christ in the Pauline manner. Paul was not afraid to challenge the status quo, to challenge customs and practices that burdened people rather than set them free. For Paul, the spread of the gospel in whatever way possible was his passion as it should be for us. It doesn’t matter whether people are black or white, Jew, Moslem, Hindu or Buddhist, gay or straight, male or female. Likewise for us, all have an equal share in our ministry.
Today we celebrate the twenty fifth anniversary of the consecration of our beloved archbishop, John Neill. Here we have someone who embraced the life of ministry truly in a Pauline way. If I were to write a current CV for John Neill I believe the personal character section would read as follows in bulleted points:
The most Revd John R W Neill is primarily a deeply spiritual man who nourishes his spirituality through regular prayer and the reading of the scriptures, through the celebration of the sacraments and through deep reflection on the nature of Christ and the pathway of Christianity.
He is a wise man and his wisdom has served not only the Irish church but the whole Anglican Communion through his contributions to many committees of the Communion.
He has a deep and loving care for people which is borne out in a rich and fruitful pastoral ministry both as a priest and as a bishop.
He is not afraid to speak out in a measured way on issues affecting society nor is he afraid to admonish.
He is one who always seeks balance and is always willing to see the other side of the story
He is good at delegating tasks
He is passionate about Anglicanism and its particular spiritual expression within the Christian Church without being sectarian. His ministry goes beyond the bounds of church and tradition and reaches out to the whole of society.
He is comfortable in all traditions of the church. Often seen on the floor of a youth camp or on the lofty chair of the cathedra.
His organisational skills are the envy of many
He is pastorally sensitive to his priests and a good confidant
An inspiring ecumenist he has deepened the bond between the churches on this island
He is diligent in his attention to detail and meticulous in carrying out the duties of office
He is a strong leader on the bench of bishops
He is good humoured and enjoys a good joke
A loving husband, a caring father and a loyal friend
In short: A brilliant bishop.
It goes without saying that all ministry involves sacrifice where there is a cost involved not only to the ordained person but also to his or her family. Ministry by nature is a public life where 24/7 you are in the limelight. This is more accentuated as a bishop when every move you make is watched and every word you utter is analysed. It is a place where you can be no one’s friend and where harsh decisions need to be made without the luxury of being able to share it with friends or family. The cost to family is having to share a husband or a father with the whole community when the priest and bishop is the spiritual father of that community. We have often heard of the term ‘The rectory Child’ when such a term referred to a child as being more discreet than other children of the same age. Such discretion was almost natural as rectory children were coached in keeping what happened in the rectory to themselves. I hope that retirement will provide the opportunity or the Neills to be able to relax with their family out of the limelight of public office. When honouring our archbishop today it goes without question that we should also honour his wife Betty and their children for what they gave and continue to give to the life of the church through their support and loyalty to John.
I think it would be doing a disservice to ministry and to the life of St Paul if I was to paint a picture of Christian discipleship as a journey of hardship, sacrifice doom and gloom. Quite the contrary, despite all the difficulties and trials of ministry the quality that underpins and animates it is that of Joy. The sheer privilege and joy of being called to live in the service of God through proclaiming the Good News of his kingdom far outshines any difficulties in that ministry. St Paul, Despite all the difficulties he endured explains his quiet joy in his ministry when he says in the epistle to the Philippians: ‘whatever things are true, whatever honourable, whatever just, whatever holy, whatever lovable, whatever of good repute, if there be any virtue, if anything worthy of praise, think about these things.’
To end I would like to leave you with the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer from his book: ‘The cost of Discipleship’ when he says on that subject:
If we answer the call to discipleship, where will it lead us? What decisions and partings will it demand? To answer this question we shall have to go to him, for only he knows the answer. Only Jesus Christ, who bids us follow him, knows the journey’s end. But we do know that it will be a road of boundless mercy. Discipleship means Joy. Amen.
