29.10.2015
New Student Readers Commissioned at Theological Institute
Nine student ordinands were commissioned as student readers by the Archbishop of Dublin in the Church of Ireland Theological Institute yesterday evening (Wednesday October 28).
Lindsey Farrell (Clogher), Sean Hanily (Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh), Derek Harrington (Derry and Raphoe), Alison Irvine (Clogher), Andrew Irwin (Down and Dromore), Berni McEvoy (Down and Dromore), Ian Mills (Derry and Raphoe), James Price (Connor) and Trevor Sargent (Cashel, Ferns and Ossory) were commissioned during the Community Eucharist in the Chapel of CITI for the Feast of St Simon and St Jude. They were presented for licensing by the Director of the Institute, Canon Dr Maurice Elliott and Lecturer in Missiology, the Revd Dr Patrick McGlinchey.
In his sermon, Archbishop Michael Jackson, said the readings for the Feast Day of Simon and Jude [Isaiah 28.14–16; psalm 119.89–96; Ephesians 2.19–22; St John 15.17–27] went beyond imagery and fantasy to construction. He added that the Collect for the day stated that foundations lead to corner–stone and corner–stone lead to temple. The Collect’s description is of the church built on prophets and apostles with Jesus as the chief corner–stone.
The Archbishop compared being commissioned to an invitation to contribute and belong to the Kingdom of God.
“The Kingdom of God is what this movement and this community is called: it is more than an idea – it is an activity; it is more than a group of people together – it is a team; it is more than something inside the church – it is part of the life of the world to which God belongs and which belongs to God and is loved by God; it is more than a word – it is a way of life. It is to this that you who today are commissioned are invited to contribute and to belong. It is this Kingdom that binds the rest of us here today to you,” he said.
The Archbishop added that everyone had the same opportunity to be part of the Kingdom of God. Some took the opportunity and others turned their back on it but the invitation continued even when people did not respond.
Commissioning was a strengthening and building up and out of the faith and goodness already present and a protection against evil, he said. “Evil is a reality in today’s world and that is why we who are sent need to build on the foundation of prophets, apostles and Jesus Christ,” the Archbishop stated.
Testimony was the key that bound the Father, Son and Spirit and us, he suggested. Testimony had to do with standing up and being principled, the Archbishop said adding that we in the Northern Hemisphere must recognise that we are connected to those who suffer brutality and degradation in the Southern Hemisphere. “It is our duty to recognize this and to stand in solidarity with those who suffer and with those who suffer for their faith in God and who testify to God’s presence,” he said.
The full text of the Archbishop’s sermon is below.
Photo caption: The newly commissioned student readers with Canon Dr Maurice Elliott, Archbishop Michael Jackson and the Revd Dr Patrick McGlinchey.
Service of Commissioning, CITI
October 28th 2015 SS Simon&Jude, Last Sunday after Trinity
Readings: Isaiah 28.14–16; psalm 119.89–96; Ephesians 2.19–22; St John 15.17–27
St Luke 10.9: … and say, The Kingdom of God has come upon you.
Sermon preached by the archbishop of Dublin
READINGS
The readings for the Feast Day of Simon and Jude draw us beyond imagery and fantasy into the world of construction. Too much of our ecclesiology today is no more than an insufficiently grounded and ill thought through haze; and we need to be very cautious and very careful about trading images for reality. We need to discern the reality behind both the images and the fantasies. God is not made in our image and likeness; we are made in the image and likeness of God. This is a surprise to many contemporary ecclesio–celebrities and is a warning to us all not to delude ourselves that we are an occasion. The occasion is always God. And God is in our midst.
Foundations lead to corner–stone and corner–stone leads to temple in the words of the Collect for today. And it is ourselves we are talking about here; the onus is on us as is also the opportunity before us. Whether it looks like this to us or not, from our personal perspective, this Collect offers a description of the church on earth, built on prophets and apostles, and the chief corner–stone is Jesus Christ. So, the key that unlocks all of this is surely that it has not to do with the cult of our own cleverness; it has not to do with the cult of our self–projection; it has not even to do with the cult of our own goodness. It has to do with the fact that Jesus Christ firmly and delicately holds it all together and is the chief corner–stone. This message is almost inconceivable to a church that oscillates and teeters between certainty as the simple paradigm of faith and liberalism as the only focus of interpretation. It is not only that we need each other; in a primary and foundational way we need the apostles and prophets and Jesus Christ. The over–secularized and self–satisfied church we know often seems no longer to recognize what we are talking about and may not even want to, when we use this language of dependence, humility and obedience. But it is part of our foundation.
THE KINGDOM OF GOD
One of the interesting things about Jesus is his willingness to make new things happen for people who never expected that anything would happen for them. People who are on the outside are invited in to their surprise and they find their feet rather quickly in a world that is theirs and yet had always looked as if it belonged to someone else – because insiders kept elbowing them out. This person who is invited in might be someone who carries significant disability or incapacity. It might be someone who is proud and is the better for learning humility. It might be a child who is able to teach adults, such as the Disciples of Jesus, that squabbling and pushing and wanting to be on top on your own is ultimately no fun because it is lonely and you have no friends there. It is not the best use of your time and in fact achieves less than it looks as if it does. There are other ways of looking at things that make room for more people; and the Kingdom of God always has more room. The Kingdom of God is what this movement and this community is called: it is more than an idea – it is an activity; it is more than a group of people together – it is a team; it is more than something inside the church – it is part of the life of the world to which God belongs and which belongs to God and is loved by God; it is more than a word – it is a way of life. It is to this that you who today are commissioned are invited to contribute and to belong. It is this Kingdom that binds the rest of us here today to you.
SENDING
If you or anyone else is sent to do something, it always helps if you are given clear instructions. It also helps if you try to listen. The sending of disciples happens in pairs in St Luke’s Gospel. This is because companionship is far preferable to loneliness. It is always safer if two people go together; two people will also be able to compare notes and share impressions of what has been happening and what is going on. These pairs of disciples are given something worthwhile to do. They go to the places where their teacher is soon to follow and they therefore get the very first impression, they see what it really is like with open eyes and with open ears. They are given other instructions and responsibilities: that is, they are to make decisions about the suitability of a place for their teacher to come. And they are first to say: The Kingdom of God has come upon you. Everyone, therefore, gets the same chance and the same opportunity. Some take it, others do not take it for whatever reason, some turn their back on it – but let us run for the present with those who receive! As the disciples move away and move on they remind the people: Only take note of this, the Kingdom of God has come. This is God. The invitation continues even when, and perhaps especially when, the people do not respond.
DOING
Commissioning is a strengthening and building up and a building out of the faith and the goodness that you have. Most of us never think of ourselves as particularly faithful and most of us never think of ourselves as particularly good. We need, however, to begin to take seriously that God does think of us like this. In this way God can build us up and build us in so as to send us out. And it is a protection against evil. Commissioning changes most of all the inner confidence and the outer assurance that we have about our faith. Evil is a reality in today’s world and that is why we who are sent need to build on the foundation of prophets, apostles and Jesus Christ. What does such evil do? It strips you of your self–understanding. It deprives you of your self–confidence. It is always there because it comes from outside you and most of the time it has to do with bullying, whether you are an adult or a child. You today are commissioned by the God of grace.
THE READINGS
The Readings point us to the mockery of those who inhabit Jerusalem; their mockery extends instinctively to holy things and is fuelled by the self–delusion that falsehood is truth. The Lord says he will do things rather differently and he builds afresh with a new corner–stone. The Letter to the Ephesians draws in the followers of Jesus Christ, of whatever race or nationality, as citizens and saints and no longer strangers and aliens; Jesus Christ, building positively on the fragmentation of Jerusalem and God’s justice offers himself to them as the part of the new structure that holds it all together. The aliens of yesterday become the temple of tomorrow. The Gospel reminds us that realistically we will be hated as much as we are loved and in fact probably more so. This is hard to endure, as we hope against hope that it will not be like this. I sincerely hope it will not be like this for you but there really is no guarantee. You are bound to experience some of it.
TESTIFYING
The key is to be found in the final words. What binds the Father, the Son and the Spirit and us is the testimony. Testifying, and testifying against sin in particular, has to do with being upstanding in being principled. It is where we in the comfortable Northern Hemisphere are connected with those who suffer brutality and degradation in the Southern Hemisphere – and who witness to suffering and death and crucifixion. Witness need not always involve intense suffering; however today we have no option but to say very clearly that it does and it does so in the parts of the world from which Christianity derives. It is our duty to recognize this and to stand in solidarity with those who suffer and with those who suffer for their faith in God and who testify to God’s presence.
You are sent to tell the Good News, to call people to discipleship and to prepare the ground for the Master. In many ways the Season of Advent that soon will be upon us is the definitive time of such preparation, but the spirit of Advent flows into every other season of the year. Readiness and attentiveness meet with eagerness and anticipation. This is the spirit of hope that is the antidote and the tonic that can turn forward a church that today is finding it a significant struggle to come to terms with the passing of Christendom, long deceased though it is. We need to gather and develop our confidence anew and afresh to go out to tell of the wonderful person of Jesus Christ and the wonderful works of God. We need to identify with the world of which we are part, as citizens with the saints, in full recognition that we cannot possibly do this on our own. The strong and positive suggestion given us in the Gospel is that the love internal to the disciples is the primary port of call to endure the hatred and the alienation of the world. It is at this God–given love that we all need to work in order to be sent out and to go out as children of God with the purpose of faith in the world that God has created and loves. This glorious invitation is given to all of you by God to go in the faith in which you are sent and to find the signs of the Kingdom already there ahead of you in Galilee.
Ephesians
2.19: You are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and are also members of the household of God.