Good morning St John's! Pop quiz: which St John are we named for?
Now there's a tough question. Here's a quick follow-up question - how many St
John's ARE there?
The answer: a lot. There are a LOT of St John's - There's John the Apostle, who
was James' brother. No one knows if this is the same John who is the
Evangelist, the gospel-writer, who is anachronistically imprinted in our
stained glass above the reredos. There's John of Patmos - he wrote the biblical
book of the Revelation. There's John Chrysostom - who is credited with writing
the prayer we use at our intercessions "Almighty God, who has given us grace at this time with one accord to
make our common supplications unto you..." John of Damascus who defended the use of divine Images, such as
icons or banners. We've got John of the Cross, the Carmelite mystic who gave us
the poem "The Dark Night of the Soul." And, if we skip over the other
70 or so St John's, we can consider St John the Baptist.
Now, I like old JB. He was, after all, an ordinary guy, whose life was changed
by his connection to Jesus. And, as a result, he did extraordinary things. He
lived the mission.
And yesterday was his birthday. In church-speak, we call it the Feast of the
Nativity of St John the Baptist. So, we celebrate that today. Now, each St John
has their own feast day - some are major feasts some are minor feasts. John the
Baptist is a major feast. It's a change-the-altar-hangings kind of feast day.
And it's important to us: because that's the day that this parish church of St
John, some 183 years ago, committed itself to being a dedicated worshiping
community here in Port Dalhousie. The cornerstone was laid, the prayers were
lifted, the party was held! And the mission of the church began.
The reality of starting a church is a complex one. Because a community needs to
identify that it wants t gather to hear God's word, to nurture the faith, to
share in the sacraments, and to go out and be a force for God in the immediate
world. Basically, for a church to come into being, it has to be able to
identify what it's mission will be. And then, as we know, for a church to
continue in that place and space, it needs to continue in its mission.
To be fair: I'm not talking about mission statements like we see in the
business world. They're not bad: but they're usually more concrete-dollars-and-cents
than the mission of a church. They focus on an organisation's purpose and
operations, measuring success and failure. They can be rather long and
seemingly unattainable. I once heard someone indicate they wished for a mission
statement that could be printed on a t-shirt... not on an entire nightgown.
No, the mission that happens within and from a faith community is rather
different. Because it is not something that is controlled by the people: it is
something from God. Jürgen Moltmann, one of my favourite theologians, puts it
this way: "It is not the church that has a mission but the very reverse...
the mission of Christ creates its own church."[1]
So the church exists then, to participate in God's mission.
That leads us to the next question... what is God's mission? What is that
mission for the world? For the people gathered in Christ's name?
And: most importantly: how do we - as God's people - participate in that?
This is the hard stuff. This is where we are called to discern. To prayerfully
consider what it is that God wants to happen in this community, in 2017 and
beyond, and through those of us who are committed to BEing God's church.
Any brilliant answers?
It takes thought, and care and prayer, and discussion, and a renewed
understanding of what it means to be part of God's mission.
And that part, as odd as it may sound, is not just about
bringing people to church to fill the pews. If that were the case, we could all
line up, and like a drive through just walk through the building. But what
would have changed? Aside from the condition of the flooring, not much.
Mission is also, despite how it used to be understood, not merely a process of
sending people away on foreign trips so that they could convert people.
That happens, sure, but there are also things that God's got planned for this
place - this community - and we're being invited into those things too.
Mission is most definitely not about one person doing some things, and some
others helping out, and the rest watching as though 'church' is a spectator
sport. Jesus gave us the perfect model of that – he could have done it all
himself, but instead he gathered folks together, trained and empowered them,
and sent them out into the world to do the same. It’s meant to be in community
that we come together and make a difference.
So what do we do when we're together? How do we practically and
logistically engage in Gods mission? Well, we start from here. We start now.
And we do it together. We worship: emphasising the importance of shared praise
and prayer. We pay attention: looking out for our shared ministry, and for one
another. We pray: asking God for help, being changed in our hearts, interceding
for God's people and the world, and giving thanks for the joys of the
glimpses of the kingdom I mentioned last week. We transform the world
around us: through acts of healing, discipleship, teaching. We evangelise: in
the true sense, this means to share the Good News - and when the Good News is
being part of God's plan, how can we help but joyfully share that?
So we come together. In this place, in this time. Building on the good examples
of the past 183 years, and equally committing ourselves to discern our
missional path for the future. Taking from the holy space the spiritual
strength we need from baptism, scripture, and evangelism.
Let us give thanks for these holy spaces, and ask God that they may continue to
mean much for years to come:
Almighty God,
watchful and caring, our source and our end, all that we are and all that we
have are yours. Accept us now, as we give thanks to you for this place where we
have come to praise your name, to ask your forgiveness, to know your healing
power, to hear your word, and to be nourished by the body and blood of your
Son. Be present always to guide and to judge, to illumine and to bless your
people. This we pray in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.[2]
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