Regeneration in the parish and the Diocese (The “Missio Dei” -The mission of God)

A COMMENT PAPER FROM THE REVEREND HELEN WALLIS ON
THE CHRISTCHURCH ANGLICAN DIOCESE CLERGY CONFERENCE
May 24th-25th 2022


It is a few days after the feast of the Ascension (which was last Thursday) and between Ascension and the celebration of Pentecost next Sunday.   Between remembering God’s going n the Ascension as it were and celebrating God’s coming in the power of the Spirit at Pentecost, we await God’s purpose.

I attended  Clergy Conference last week  and I have been once more challenged about the needs and wishes of this parish people.   I am praying that we will grow with expectant hearts, and grasp a vision of the Lord’s  reign.  For The Lord is  alive and reign with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God.

At Conference we focused on the DMAP  The Diocese Mission Action Plan. because when all is said and done… it is the Missio Dei  =the mission of God that we should be most concerned with as we daily walk  the walk and talk the talk.

I have been retired for 18 years and I have had a ball relieving,  trouble shooting,  nurturing, working and grieving with a variety of parishes transitioning  in one way or another throughout Canterbury Otago and Southland.   Many of my friends are not involved in the church or Christian things and keep asking when are you going to stop work.   But it’s not work.. it’s a calling,  a passion in faith, and even in these eventide years of my life God calls me to exercise  a ministry just as he calls each one of you to share your faith.  But sometimes I am not only physically profoudly deaf, I am literally deaf to God’s call.
This calls me to pose the question….
“ How deaf are we being as a parish called by God  to work for his mission “ 
You see, God is on a mission.   And to quote David Bosch

“It is not the church of God who has a mission in the world.  
It is the God of Mission who has a church in the world “ 

Our God is a God of Mission. God calls us to bear witness to who God is, to tell what God has done in Jesus Christ, and to partner in God’s work in the world in by going out to be salt and light in the community    We call this the  Missio Dei -  the Mission of God the regeneration of faith and it starts with you and me as we meet with God in prayer and eventually as we become more alive in faith.   If we are excited and smiling about our journey with God,. others will see the change..

One day, many years ago, I was walking so down Hereford street deep in thought… when a guy  I had never seen before suddenly stepped in front of me  and with a big smile on his face said    “ its not as bad as all that is it?”   I must have looked grim…..What was I projecting?….You know ! Smile and the world smiles with you. Obviously, I was not smiling! The same is true of our faith. What do we project about our faith in our day by day living and being?
             
The challenge for this parish is not be just for the new Vicar whoever he or she is.

The challenge is up for you and for me to become vitally engaged in the Mission of God in new and different ways and to be ready and willing  to adapt to the needs of the word around us.
 What about it?..  Are you up for the personal challenge of the mission of God…
or are you just going to be a pew sitter or a car park critic? My hope is always in renewal and resurrection. May we believe that newness and the regeneration of parish and people is possible.  May we never grow tired of starting over or helping others do the same      
Helen Wallis

THIS WEEKS SERMON  29th May 2022
 The Gospel of John17: verses 20- 26
 Regeneration in the parish and the Diocese (The “Missio Dei” -The mission of God)

Today we have listened again to the words spoken by Jesus at his final supper with his select friends,  - the disciples at the last meal before his execution. He has reassured his troubled disciples that they will not be separated from him, and he has promised the Holy Spirit as a form of his continuing presence.   He has stressed God’s love for him as his Son and his own love for them, and then He closes his farewell address by turning to God in prayer for them

And finally, he prays for those who will believe through the preaching of the disciples.  And He even   prays for us sitting here today  .those who believe, those who confess him as the Lord  the Son of God and who commit themselves to him in love, and that we may be  united as one in our faith in Him as the Saviour and Lord In the final words of the prayer Jesus acknowledges that the love with which God loved him and the love  out of which he live would be in his followers -us – you and me as the body of Christ -  the Church alive, active,  and loving in the world today.   Jesus  prays that our lives will in fact be centred and grounded in his love as we seek to share in the Missio Dei   the mission of God  in the  church and community with which we live.

Yet when we watch the news on television or read the newspapers, it seems that  all too often, that the quality of love is rather scarce in today's society.  Or, maybe, items about love are not too newsworthy, while the drama of violence and disorder is revenue gathering.  A12 year old stealing 8 cars in Dunedin.

A man shot dead in a suburban street in Auckland; Ram raids to enable major theft; Gang warfare in Kaikohe; not to mention  -the rampage of a gunman in USA killing innocent children and their teachers.   And then there’s the reports of the horrifying warfare in Ukraine projected right into our living rooms in the 6pm TV news  night after night. Is it any wonder that  there is a sense of despair and desperation to find some answers that may in some way deal with the issues of violence and disorder in our communities and the world.

The truth is, however,  that many people, young, old,  and in-between,  are ruled by a sense of insecurity, they feel unwanted, unloved, unnecessary and sometimes that leads to acting out violently or losing the plot.   When a person internalizes  such feelings of despair or loneliness  or depression t can lead to disfunction for which they can barely be held responsible. They can get caught up in a catch 22 situation. Despite  all the wealth and so called power,  I wonder if that is where Putin and his colleagues are?How can they worship God and yet act  and lead as they do?

Jesus said "Love your neighbour as yourself,  and yet right here around each one of us there are people, neighbours,  friends, family  people, who  despite much outward success and security, feel unloved and unwanted. They  often blame themselves  for these feelings and find nothing good about themselves.   When this happens –when people don't love themselves, how  on earth are they going to love others?  And, so, it can make it all the harder to break out of the spiral of hopelessness or so it would appear.

I would like to suggest that we need to take the message  of love from today's gospel reading to people who feel like that that by being in fact - this weeks “Good sorts”  -  our words and actions  seen as if  done in the name of Christ.  It is in that sort of action, that message of love  can provide hope and helps others to realise  that the future is not hopeless, but rather, it is transformable   and ready for regeneration. But we do need to internalise the message first and to seriously pray for God’s direction so that we know exactly how we are to share that love and faith. So first and foremost  as we heard in the gospel today how amazing it is   that Jesus is actually praying for us -you and me here today.

How amazing to know that everywhere this gospel message is being read and heard throughout the world today - people  are being exposed to the marvelous fact that Jesus cares and is praying for them and others -  as (the creed says) - our only mediator and  advocate .   Surely it is a sign of hope that this week when people all over the world and across the churches join in a call to pray for the Ukraine that they will be united by the power of the Holy Spirit as one  in the common goal of revealing Christ's love in word and deed.  Jesus says "I pray  for those who will believe in me “and what does he pray? 

Firstly, he prays for unity in the spirit that all may be one -and then, Jesus prays that God's  great love for him  may be in us.Earlier in this sameGospel, John recorded these now familiar words - “ God so loved the world that he GAVE his only begotten Son.”..

So God's love is a totally sacrificial love – and just prior to today's reading, Jesus had said to his disciples,  "A new commandment I give unto you - that you love one another, as I have loved you..."
We cannot love just because we are told that we must. Jesus' commandment to love is not meant to be a new rigid pharisaical type law.  From Jesus' standpoint -love is not simply one virtue among others - one principle among similar principles. It is the basic criteria of all virtues, principles and norms of behaviour for us as his followers to live by and share.  Love is to be understood, not as a sense or feeling, or as sentimentality, but as the deliberately decided attitude  and act of goodwill towards others, even towards one's opponent.  It involves man and wife, boy and girl, colleagues, neighbours, clergy and lay, friends and strangers.  And being motivated by love leads to acts of wholehearted good will towards others which is a start  towards the regeneration of our parish and community.

Unfortunately, it is sometimes easier to generalise about love than to be really specific.  But love for others   is the exact yardstick of the love of God.  We love God only as much as we love others.
            
In the final words of the prayer Jesus acknowledges that the love with which God loved him and out of which he lived and loved, would be in his followers,  Our lives  and the sharing of our faith must be in fact centred and grounded in Christ’s love.  So, if Jesus' prayer is to be realised – our oneness in the Lord, and the love that Jesus prayed would be in us, must be seen to be believed. People should be able to see it,  hear it, touch it.  If it doesn't show, who will ever know?  I believe that Jesus Christ died for me. Do I in return love for him?   Is it patently obvious to the person outside the church that… "It is no longer I who lives, but Christ who lives in me? (Gal 2:20)

The Diocese Mission Action Plan outlines the principles that will guide that goal of revealing Christ’s love which have been inspired by the analogy of a self-sustaining native forest.   You see a forest is abundant with life and  rich with  a variety of plants growing together in  continuous regeneration.T   hat’s a a great model for the church today recycling, leading to regeneration and revitalisation of the church and community by love seen in action.. You see  God’s intention is not for the church to be just a  gathering of like minded people as if in a club. God’s intention is for the church to  change  and grow, and impact  on the community around us.  

Yet If you look back it is easy to see that God’s work in history, it  has often disrupted what has gone before.  So I think that as we look towards developing new ministries under the leadership of a new Vicar, we must be  prepared for change and challenges  A new vicar will not. come to do it all for us but to lead us  and enable us to do the work of God  for  the regeneration of church and community alike...

(Matthew 5-7; Acts 15:1-30).   But let’s remember too -  that  we do not go it alone because God gives the Holy Spirit to breathe new dreams and visions into his people (Acts 2:17).   Saying that  is easier than doing, but as a parish people we will need to be willing to adapt the structures of the parish to match  the social climate surrounding it, while staying true to the Gospel (Acts 15:1-30).

Let’s remember too,  that like the Easter story, death or loss of the old patterns and ways of doing things can be a precursor to new life and hope. The loss of some things that are precious to you and me could mean new and vital life by the power of the Spirit for many others    Think for a moment about the music we share each Sunday…

Think about how different it is from the Gregorian chants in the days of oldor the choruses of the 1960’s or the focus of the  modern praise songs on a personal worship and need  of God.  By contrast, many  Hymns  and songs, set  to old tunes as we have today, often focus on the need to pray for the things pertaining  to today’s world so sadly in need of love and unity.
          
Yes change can be painful, grief encountering, but it can also be exciting. I wonder if you have ever thought about  how sheep move quickly through a gate to a new paddock of grass. they are on the run and nothing will stop them. but there are always a few stragglers  that need rounding up  by a sheep dog pushing them onwards and through the gate.   It would be easy to be like that, - comfort at all costs.  And all too often, because of our own lack of commitment to change we enable the gate keepers in our churches  to ensure that the flock is kept together. in the same old paddock of faith.

The challenge is for us is to avoid being just pew sitters or car park critics who disrupt the flow of change because we selfishly want things to be just more of the same or as they always were under the  multiple of ministry leaderships throughout  the past years.   You see God calls his people   You and me regardless of our age and stage in life to ongoing regeneration-John 3:3-8; 12:24;  Ephesians 2:4-7.
And that also takes courage to let go and let God  take over our lives and the journey of faith

The Archdeacon for  Regeneration  the Reverend Dr Mark Chamberlain says
1.         We all need to grow in strength as we trust  the God who calls us..  Ephesians 1:13-23

 2     We need to grow in Depth, bearing the fruit of new growth
         in the one and only true vine  Christ i-our Lord.        John 15: 1-11


3     We need to grow in breadth to reflect the community
       in which we live  trusting always in the love of God with us


4       And finally we need to grow in Love that we all may be one for the Lord.
 
As the gospel today clearly says. - Jesus didn't pray just for his immediate disciples, but also for those who would believe on him  And  that includes you and me!  Jesus looked beyond the first generation of believers and saw that others would follow him. and His prayer for them, and for us, is that we would be unified in love so that the world around us will believe that God sent Jesus to be the Savior of the world.              

So regeneration does not depend on who the next Vicar will be or what  they will be able to do for all of us  in the same old same old ways. It’s about our coming to Jesus.   its about our seeking his way of  life, his love, his will, and his Spirit to help us be what he has called us to be for the Missio Dei.. the mission of God in this place.. Its about our response to the gospel.. Its  about  recycling and reconciliation and  regeneration  in the name of the One who calls us to be and to do Jesus the Lord.

A PRAYER
Loving God, You have called Your church to bear witness that in Christ You are reconciling all people to Yourself;help us so to proclaim Your love in word and deed, that all may grasp the hope that is in Jesus Christ  our Lord and Saviour. Amen

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