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Introduction to Te Pouhere Sunday The Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia is a constitutionally autonomous member of the worldwide Anglican Communion. In 1992 The Constitution of this Church provided for three partners to order their affairs within their own cultural context. Tikanga Pakeha; Tikanga Maori and Tikanga Pasefika. Tikanga Pasefika encompasses Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and the Cook Islands and is known as the Diocese of Polynesia. The word tikanga means custom, way, style or cultural model and in the Anglican context means one of the three strands that make up the Anglican church in this part of the world. Each Tikanga has its own Bishop. So we have three co-presiding bishops Brown Turei for Tikanga Maori, David Moxon for Tikanga Pakeha and Jabez Bryce in Polynesia. So the Anglican Church of Aotearoa New Zealand and Polynesia is one church in which each Tikanga is an equal partner in the decision-making process. Thus we are a church that recognizes a diversity of ways of being and we are a church that reflects that New Zealand is a multicultural society. Allowing for local differences is one of the key Anglican principles and that goes all the way back to the very beginnings of the Anglican Church. Today we are remembering the Anglican Church of NZ’s constitution which celebrates both unity and diversity in its three Tikanga model. Look at the top of the pew sheet and you will discover that our vision statement also celebrates unity and diversity We are a family in Christ Nurturing spiritual growth in Christ Celebrating diversity in Christ. Our own experience of life tells us that we are all different. Though we have gathered here this morning as one church, we are each of us unique and different. If we were to do a quick scan of this congregation How many from New Zealand; How many people are from England; Africa; China; Korea;other? Here in itself are some great cultural differences between us. And there are many other ways our differences are manifest: Ages; Jobs; financial situation; physical attributes; introvert/extrovert etc etc. And you know what, God has made us so. God has made us all unique and different and he loves what he has made. The Biblical narrative affirms this. We find God choosing all kinds of people for ministry. David the Shepherd; Abraham the Sheik; Moses the prince of Egypt; Rahab the Prostitute; Joseph the carpenter and so forth. Our theology teaches us that the godhead itself is triune, three persons making the one God. The Trinity says to us that at the heart of God there is diversity and there is relationship. Jesus acknowledges the differences in people in the way he treats them. He does not have a one size fits all approach to people when he ministers to them. “What do you want me to do?,” is generally the question that precedes any interaction he has with people. And his advice varies also. To some he says come with me and to others he says go home to your family. In the Acts reading for today Peter discovers that God shows no favouritism. He learns that God accepts people from every nation, not on the basis of their station in life, nationality or material possessions, but rather on the basis of whether they respect him and do what is right according to God’s laws. He further learns that the Holy Spirit blows where it pleases and so it is that all who heard Peter’s message, Jews and Gentiles, all received the gift of the Holy Spirit. Now I’m picking that none of this will be news to you. In all probability you know that God who created everything loves all he has created and so loves everyone especially because he has created us all different. He has done so intentionally as part of the outworking of his plans for the world. At Pentecost after Jesus’ resurrection He chose to reveal himself through his church which is made up of individuals. And so it is, that not one of us of ourselves is able to reveal God to the world, we do so when we are part of a whole community of faith, when we all come together with all our unique attributes, gifts, cultures and personalities, with the intention of being Christ’s body in the world, revealing God’s glory to the world. Henri Nouwen compared the Church to a mosaic consisting of thousands of little stones. Some are blue, some are green, some are yellow, some are gold. When we bring our faces close to the mosaic, we can admire the beauty of each stone. But as we step back from it, we can see that all these little stones reveal to us a beautiful picture, telling a story none of these stones can tell by itself. That is what our life in the community of faith is about. Each of us is like a little stone, but together we reveal the face of God to the world. Nobody can say: “I make God visible.” But others who see us together can say: “They make God visible”. Community is where humility and glory can come together. So what are the implications of all of this for us today? The Acts reading reminds us that difference and holding our differences together is an essential part of our faith story. As we gather around the Lord’s Table each Sunday, we come together not in uniformity but in unity and what unites us is our desire to be fully devoted followers of Jesus; to bring glory to God and to become a community of faith that will make God visible in the world through Jesus Christ, to be salt and light. To do this we must be united. In the Gospel reading today Jesus prays for his followers, for his church then and for his church today. In the course of the prayer he prays over and over again for unity and oneness within his fold. Clearly this was very important to him for he understood and so should we that being united as Christ’s Church is foundational to the success of our mission as church which is to be light and salt in the world. We achieve this unity not through trying to make every one the same, believe exactly the same things, do everything in the same way. We achieve this unity by accommodating the God-given diversity which is amongst us, by remembering that we are gathered around the personhood of Christ. It is Christ who unites us and by submitting ourselves as individuals and a community to the virtues of love and truth. This love and truth requires that we are tolerant of each other; that we are generous with each other; that we are humble and respectful as we engage with each other in ministry and that we are imaginative in the ways we seek to accommodate each other. See Café services, youth ministry and youth services; Taize services; Choir; Evensong etc. As Peter was to discover, there is no place for arrogance; exclusivity and ego in God’s kingdom. As Jesus prays we discover in his prayer the way forward for each of us as individuals and as a community. 1.He says “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.” As individuals and as a community let us resolve to do the same. Let us resolve to bring glory to God by completing the work he has given us to do. 2. Jesus says to God, “I have revealed You to those whom you gave me “. Let us do the same. Each doing our bit to be Christ’s hands and feet in whatever context we each of us has been placed so that as a community we may reveal the full picture of God’s love and truth. 3. “I gave them the words you gave me”. How might we do that? As individuals and as a faith community let us resolve to be people of prayer, praying and fasting ,that we too might better discern God’s will and purposes for us. 4. “They are still in the world, protect them by the power of your name so that they may be one as we are one.” Let us stand united and together in the power and the protection of the name of Jesus and humbly surrender ourselves, our self interest and our self centredness to a vision of the Church as the body of Christ, knowing that the whole is so much greater, more powerful and more life giving, than the sum of its parts! So in accordance with Jesus prayer, as we celebrate our diversity in the context of our unity let us step out with faith believing: that we are sanctified by the truth of Jesus Christ; that we have been sent into the world and that our mission as church is to be a united community of faith which shows the world that God loves them at least as much as he loves his Son Jesus Christ. Thanks be to God for the vision of the Church as a united body, for in that vision we see God’s plan for redeeming the whole world through Jesus Christ. Thanks be to God that we are all different for in those differences lie the skills and beauty that will make the body of Christ alive to the world. I’d like to close with a reading of the poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins which celebrates the diversity inherent in all of God’s creation. |
