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Welcome back Sunday. The headline in Thursday’s Herald was the question: “What does our flag say of us?” It was asked in relation to the debate around a new flag for New Zealand. It occurred to me to ask the same question of church. What does the cross (our equivalent of a flag) say of us? I think you will agree that the cross has become the symbol of those committed to following Jesus. By following Jesus we mean that we want to accept his theology as our own and become like him. So what was he like? Wow, big question which is answered mostly through the Gospel accounts of his life which contain stories about him and his ministry. Today’s Gospel tells one such story from his life, and we learn from it that Jesus had good local knowledge. He was influential in his community. He used the opportunities that came his way, to share his faith with people in ways that were relevant and helpful to them. The story opens with him standing on his local beach by the Sea of Galilee. Crowds have gathered around to listen to him. He clearly felt confident of his place in his community. As he hops into Simon’s boat, I don’t get the feeling that this was the first time he had gone boating or fishing either. Incidentally speaking from the boat was a smart move given how well sound carries across water. So here he is then sharing his faith on his equivalent of Narrowneck beach! From this we learn that was a man who He met people where they were at and connected with them where they felt comfortable. He did not necessarily wait for them to come to the synagogue in order to teach them, but connected with them on the beach or in the market place or by the swimming pool as they went about their day to day business. We learn that his local knowledge about fishing in his area is also impressive. He clearly knew where the good fishing spots were, telling Simon and the other fishermen to let down their nets in exactly the right fishing hole, to enable them to make a good catch. What a useful man to have around! Perhaps most interestingly of all though is his ability to frame his theology in terms that were relevant to the ordinary people. In today’s story he uses the huge catch of fish he has enabled, as a metaphor for vision casting a new way of living where these men would invest their time and energy in serving people (called ministry ) and in teaching others about God’s love for them (called mission ) - Mission and Ministry, the two cornerstones of Christ’s Church. In last weekend’s Herald there was a surprising cover story in Canvas Magazine. The story was called: Spreading the Good Word. It looked at the attempts various churches are making to market Christianity and give it a smarter, sharper, more liberal image, supposedly to save the church from empty pews. As I reflected on church in general and our church in particular, two comments stood out for me in the article: 1st was a statement about ministry: “At the end of the day, it’s not about the marketing, it’s not about the show. We need to help people through their difficult times, invite them into our homes and connect with them. After all that’s what church is all about.” 2nd statement was about mission: We’re not here to make money. We’re here to give life-changing messages”. These two statements summed up for me the nub of why the Church exists, We are here to do mission and ministry in Jesus’ name. You see, the church today is simply a continuation and extension of the original chosen band of disciples (fishermen, tax collectors and so forth), a group of ordinary people learning the ways of Jesus as a voluntary community, serving others and sharing his teachings about God with them. In this sense, every follower of Jesus, every one of us here today, every member of Christ’s Church is a minister and a missionary and every place is a place of ministry and a mission field. This includes Narrowneck beach, the supermarket, school, our work places, our homes and our social clubs. Any place where we come across a need for God’s healing, any time someone wants to know how to build a relationship with God, we are called to step up to the plate and offer our gifts to help meet those needs of ministry and mission. Our church’s mission statement acknowledges and reflects this call to mission and ministry: to know Christ and to make Christ known. As does our vision statement: to be a Christ-centred community that attracts all people into a relationship with God and inspires them to serve. The challenge is of course how we as individuals and as a faith community make this mission statement and vision statement a reality. The lessons from today’s Gospel story can be of great to help to us as we begin 2010, The cross symbolises different things about Jesus to different people. To me the perpendicular symbolises the faith in God that I have through Jesus and which he calls me to share with others (mission) and the horizontal symbolises Jesus’ call to reach out with love and compassion to others (ministry). Both of these are to happen within the context of my wider community. If we are to be a community of faith that is very much a part of a wider community and a wider world then each of us here today must use the relationships that link us with the world to be the good news in ministry and to spread the good news of Jesus Christ in mission. Jesus was not afraid to sit with his feet dangling over the edge of a boat answering people’s questions about God with honesty and integrity. So we too must take courage and use the opportunities that present themselves to us in our work places, at our social gatherings, in the supermarket to serve others and to share with them our faith when they ask us to. When someone asks the God question, let’s be courageous; let’s not shy away from the challenge of engaging in the God conversation, When someone needs prayer let’s offer to pray with them, When someone needs an invitation to attend church let’s be hospitable and invite them to come along with us. When someone needs our help let’s put ourselves out and give it to them. Sensitivity and humility are key, but so is courage. When we say the Lord’s Prayer, we start by saying ‘as Jesus taught us let us pray’. As we start the New Year together as a faith community, let us start it by saying As Jesus showed us let us do mission and ministry’, remembering that every one of us here has been called, just as those first disciples were called, to be a minister and a missionary and every place is a place of ministry and a mission field. |
