Ephesians : 1 – 7 & 11 – 16 John 17 : 20 – 24
On this Advent Sunday we reach the last of
our sermon series on the subjects covered by the Alpha Renewed Course – and
it’s entitled “What about the Church?”.
Up to now the Alpha Course has concentrated
entirely on personal faith. What is the true basis of my Christian
Faith? How can I come to true faith, grow in faith, and grow in personal
Christian maturity? Then we covered subjects such as prayer, Bible reading,
guidance and healing – all from a mainly personal perspective.
Each of these is indeed a deeply personal
matter which you need to examine for ourselves – no-one can do it for you. But
we are not supposed to do any of this entirely on our own. The Church is the
Family of God and it is essential that we are embraced within that family in
order that we may find loving mutual support. Our Church exists in order that
we may together find a deepening faith, a growing faith; that we may
worship God and pray to Him together as well as on our own; that we may
grow in our understanding of the Bible together as well as on our own;
that we may find mutual support and guidance, both giving and receiving. It is
indeed in the practical and spiritual support that we give each other within
God’s Family that we ought to be at our most attractive to those outside. So
many people are lonely, isolated, longing for true loving support. So many
frankly have lost their way and searching around rather sadly and desperately
for the way forward. So many want a family to belong to which will not
dominate, manipulate or fail them in times of need or when they have made
mistakes. Christmas is advertised as a family time, but too often family
reunions result in disharmony and breakdown. Can the Church be a true model of
the Family of God? Sadly we often fail – but we should never stop trying to
live up to our calling from God.
I want to suggest that we look at this under
three headings this morning. The Family in Harmony; The Family in Action; and
The Family Journey.
THE FAMILY IN HARMONY.
St John tells us that, on the night he was betrayed, Jesus prayed for his
disciples and for all Christians who would come after them, that ‘all of them
may be one’ and that the Church might be ‘brought to complete unity to let the
world know that you (Father) have sent me...’
Similarly Paul urges his readers in Ephesians
4: 3 ‘Make every effort to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace...’
And to achieve this every Christian needs to be ‘completely humble and gentle;
patient, bearing with one another in love.’
If we are not united in love together as a
Church, we are failing God, failing each other, and failing the world outside, to
which we are supposed to be setting an example of loving harmony which will
irresistibly draw people in.
Advent is time to consider God’s judgment.
Advent is a time to wake up out of sleep and look to our laurels. Advent is a
time for repentance – for putting right anything that has gone wrong. How can
we celebrate the glory of Christmas together if we, as a Church, are disunited
and not at ease with each other? How indeed can we share the Peace together
unless we truly mean what we say and what our gestures convey?
That is not, of course, to say that we will
always agree with one another about everything. The dynamic of the family means
that – if we all agreed about everything – we would be a rather tame, lifeless
body, stifling creative debate and initiative and standing still when we ought
to make progress under the Holy Spirit.
The question is rather how we handle
different ideas and opinions. The Christian is called upon to be prepared to
sacrifice our preferences; to allow practical love to have the final word; to
exercise the Fruit of the Spirit which (as Paul tells us in Galatians 5:
22,23) is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control. And to that he adds in Colossians 3: 13:
‘Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one
another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.’
If we could demonstrate a family life
together like that, I am convinced that people from outside would be beating a
path to our door. If the Lord of Advent were to return today, how would he find
his servants? We need to search our hearts and – as necessary – be reconciled
with our brothers and sisters and with God. St Michael’s must be a united,
loving family, attractive and welcoming to all who come. And if we are not
living up to that high standard, Advent is the time to reflect, repent, and
change.
THE FAMILY IN ACTION.
Alongside harmony goes diversity. God has made each one of us different, and
his Holy Spirit has endowed each one of us with different gifts. This principle
is laid out very clearly in our first reading this morning from Ephesians 4
and (as we don’t have time to study it in detail now) take this printed sheet
home with you and muse prayerfully over this important passage.
Every
one of us has a gift from God – probably several – which He wants us to
contribute to the family. One of the most exciting experiences I have had over
my years in parish life has been to see people discover their gifts – mostly
gifts which they didn’t know they had – and see them blossom. Often those gifts
are not the obvious ones or the most spectacular. They are the gifts of
observing someone’s need and responding imaginatively; gifts of knowing how to
encourage people; gifts of sharing their experiences in a way that reaches the
hearts of others and draws people into faith. Gifts of practical love and
caring, of knowing how to resolve differences constructively, gifts of bringing
people together and creating harmony where there would otherwise be tension.
Alongside these are so many people who find
out exciting things about themselves. We have Pastoral Assistants who – a few
years ago – would probably never have imagined themselves representing the
Church, and finding that they can do it well. People undertaking Growing
Leaders Courses who would never thought of themselves in leadership positions;
potential preachers who are discovering new gifts. People starting by taking on
small, practical tasks and finding their confidence grow and blossoming. The
Church needs such a wide variety of gifts, from the gift of hospitality and
hosting the tea and coffee, through the gift of generous giving, to the gift of
teaching, evangelism, and charismatic leadership. And not one of these is
superior to another – we need them all, just as (in Paul’s illustration), the
body needs its small and apparently insignificant parts (often working behind
the scenes) just as badly as those parts which appear more important.
The Church Family which is working in loving
and effective harmony, and making use of all the gifts provided by the Holy
Spirit, is the Church we must strive for, pray for, work for.
THE FAMILY JOURNEY.
No Church stands still, just as no Christian stands still. Either we grow or we
decline. We are all on a journey towards the heavenly city to which Advent
summons us – and that summons is to each one of us. Wake up! Repent! Renew your
first love and faith. This is the Advent call spelt out for us by Paul in Romans
13 : 11 – 13 : “The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber,
because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is
nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness
and put on the armour of light.”
We are journeying together towards a promised
land – journeying towards the light. If we can catch the vision of Advent and
then Christmas in the right spirit, we will feel ourselves driven - impelled - by the Holy Spirit to become a
Church Family that is truly in harmony, using all our gifts, and travelling
forward together into a new year which will then be full of promise. What
changes will you make this Advent?
No comments:
Post a Comment