As I was reflecting on our scripture readings
for this week I found myself thinking about what it is we are called to be
about as a Church and as Children of God. As I reflected on the content of the
message we are called to carry out into the world, I in turn found myself
thinking about a submission I once made to a Canadian Theology magazine about
my personal theology of ministry.
This coincided with my picking up and reading
the memoirs of Reverend Richard Holloway, the former Bishop of Scotland for the
Episcopalian Church, and for a time the primus (or head) of that denomination.
I had heard Rev. Holloway being interviewed
on CBC’s Sunday Morning programme last week while I drove across Southern
Manitoba and Northern Ontario, and decided I had to find his book “Leaving
Alexandria” his memories and reflections on life, ministry and the Church.
As I wrestled with our readings this week,
and the transition point we find ourselves in on the eve of Pentecost,
Holloway’s words reminded me of what lies at the heart of my theology of faith
and ministry, and it resonated with the place the Early Church found itself in
today’s readings as they prepared to go into the world both propelled and
motivated by faith.
I found a resonance between the scripture
passages before us this morning, the wise counsel and reflection of Bishop
Holloway, and my own creation from almost 12 years ago. I can still remember
the afternoon when I sat down to write my theology of ministry – they are words
that continue to motivate and underlie my approach to life, faith and ministry:
I
would describe my theology of ministry in one simple word: JOY.
The
definition of Joy in a dictionary refers to great happiness, or a source of
great delight, but I want to be clear: I do not see joy as pasting on a happy
face and pretending that everything is lovely. To me, JOY is embracing life in
its fullness and proclaiming with certainty that we are never separated from
God’s love.
Among
many things:
Joy is being a child of God.
Joy is being a partner and a
dad.
Joy is being welcomed into
the most intimate moments of life and being asked to pray, of just be present
with family and friends.
Joy is the opportunity to
hold someone’s hand in a moment of tragedy.
Joy is holding a new born
baby, or baptizing an adopted child.
Joy is weeping with the
hurting and laughing with a Bible Study group.
Joy is watching a baby
discover, for the third time today, her hand.
Joy is seeing the world
through the Holy Wow of a three year old child, who is discovering what a
wonder creation is.
Joy is building Lego sets
with a five year old, and wiping away his tears when he scrapes his knee
falling off a bike.
Joy is crying over injustice
and rejoicing that we have a community that truly cares about us.
Joy is having tea with an
elder who shares her memories of a world seven decades away.
Joy is having a pop with a
group of teens who think everything is “cool” or “awesome.”
Joy is struggling to find
our way, and enjoying the journey as much as the destination.
Joy is leading a worship
service erupting with the noise of children and quiet with the reflective
wisdom of seniors.
Joy is the quiet presence of
the cognitively impaired in a care home.
Joy is knowing that
sometimes life just isn’t fair.
Joy is the enthusiasm of
welcoming in the visitor or the newcomer.
Joy is asking the tough
questions and sometimes agreeing only to disagree, but knowing that we love
each other anyway.
Joy is sharing the Gospel
with the help of my puppet friends.
Joy is love eternal and
everlasting.
Joy is knowing God’s love
and being able to share it every day in some little way.
Joy is breaking bread and
sharing the cup, then having a cup of coffee and a good chat afterwards.
Joy is planning a memorial
service of a cancer victim, and sharing laughter and tears as a life is
celebrated.
Joy is trusting one another
enough to share life’s joys and sorrows, knowing that together we share God’s
love.
Joy is embracing the
homeless.
Joy is loving the unlovable.
Joy is praying for the sick
and visiting the hospitalized.
Joy is making worship
relevant, exciting and fun.
Joy is communication and
community.
Joy is facing controversy
and conflict and journeying to reflection, resolution and healing.
Joy is the ministry of all
of God’s people.
Joy is being a servant of
God journeying with God’s children and sharing the ups and downs of everyday
life with openness, with honesty, and most of all with love.
Joy is making a difference
in one life everyday.
Joy is the church, the
children of God in action.
Joy is the journey of faith
through all the twists and turns of life.
I
could go on. But suffice to say, to me the theology of ministry is about doing,
not taking. It is about using the gifts and talents which God provides to care
for those around us and to welcome in all of God’s children.
A
friend recently described my approach to ministry as “hospitality” and observed
that I move to the periphery and work very hard to draw the circle in. He may
be right. I value the outreach of the church, but sometimes we need to look
close by and embrace those who are hurting right beside us in the pews, and
that may be the toughest challenge we face, but it is a challenge I embrace and
value.
To
me, ministry is about action. It is doing, not theorizing. I’m not afraid of
facing issues head-on, but at the end of the day, we must, as God’s children,
be able to break bread and share the cup in faith, and if conflict prevents
this, then we have to roll up our sleeves and work. I am not afraid of that.
It
is not easy to summarize my theology of ministry on a couple of pieces of
paper. Instead I am most comfortable going out into the world and living out my
faith and ministry with JOY.
My understanding
of ministry is living out the word JOY in all its infinite fullness.
I’ve been through many experiences since I
wrote those words that have challenged me in my faith journey, yet I have clung
to a persistent understanding of JOY, that even in the deepest darkest moment
I’ve face, has allowed me to keep moving forward knowing I am not alone, and
that I am a beloved child of God.
As a Church – as the people of God, we are
called by God to share our faith. It is what motivates and underlies everything
we do as a Church, yet we need to ask – what is it that we are sharing?
Do we truly share a message and a Gospel of
JOY? Or have we gotten off the rails somewhere and are more focused on
protecting that Gospel and ourselves from what may lay out there … are we more
about uncertainty and fear than trust and faith and joy.
Reading Bishop Holloway’s memoirs, I’ve been
struck over and over by the simple reality that too often what we promote in
the Church as faith and as Gospel is actually based in fear … Jesus loves you,
but if you don’t say the right words and believe the right things YOU WILL
spend enternity in hell … is that fear or joy?
In a time when Church attendance is falling
and people are starving spiritually, rather than opening the doors and
welcoming in those who are searching, we have developed a troubling tendency to
place restrictions and conditions on who may enter and what they have to do to
be fully accepted …. Is this fear or joy?
And most troubling of all – in an era when
demands on food banks and ministries focused on poverty and those being crushed
by forces beyond their control, our Christian Charity has become more and more
defensive, placing limits and conditions on our gifts, and chosing to deny help
and assistance by uttering words like “responsibility” and “choices” while
people are suffering … is this fear or joy?
Our Gospel – this gift from God offered
through Jesus, and affirmed through the events of Easter – is a Gospel of Love
… a Gospel of Inclusion … a Gospel of JOY … yet, when we look around at the
impression most people have of Christian Faith, joy and love and welcome is
seldom the image they see and experience …
Instead words like ‘judgemental’,
‘self-righteous’ and ‘stuffy’ are offered when people are asked about Church …
Yesterday I was told that I don’t seem like a
Pastor because I don’t end my conversations by saying “God Bless you …” I
couldn’t help but wonder if this need for a neat and tidy box and the assurance
that comes the pastor saying “God Bless you” arises from a place of fear rather
than joy … more than that though, I really wonder what impression a standard
conversation ender (and it would end many conversations permanently!) like God
Bless You would leave with the vast majority of people …
Fortunately though, there is every indication
that the ability to change that lies within our hands. We are, after all, the
Body of Christ risen, transformed and resurrected, and sent out into the world
by the Prayers of Jesus himself, and by the commissioning of the Holy Spirit to
share this Gospel and to celebrate the Joy of our faith – a faith based in
love, care, inclusion and welcome …
Instead of buying into the fear that runs
rampant in our world, our calling as people of faith is to confront and
OVERCOME that fear with the joy of knowing we are the beloved children of God …
and that we are to share that message with everyone …
May it be so – thanks be to God – let us pray
…
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