Whaley Bridge Parish
Jan 17th 2021
Psalm 139
John 1: 29 – 42
What on earth is the church for? What are we doing here this morning when we could have rolled over and enjoyed another hour in bed? With lockdown three in its third week, it’s as good time as any to be asking these questions. The pandemic has rearranged our experience of church in all sorts of ways, We hear the phrase “the new normal” – and there’s widespread agreement that when life opens up again after the pandemic it will look different. For us and our neighbours in Whaley Bridge, patterns of work, leisure, education, even family life, are likely to be different from before. And let’s add to that patterns of church life. As society changes around us, we in the church need to adapt so that we live and speak the good news of God’s saving love in ways which make sense for people.
In PCC on Tuesday we reflected that one thing the pandemic does give us is thinking time. So now is a good time for a sermon series that can help ground our thinking about what it means to be the church. What on earth is the church for?
20 years ago - the worldwide Anglican Communion adopted what is known as the five Marks of Mission, five guiding principles that undergird the church’s life. I would like use these five marks of mission over the coming weeks as a way of reflecting on what Here they are: The church is called to
1. Proclaim the Good News (tell)
2. Encourage and baptise new believers (teach)
3. Love and serve those in need (tend)
4. Always seek peace, standing up for those who are treated unfairly (transform,)-
5. Safeguard the planet, God’s created world. (treasure)
So his morning I would like to talk about about mark one - proclaiming the good news. But before I do that, I like to say a bit about what I mean when I say the word mission. Maybe you think “mission” is a funny kind of word. Some people find it has off putting associations. Perhaps it has association for you with Christian missionary work overseas – which in the colonial era had a very mixed legacy. Perhaps the word mission makes you think of large evangelistic rallies
If the word has difficulties for you, just park them for the moment. Mission begins not with what we do, but with who God is in Christ, God who is Father, Son and Spirit.
“God is spirit! Says the Apostle Paul. In the Bible God the Holy Spirit is a restless energy. In the power of the Spirit Jesus is sent out into the desert, and the power of the Spirit he is sent into Galilee to proclaim the good news. When the Spirit comes upon the disciples at Pentecost they leave the confines of the upper room and are sent out to tell the world of Christ crucified and risen. The Spirit is typically moving outwards, expanding the circle of God’s saving love, sending other to do the same. The Latin word “I send” is Missio and that’s where we get the word mission from. While we’re doing ancient languages, the New Testament Greek word for I send is apostolo, and that is where we get apostle from. “We believe in one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church” says the Nicene Creed. An apostolic church. That’s an awkward expression and not easily understood. An apostolic church is a church that is sent, a church that shares in the outward energy of God’s love, turned towards the world.
The mission of God is to be turned outward in saving love towards the world. The mission of the church is simply to share in that, to get caught up in that.
One classic definition of mission is “to find out what God is already doing – and to join in.”
I love that definition – and the way that it reminds us that grace is the heart of faith. When we talk about mission, it feels like we’re rolling up our sleeves to get busy. We constantly need reminding that God doesn’t need us to save the world, he’s already got that bit sorted. We are not saviour – we are those who
have received grace upon grace.
So to recap: a missional church is a church that is sent outwards in the power of God’s Holy Spirit, to share God’s saving love in word and action In other words: to do what Jesus did in his earthly ministry. The call to mission is not a new thing – it’s there in the Nicene creed.
OK then, the first mark of Mission.
1 To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom.
This is the natural starting point - because it comes from Jesus’ own summary of his mission to the world:
Luke 4:18 ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free’
Jesus went around Galilee telling people that the Kingdom of God had come close, and that they should repent and believe the Good News – telling it – and living it. Then he sends out the twelve disciples to do the same, and - in Luke’s gospel – a further, wider group of seventy- two. Jesus builds a community around him who are tasked with doing as he does. And right at the end of the gospel the final commission from the Risen Jesus is that we should continue to build the community by “making disciples of all nations” – more to say about that next week.
The call to proclaim the good news means that we are to communicate the saving love and hope that is in Jesus.
When I was licensed to this parish the Bishop said these words:
the Church of England professes the faith uniquely revealed in the Holy Scriptures and set forth in the catholic creeds, which faith it is called upon to proclaim afresh in each generation.
And there’s an important point I want you to notice. The call for the church to tell the news is not a call for the clergy alone. It is what the whole church of God is called to do – every baptised Christian. My role as clergy is to proclaim the good news, of course it is, but just as importantly to enable and equip you to do it. I wonder what you think about that? Do you find that daunting, surprising or energising?
Now let’s think about that word afresh. We proclaim the good news – and we proclaim it freshly.
The way we communicate our faith need to be refreshed, so that it is heard in a fresh way, and meets the needs of this generation – which are different from those of a generation ago.
And of course services via Zoom are one example of that.
In Sheffield I served under Bishop Steve Croft who holds the record for writing the best-selling church report of all time. )t’s what Bishop Steve he likes to call the Harry Potter of church reports. Since publication in 2004 his report Mission Shaped Church has sold tens of thousands of copies. The report said that Britain is no longer a Christian country – it is a post Christian country. Because of that we are in a situation we need to adapt. The report goes on to suggest ways that can happen: and has ideas for setting up new congregations and creating fresh expressions of church to connect with those for whom traditional church is simply not on their map.
Does that mean traditional forms of church have had their day? Not at all. Bishop Steve would say we need a both/ and approach. We have some traditional church – done really – well – and at the same time we innovate, start fresh expressions of church, develop new congregations. I hope this both/and is an approach we can take in our parish. In Matthew’s gospel Jesus tells a parable about disciples being like who is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old." I think that’s a helpful way of approaching this. Let us pray:
Life giving God
Send us out in the power of your Spirit
To proclaim the Good News
To live and work
To your praise and glory
Amen