Sermon preached by Fr Philip

on the celebration of St Peter and Paul, and the Rev’d Judith Sweetman’s first Sunday celebration of the Holy Eucharist.

Sunday 29^th June 2008

The celebration in the church’s calendar of St Peter & St Paul today is very much ‘our’ day – our ‘dedication festival’ at St Peter’s.  The name of our church – “St Peter ad Vincula” comes from the description in Acts 12 of St Peter’s imprisonment by Herod, and his release from chains (‘vincula’ is the Latin for ‘chains’) by an angel of God. This year it is marvellous that 29th June is sandwiched between last week’s Spirit-filled Ordination (in which Judith was made fully a priest in the church of God) together with her First Mass (a milestone in her ministry and the life of our church) – and next week’s Confirmation (14 of our church members) – another Spirit-led celebration to come.

What of SS Peter & Paul? They were great ‘pillars’ of the early church: St Peter – the very public affirmation by Jesus, “you are the rock on which I build my church”; St Paul – he had a huge hand in the mission and shaping of the church. But it was not ‘easy’ for them! A bit like our own modern, pluralist world, the world of the early church had a multiplicity of belief systems and gods – which meant that they were immediately faced with the crucial question of how they were to connect with the society in which they were set. The same question faces the church in every age, and still does today.

And it was not long before this question caused Peter and Paul to have a huge argument [Galatians 1]. It was about the status of the gentiles –whether people from a non-Jewish background could be allowed into the Christian family (it was a burning issue for the church at that time). One of them won the argument – which is why we are here today!

That question – how do we connect with the world around us – faces the church today. That is why the appearance and strategy of the church and its ministry will undoubtedly change, as society and the world around us changes – not driven by the world’s values – but staying relevant to and connected to those around us. William Blake wrote apt words relevant to this: “The cistern contains; the fountain overflows: ….expect poison from standing water” [from the Marriage of Heaven and Hell]. In other words, if the church does not change – charged with fresh living water, the ‘fountain overflowing’ – then it will become stagnant, dried up. Hence Blake’s words, ‘expect poison from standing water’.

Changes in church practice are bound to lead to differences of opinion, just as happened between Sts Peter and Paul. We are seeing plenty of that in the Anglican Communion at present over human sexuality and women bishops! The change to allow women to be ordained priest happened over 15 years ago, but the conversation about women bishops still lies ahead. For me, differences of opinion should not worry us: it shows that the Anglican Church is a thinking, living – not a ‘standing water’! – place.  It is faithfulness in the attempt to get it right that matters – changes in the church MUST happen, in order that the continuity of the gospel and the Christian message are maintained. And that is where saints from the past, such as Peter and Paul, can help us.

I believe that one of the most important things that the saints can teach us is always to maintain a belief in goodness; in the power of goodness; in its ultimate vindication. And as Christians we ought to be good at that. For our Christian belief in goodness is not based on the patchy goodness of human nature: it’s based on the eternal goodness of God. It is a goodness which shone out in the worst of circumstances – Jesus being nailed to the cross: it is an irrepressible, resurrected goodness. And – by the grace of God – that goodness can flicker in our lives too, for its source is elsewhere and does not depend on us.

We know only too well that, very often, the national press love to home in on the negative: bad news, intrigue, darkness always seem somehow more fascinating and interesting than the works and goodness of God. If there is difficult news in the media about the church or its clergy in the weeks ahead, remember our task as Christians –to help people see the power and fascination of goodness. We have to work hard to write it into our schools, our literature, our liturgy – and our personal lives. We have to portray goodness not as weak sentimentality – but, as CS Lewis (in his Narnia Chronicles) has it – a “lion, huge, shaggy and bright”.

That’s what goodness is: St Peter and Paul were ‘lion-like’ in their towering commitment to Christ and his Church; and that is the task of every saint in every age – you and me here in Coggeshall – to seek out and celebrate goodness! To focus on these things – and not let the negative doom-mongers worry us too much.

For St Peter and Paul it was hard, starting out on the ministry of the church: where to begin; all the opposition which faced them both from the state and from the religious leaders of the day. And – they will have had doubts and fears in their minds too:

Am I ‘good’ enough/Godly enough?? (Peter’s denial of Jesus before the cock crowed must have stayed with him in his heart).

Will people accept me?? (Paul must have felt that , following his persecution of Christians and his orthodox Jewish background).

Will I be a success (whatever that is)? Will people like me? Will I be up to this task of Christian ministry?

I have no doubt that those same questions have been floating about for you, Judith, as you have been preparing for ordination as a priest in the church of  God . They are questions which are come to all of us in ministry at different times.

The answer to such doubts lie simply in what happened here at last Sunday’s ordination service. Those being ordained, Judith among them, “did” nothing at all! (apart, perhaps, from remembering the answers to the bishop’s questions!). The Holy Spirit of God did the work. When the bishop, and that great crowd of priests here with him, laid hands on Judith, the Holy Spirit came upon her, firmly setting her apart to be a priest, and giving her the strength to do it!

Remember the words of Jesus to the disciples after the resurrection: “as the Father sent me, so send I you”; then he breathed on them and said, “receive the Holy Spirit”.

That is what happened to the disciples, St Peter among them.

That is what happened to Judith and all ordained last week.

The Holy Spirit, let there be no doubt, did his work last Sunday to empower and equip Judith for the work of a priest.

If you believe in a God who is more than just ‘up there’ - a God who is here amongst us , and here within us - then you believe in a God who is active and alive and effective through all of us who are members of the body of Christ, the church. Priests are part of that body of the church – there to be its servant;

– there to feed the church in word and sacrament (Judith doing that today as she presides at the altar);

– there to enable the whole church to ‘spread the word’, engage in mission – and to change the world.

Judith: what you are given in your priestly ministry - it is of God. And the things of God are precious. Holy. None of us here is ‘playing at religion, or engaging in some eccentric pastime (I hope!). We are dealing with Salvation; New Life; Eternity; Truth. In short – God. May your priestly ministry be blessed. May you receive God’s Spirit, changing weakness into strength.

And – some in the world may not acknowledge what you are doing; you may sometimes doubt your own self worth as your ministry unfolds. But never forget that you are called and set apart by God as a priest – and God is, and will be, active in you as a priest.

As we all celebrate our dedication festival today, may we indeed be people who know that we are empowered by the Holy Spirit.

May we know our need to change and be filled with fresh living water – fountains overflowing, not stagnant cisterns.

Above all may we know in our hearts that we are surrounded by a great company of saints, St Peter & Paul included, walking in the goodness and love of God, who guides, protects and sustains us all in our life’s journey, until we see him at the last in the joy of heaven, face to face. Amen.