I’VE NEVER BEEN TO AUSTRALIA!

SERMON PREACHED BY FR. TONY NOBLE ON JULY 16, 2006

Mark 6:7 "Jesus called to him the twelve, and began to send them out two by two."

The Holy Trinity wanted to go on a vacation. So God the Father said: "let's go to Las Vegas." But Jesus said: “We can't go there - the bishop there calls me 'mother'." So the Holy Spirit said: "Let's go to San Francisco." But the Father said: “We can't to there - they call me mother there." So the Jesus said: ”Let's go to Australia" and the Holy Spirit said: “Good - I've never been to Australia!" And that joke is to point out that the Holy Spirit is central to all three readings. The readings are about the Holy Spirit, yet there is no reference to the Spirit - except a brief reference at the end of the Epistle reading.

In the Old Testament reading we heard about Amos the prophet, sent to preach dangerous words to the king, and then being sent away. In the gospel we heard about the sending out of the twelve. Although there is no reference to the Holy Spirit in either Amos or Mark's account of the sending of the twelve - it was only through the power of the Holy Spirit that these people were able to do what they had been charged to do.

Amos had been called by God. “The Lord said to me, Go prophesy to my people Israel." And he says he was inadequate for the task. So he could only have done what he did through the power of the Holy Spirit. But what a power it was! He upset the king and his priest. His message was not one of approval of the king and the government, but criticism. So into exile he went.

Today's first reading is a logical follow-on to last week’s, in which we heard about the rejection of the prophet Ezekiel. And we find a similar theme of rejection in the gospel. Jesus sends out the twelve, and makes it quite plain that some people will not welcome them, nor listen to what they have to say. But it did not deter them. St Mark says: "They went out and preached that men should repent. And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many that were sick and healed them."

Some people didn't want to listen to what they had to say. It was what they did that was important. And the twelve could only have done that through the power of the Holy Spirit. For the apostles were just ordinary men - fisherman, tax collectors, etc. Ordinary men called to do extraordinary things.

The calling of the twelve apostles, the giving of authority to them, and then empowering them to do what they have been charged to do, has been continued in the church ever since. As St. Paul wrote to Timothy: "Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophetic utterance when the Council of Elders laid their hands upon you." We find in 1 Timothy 4:14 one of the first examples of ordination in the Scriptures.

Indeed in this letter St Paul sets out the basis for the apostolic ministry. How marvelous we can go right back to the letter of St. Paul to Timothy to see our practice of ordination as we have received it right down to this age.

With threats of persecution on one side and gnostic teachings and heresies on the other side, the church developed the apostolic ministry and a rite of ordination very early on - to safe guard truth and continuity in the church. And this has continued right down to our present time.

When I was ordained over twenty six years ago the ordaining bishop said as he laid hands on me: "Receive the Holy Spirit for the office and work of a priest in the church of God, in the name of Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." Then quoting St. John he said: "whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven." So you see I was charged with the same ministry of repentance as the apostles were charged all those years ago.

The church has continued what our Blessed Lord started when he sent out the twelve. And the church continues to charge their priests to follow the example of the apostles, and at the same time he imparts to them in ordination the gift of the Holy Spirit to enable them to do this - even though all of us like Amos are inadequate and unworthy of the task.

So you see the Holy Spirit has been to Australia!

But lest we think empowerment of the Holy Spirit is only about clergy, we have to look at the Epistle to give us the complete picture. The Epistle to the Ephesians is fascinating because Timothy was requested by St. Paul to stay at Ephesus rather than continue the journey. The church in Ephesus all those years ago had problems - namely false teachers, so Paul sent them a new Rector to clean their act up! Timothy, newly ordained from Crete. So having sent this young ordained man, Timothy, to the church in Ephesus, St Paul now writes to them about their ministry - not about the authority of Timothy, but about their ministry. Perhaps Timothy was so newly ordained he was too authoritarian. Perhaps that old school of "Father knows best"!

Paul's letter to the Ephesians was a wonderful declaration about lay ministry and our ministry together. About the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon all of the baptized, all the members of the church - not just the clergy. St Paul writes to the Ephesians "Blessed be the God and Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing." That’s not just the clergy - that's you! And he goes on to say: "According to the riches of his grace which he lavished upon us." And he concludes with this declaration: "In Him you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit."

Think about the implications of this. In the church at Ephesus we have the first instance of the ordained ministry - and its result is a profound declaration that all of us have received the Holy Spirit for ministry. Thus St. Paul wrote to the Ephesians 2,000 years ago. And he would write the same to us today at All Saints', San Diego.

All this is very pertinent and encouraging, because yesterday the Vestry of our church had a consultation together at Alpine. We wanted to look at where we had been moving for the last few years, where we are now, the successes, the mistakes, and where we are going. The closure of the school in June compels us to look again at our ministry and outreach. For too we have said that the school is our outreach. Now it can no longer be our outreach. In short, the Vestry wanted to see how we could follow in the steps of the twelve when they were commanded by our Lord to evangelize. And Ephesians gives us the outline - it is priest and people together who will evangelize, and who will be filled with the gifts of the spirit for ministry.

It was an excellent consultation of our Vestry yesterday. We laughed, we prayed, we talked and we planned. As well as declaring the gospel we are going to do things together as a parish for the poor and disadvantaged. In the months ahead you are going to be hearing about this.

What I want to say is that we need to think more about evangelism. What we offer here is rare. A spiritual and worship experience which is not common - that is deep and sacramental. It is not what is offered in the big evangelical churches or your local liberal Episcopal churches. The gospel we preach here does not fit in with Rick Warren's "Purpose Driven Life," and similar ideas of what is called “the new emerging church.” We look back to the unbroken teaching of the church, and we proclaim that in traditional liturgy that is vibrant and an inspiration to one's heart and soul.

It is a pearl of great price which lies hidden, waiting to be discovered. To some we seem perhaps old fashioned, out of step - but we who experience traditional worship know that here is the jewel, here is the pearl, here is the coin worth searching for.

Our challenge is to make this known, just like the twelve. And like the twelve we will make it known, not only by our words, but what we do.