The Ordination and Consecration of the Revd Samuel Ferran Glenfield
as the Bishop of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh by the Archbishop of Armagh
and Primate of All Ireland, The Most Revd Dr Richard Clarke, assisted by
other bishops, took place last Friday at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh on
the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Friday 31st May
2013 at 4.00pm.
The preacher at the service was the Revd Canon
Andy Lines, Mission Director of Crosslinks. In his sermon, based on the
text 2 Corinthians 4:1–10, Canon Lines outlined the features of ministry
which St Paul draws out and which, he proposed, ‘Need to mark Ferran
as a bishop in the Church of Ireland’.
He said: ‘What is the essence of
your ministry? Proclaiming Jesus Christ as Lord because you are His
servant on behalf of the people of God.’ Canon Lines also said: ‘One of
the huge differences between Christianity and other world religions and
world views is the difference between mercy and merit. Merit emphasises
what we deserve and is the basis of human religious creations, whilst
mercy emphasises what we do not deserve … As Christians we have received
mercy, completely undeserved.
The full transcript of the sermon is provided below
Sermon by the Revd Canon Andy Lines, Mission Director of Crosslinks,
at the Consecration of the Revd Ferran Glenfield as Bishop of Kilmore,
Elphin & Ardagh
2 Corinthians 4:1–10
Bishop Paul
Barnett states that 2 Corinthians is ‘important for its magnificent
theological message that the power of God is brought to bear on man, not
in man’s power, but in his weakness’ – something that is of huge
encouragement to me as I feel even more ill–equipped to preach in this
context than I usually feel elsewhere, but as Paul tells the Corinthians
in his first letter: God chose what is foolish in the world to shame
the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God
chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to
reduce to nothing the things that are, so that no–one might boast in the
presence of God. Barnett goes on to emphasise that ‘establishing true
criteria for genuine Christian ministry is one of the major
contributions of this letter’ – that’s what makes this passage, where
Paul defends his ministry and conduct, and we look over his shoulder as
he does so, so appropriate for Ferran as he begins a different sphere of
service.
What then are some of the features of this ministry
that Paul draws out and which need to mark Ferran as a bishop in the
Church of Ireland? I will do this by asking questions of the first
paragraph of the text, so good to keep it open in front of us in order
of service:
Ferran: who are you?
Answer: You are a recipient
of God’s mercy. One of the huge differences between Christianity and
other world religions and world views is the difference between mercy
and merit. Merit emphasises what we deserve and is the basis of human
religious creations, whilst mercy emphasises what we do not deserve. It
was said that a mother approached Napoleon asking for a pardon for her
son. The emperor stated that the young man had committed a certain
offence twice and that justice demanded the death sentence. The mother
responded: ‘But I do not ask for justice, I plead for mercy’ – ‘Your son
does not deserve mercy.’ – ‘Sir, it would not be mercy if he deserved
it, and mercy is all I ask for.’ – ‘Well then I will have mercy.’ And he
spared the son. As Christians we have received mercy, completely
undeserved. Ferran, you were dead through the trespasses and sins in
which you once lived … but God who is rich in mercy out of the great
love with which he loved us … made us alive. There was nothing that you
did and nothing that you can do to earn his favour – he has given it to
you in his mercy – that should keep you humble. I once told a Christian
friend that I thought I had a problem with pride – his answer
incredible: ‘What have you got to be proud of?!’
But you are also
a recipient of the ministry of the gospel by the mercy of God, as
opposed to the ministry that his opponents were engaged in, the subject
of the previous chapter. Paul had great sense of his apostolic ministry
given to him by the mercy of God and that might exclude direct
application to us but the context suggests a much wider application. So,
Ferran, this ministry which you are about to embark on, as indeed the
ones you are finishing in Hillsborough, and previously in Kill and Cork
are given by God’s mercy – once again there is no room for boasting
about a gift given in mercy – I dare say there will be days when you
will be tempted to think more highly of yourself than you should, partly
because people will look up to you and treat you with respect and
honour – when that occurs then we need to remember that our ministry is a
gift of God’s mercy, not because of any merit.
Ferran: In this ministry what must you renounce?
There
are three things that you must renounce in the first two verses: losing
heart, the shameful things one hides, and practising cunning or
falsifying the word of God. There will be, as no doubt there have been,
moments when you have been tempted to lose heart and it seems to have
been a feature of the Apostle’s ministry facing as he did such
affliction and discouragement; when this happens you need to remember
the immense privilege and trust that you have been given – it is indeed a
great treasure even if in a jar of Episcopal clay.
Secondly, The
shameful things that one hides or disgraceful, underhanded ways. These
are the ways we may be tempted to use in order to get a hearing, perhaps
through underplaying the cost of following Christ or of the seriousness
of sin – we are tempted to downplay the seriousness of sin because we
do not understand that the gravity of the offence is measured by the
dignity of the person against whom it is committed – in other words, we
do not appreciate the awesome greatness of God. If I insult you or
offend you, uncertain reaction; if I did the same to a law enforcement
officer then the reaction will be stronger; head of state, really
serious. How about insulting, offending or just ignoring the Lord God
Almighty? (That is effectively what sin is) … that would be to downplay
the seriousness of sin. No losing heart, no underhanded ways; and
Thirdly,
no distorting the word of God. Paul was able to say to the Ephesian
elders that he had not shrunk from declaring to them the whole purpose
of God – he preached the whole gospel from the whole Bible to them. Not
all of it was palatable or easy but the ministry of God’s gospel
requires complete integrity and honesty – there will be many temptations
to leave the word of God, to, as I have sometimes heard, ‘move on’ from
a simple biblical faith to see what is black and white actually as
rather more complicated and nuanced – shortly you will be asked to
declare that you believe and accept that the holy Scriptures as
revealing all things necessary for eternal salvation through faith in
Jesus Christ – not for adding to or subtracting from.
Well, we
have looked at who you are: recipient of God’s mercy and ministry; we
have seen the need to renounce giving up, underhanded ways and
distorting the word of God; so to the third question:
Ferran: what do you need to be doing in your ministry?
Of
course there will be many duties and responsibilities which will
expected of you or given to you as a bishop in the Church of Ireland but
vs 2 underlines what must be at the core and must on no account be
neglected: but by the open statement of the truth we commend ourselves
to the conscience of everyone in the sight of God – this equates to the
declarations you will be asked to make: ‘in your ministry will you
expound the Scriptures and teach that doctrine?’ In the Irish College of
Preachers and as a pastor–teacher you will have been well aware of that
focus and of the need for time to dedicate to preparation – I suspect
that as bishop that will come under even greater pressure, yet to
neglect that is serious.
I visit the Anglican Church of the
Province of Myanmar regularly and understand that some ministers at
theological college prepare 52 messages that then get repeated annually
throughout their ministries – we may smile at that but it will be
tempting for you (as for me) to rely on reworked material rather than as
you will be asked to declare – that you will be diligent in prayer, in
reading holy Scripture and in such studies that will deepen your faith
and fit you to uphold the truth of the Gospel against error.
Of
course public proclamation of the truth needs to be backed up by a life
consistent with the gospel proclaimed – we all hate, and indeed there
are few things more destructive to gospel witness than hypocrisy – so
Paul instructs Timothy to look for people of godly lives to lead in the
church with the one gifting required, that they must be able to teach –
so you will be asked to declare that you will ‘strive to fashion your
own life and that of your family according to the way of Christ’.
Well, we have looked at what must you renounce and what must you do but fourthly:
Ferran: What are you up against in this ministry?
(3–4)
Our gospel is veiled to those who are perishing … the god of this world
has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the
light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
Having spoken about the need to proclaim the whole counsel of God and
not to distort the word of God we also need to recognise that however
clearly and faithfully you may be in our gospel presentation it will
still be rejected by many – why is that? Because Satan, the god of this
age, has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that, even though you may
proclaim it clearly and faithfully, they are kept from seeing the good
news of the glory of Christ who is the image of God – unbelievers have
their minds blinded and so, dare I say it, a significant part of your
ministry, that will be unseen and unsung, will be the times you spend in
prayer pleading that God the Holy Spirit will work. Because they are
times that are unappreciated and not easily subject to appraisal in the
busy life of a bishop; they will no doubt also be times which are easily
neglected. So, Ferran, you need to remind yourself of what you are up
against – and if you lose sight of the significance of this you only
have to remember that the result of the devil’s work is that people are
perishing – one well known preacher of the word at a civic ceremony with
an awestruck assistant minister at his side, leant over and reminded
his assistant that ‘they are all perishing; never forget it’ – and that
is where humanity is unless something further happens. Jesus himself
said that ‘Whoever disobeys the Son will not see life for the wrath of
God remains on him’ – that will give a sense of urgency in prayer – and
in the light of that realisation fifth question:
Ferran: what therefore needs to happen?
A
miracle seems to be clearly required. Vs 6 at the end of the paragraph:
‘For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness”, who has
shone in our hearts to give the light of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ.’ There needs to be a creation miracle like the creation
of light to rescue the lost and perishing from the clutches of the god
of this age – and that is precisely what had happened to Saul the
persecutor on the Damascus Road when the Lord Jesus in mercy appeared to
him and completely transformed him – that is what happened to me in a
less dramatic but no less miraculous way when my blindness to the things
of God was overturned by a great, sovereign and merciful God – that was
required for you too and is the focus of Christian ministry, treasure
in clay jars so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power
belongs to God and does not come from us.
Final question:
Ferran: What is the essence of your Christian ministry?
Recognising
what we are up against: blindness brought about by the god of this
world – and what needs to happen: a miracle of the sovereign Lord – what
is required of you as well as a preserved prayer life?
Vs 5
tells us: ‘For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as
Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake.’ Central to your
Christian ministry is preaching – the gospel is good news that needs to
be announced in our godless world – it is the way God has chosen to work
his miracle not just on the Island of Ireland but to the ends of the
earth – and what is the content of that preaching to be? Not ourselves –
we do not preach about the clay pots but the treasure that they
contain, Jesus Christ as Lord, with our role being slaves for Jesus’
sake on behalf of others.
Conclusion
Nothing new here, things
that you will have known and acted upon throughout your Christian
discipleship, but things you and we always need to be reminded of:
Who are you? Recipient of God’s mercy and a ministry.
What are you to renounce? Giving up/losing heart, underhand ways and distorting the word of God.
What must you do? Open statement of the truth with consistency of life commending yourself to conscience.
What
are you up against? the god of this world blinding people’s minds to
the glorious truth about Jesus Christ with the end that they are lost
for all eternity.
What therefore needs to happen? A miracle on a par with creation miracle by God himself.
What
in summary is the essence of your ministry? Proclaiming Jesus Christ as
Lord because you are His servant on behalf of the people of God.
Of
course, these things are also things that you will need to be
encouraging in the leaders of congregations in Kilmore, Elphin and
Ardagh.
That would be the greatest service you could render as you take
up the responsibility as chief under shepherd for the people in the
Diocese, both those currently active in the churches and those you hope
to see won for Christ.
One final thought: you are actually,
contrary to popular belief, actually heading downwards; you are being
consecrated as a servant of the servants of the servants of the King!