Synod Charge 2023

Matthew 14. 22 – end

Immediately he made the disciples get into a boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”

Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. After the people of that place recognized him, they sent word to that whole surrounding region, and people brought all who were sick to him and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.

Walking with Jesus…

“This is my Son, the beloved, with whom I am well pleased…”

These words, a voice from the heavens, come twice in the Gospels, on two separate occasions:

At the Baptism of Jesus,

and at his Transfiguration.

(And at the second time, there is added the words: “listen to him”)

This is my Son, the beloved, with whom I am well pleased…

I believe these words were important for the first disciples, and for the writers of the gospels – the early evangelists, and for all followers of Jesus Christ.

And I have a sense they are important words for us too:

“…this is my Son, the beloved, with whom I am well pleased…”

I think we are to hear the voice of God making clear the centrality, and the importance of Jesus Christ, in everything we do.

Many of us have had glimpses of God, encounters even, that have alerted our senses to the reality of something greater than we are:

• The beauty of creation – sunsets, sunrises, panoramic views…
• The grandeur and majesty of mountain peaks and ranges…
• The intricacy of a flower bud
• The mystery of new life at a birth…
• The shivery feeling that can come when we hear just the right musical notes played in combination,
• Or the word sequence that makes up a line of poetry…

there are many things that can awaken us to the presence of God.

But as Christians it’s our belief that all of these glimpses, nudges and revelations will always be incomplete until we see them through the lens of Jesus Christ.

The letter to the Hebrews in the New Testament contains these words:

“Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word.”

This is the Son spoken of in the Gospels as the Beloved, and the one in whom God is well pleased…

And with Jesus, all our revelations of God are made complete.

The practices of many religions will contain helpful and practical insights, but without Jesus Christ there will always be something missing…

Many, many things have the potential to direct us towards God – and some of us know in our own lives the direction and help that has come from any numbers of religious and non-religious sources, but it is only in Jesus that it can be made perfect.

The scriptures are really important to me, but I can only read parts of the bible, and allow it to make sense, through the lens of Jesus Christ. Both the so called New Testament and Old Testament contain passages that I find extremely difficult to read, let alone understand or explain… and it is only through Jesus that I can begin to come to terms with it.

And as representatives of the church, here in the South Island of New Zealand, all we do or say needs to reflect this: the centrality of Jesus Christ – his life, teaching, death, resurrection and ascension.

This is my Son, the beloved, with whom I am well pleased – these words from the heavens come at two mystical times in the life story of Jesus:

Firstly at his baptism – when the emphasis is on his humanity: Jesus completely identifying with us as human beings, and hinting at the inevitability of death – for him, just like us…

and later on at his transfiguration, when he is depicted in a glory that transcends and exceeds anything in or of creation, and points us to his divinity, and resurrected life.

At all stages, Jesus is the beloved, the one in whom God is well pleased.

And God wants us to see Jesus in this totality – and that I recognise means trying to come to terms with the more unusual aspects, as well as the familiar and comforting parts.

And now in this reading chosen for today’s start of Synod, we get to ponder one of the more mysterious aspects of his life: Jesus sending his disciples off into a stormy situation while he chooses to stay behind and pray, and then for them to see him walking towards them, on the water, amongst the inclement weather.

I have spent a bit of time wondering why Jesus chose to come to his disciples walking on the water…

• why not another boat?
• why not with the disciples in their boat?
• why not walk back with the crowds, or at least the same paths?

Why the spectacle of walking on the water?

I suspect this has a link with the account of Jesus’s temptations:

As you’ll remember just after he has been baptised, Jesus is led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tested by the devil…

(Mark’s gospel suggests that the Holy Spirit “drove” Jesus into the desert for this ordeal…)

And the gospel writers want us to how this was a formative, and essential part of his life story.

It’s in the wilderness, and with this mysterious encounter with the devil, that Jesus is invited to turn stones into loaves of bread to assuage his hunger…

In the wilderness that he’s invited to draw attention to himself by a spectacular act – to throw himself off the pinnacle of the temple and allow himself to be rescued….

And it’s in the wilderness he is tested by the devil to review his practice of worship: where does his focus lie? Is it on God, or can it be compromised? Is it ok to take control of all the kingdoms of the world, by a simple act of worship away from God, by worshipping the devil…?

Jesus does not accede to these devilish invitations… Invitations that involve supernatural production of bread, a spectacular, life-saving act, and an invitation to worship.

Our gospel reading today follows straight on from a further time in the wilderness, a time when Jesus has just fed 5000 plus people by a miraculous production of bread;

and he has defied the natural order of things by spectacularly walking on water,

and the disciples, with opened eyes to the person of Jesus are drawn to worship him as he calms the storm and joins them in the boat…

I have been pondering what we can take from this passage to help us as followers of Jesus, here today, and as leaders within the church.

Firstly I think we can take some comfort that when we feel we have been sent off without Jesus, and when storms arise, we are not alone!

For all of us in leadership within the church – lay and ordained, there will be times, many times, when can feel we have been sent out alone, and God seems absent.

In my experience this is all the more poignant when there has been signs of God’s activity, and blessing, and I think everything is going well! And either suddenly or subtly it seems God has got better things to do than to be where I am… and the weather can feel distinctly stormy.

It does seem that part of our formation as the people of God demands that there be storms, and feelings of isolation. We see it in the lives of the saints, and in the characters in the bible, and in the life of Jesus. Being the people of God does not guarantee an easy road or a quiet life.

And yet somehow these times of testing and difficulty are there to strengthen our faith, and although it might be impossible to welcome them, we should expect them, and to grow through them.

Secondly I hope we can remember to look out for the “spectacular”.

The “supernatural spectacular” is a rare creature for sure,

but spectacular works for God and of God are all around us, and can encourage and inspire us, as we open our eyes to them.

Many of us will be here because of the work, words and influence of others – sometimes given over time, and in difficult circumstances: and I think we can see them as “spectacular”. Spectacular in ordinary – to misquote the poet George Herbert.

My grandfather – a plumber, not a Christian or churchgoer was challenged when working in the house of a customer by the words “so what do you think of Jesus?” His remembered reply was “not as much as I should” but the nudge led him to faith…. I believe that challenge was spectacular…

The work of Mother Theresa, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, John Wimber and many more has been spectacular,

and so to has the dedication of church treasurers, Vestry members, Lay Ministers and clergy over the years…

Bishop Justin Duckworth of Wellington speaks very lovingly and gratefully of the time when he was 14 years old, and of the dedication and patience of a Presbyterian Church Minister who led a weekly bible study for him and a few other teenagers, which helped form Justin into the person he is today.

Can we look out for these spectacular acts, and be thankful for how they have led us to where we are, and helped us in our journeys of faith.

But a word of warning: can we have an eye for the dangers of the spectacular…?

Peter, we read, asks to join Jesus walking on the water…

“Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”

And Jesus invites him: Come…

And we read how Peter joins Jesus walking on the water, in the middle of the storms…

I have been thinking a lot about this little episode…

• What were Peter’s motives?
• Was he wanting to prove his bravado?
• Or was it his faith that he wanted to demonstrate?
• Was he wanting to risk his life for Jesus… and show it?

I think for all of us in leadership within the church there will be times when we might feel challenged to show our faith. And to show how much we are willing to risk, to take on, to give up or whatever…

And when this – actions that show how dedicated and committed we are - becomes our driving factor we will inevitably start to sink…

I like to think that Jesus primarily wanted Peter to simply be with him, which is why he responded to Peter’s request with the word “Come”. No conditions attached, come and be with me, no need to show off your faith, no need to demonstrate your bravado, just come.

That’s an invitation I want to respond to…because this is a danger I feel very acutely: how important is it to me to be with Jesus as my first priority, or how important is it for me to be doing things, rather than being willing to rest with him.

Being with Jesus will involve actions – rollercoaster activity, but it will be sustainable, because we will be with the one who provides for our nourishment, and who can calm the storms around us and within us…

As the church here in Dunedin Diocese, we are involved in small but significant ways in many different fields: education, social work, health, care for the elderly, to name a few….

And throughout the world the church is deeply involved in projects to benefit humanity – clean water, hospitals, schools, disaster relief and so on…

And as the church we are doing this with Jesus Christ. Our call is to join with voice of God heard at the baptism and transfiguration of Jesus – this is my Son, the beloved, with whom I am well pleased: the one who embodies and enacts the kingdom of God, and invites all people to join in.

We join with the writer of the letter to the Hebrews: declaring that Jesus is the completion of the revelation of God.

We join with St Paul and all the apostles bearing witness to Jesus Christ, not to ourselves.

Without Jesus our “spectacular” will always fall short, with Jesus our ordinary is made spectacular…

And this leads us to one of our greatest resources: worship…

again from our gospel tonight:

And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

We ignore, or minimise worship to our loss.

I’m not necessarily the biggest fan of reformed theology, but the opening lines of the Shorter Westminster Catechism hold true:

we are to glorify, or worship God, and to enjoy him for ever.

All our acts, words and deeds as Christians need us to be people of worship.

Our Synod meets in the context of worship…

Our structures involve worship, and without them, we are not complete.

And with worship – our acts, words and lives are made complete.

The worship of God needs to define us as the Anglican Church in Dunedin.

So as we move into dealing with Bills, Motions and debate we go with the awareness that it’s for bearing witness to Jesus Christ that we are here.

And it’s with Jesus that we are called to be, more than called – invited and welcomed…

And whatever our calling and activity, as we work, speak and live with Jesus all things can be made spectacular.

So to our spectacular and awesome God, who promises never to leave us, be all the glory honour and praise, now and always. Amen.