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Sermon - Anglicare by Peter Kell - 17th September 2006
St Alban's Epping 10:00am
Let me start by thanking you for the opportunity for me to share something from God’s word and a little about the work of ANGLICARE.
I thought though that it would be good for us to put into context your biblical mission as part of the people of God here, and also to place into the context what ANGLICARE is trying to do in its service of our Lord. I will attempt to do that in these few remarks.
Well, this year is a significant one in the life of ANGLICARE, because this year marks the 150th anniversary of the establishment of ANGLICARE and its former selves, the Church Society and the Home Mission Society.
After 150 years you would not be surprised to learn we are looking anew at our work and planning the way ahead. Recently our Council described our Mission in a working document as follows:
To care:
- By doing good works which are the fruit of the gospel and which address emotional, social and physical needs, and grow communities;
- By seeking to bring the gospel which alone meets spiritual needs;
- In partnership with churches where possible, and the wider community where appropriate.
ANGLICARE’s Vision is:
Lives changed and communities grown by care through Jesus Christ.
I have brought with me today our Annual Report and it is interesting to look through that report and see some of the ways we are currently carrying out that care. I would encourage you to take a copy and use it as a means to pray for our work. You will see details of how we work in four main areas:
- Children and Young people: through such things as our early intervention work, street kids work, foster care placements, adoption work, and the Kingsdene Special School.
- Families: through such things as our emergency relief work (providing food, clothing and help to pay utilities); family counselling for families with problems; Family wellness work which seeks to strengthen healthy families; settling new families into our communities
- Older People: through our day care centres, respite work, and Chesalon Nursing homes – working with the frail aged and providing specialised dementia and palliative care.
- Communities: including disability support work; chaplaincies in hospitals, mental health facilities and prisons; work with socially isolated people; emergency management work – helping to restore communities after disasters such as flood, bushfire and storms; and the ESL training for the Diocese helping newcomers learn English.
These are some of the “good works” ministries our Council was meaning when it talked about existing to do good works that are a fruit of the Gospel…
Now it is not just ANGLICARE which is called on to do these good works ministries. The Bible makes it clear that this is part of God’s plan for individual Christians and for groups of Christians together, who we Anglicans call parishes.
Let us be very clear on one thing, and that is that man’s greatest need is to be reconciled to God through Christ, and the church and we as individual Christians have a commission to tell those that are lost about Christ and the Good News of salvation (see second part of our draft mission statement: “seek to bring the Gospel which alone meets spiritual needs), but it is also for us as individuals, us as parishes, and us as the Diocese through ANGLICARE to show love to those in need in our communities.
Why is that so? Lets have a look at that question.
At the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount Jesus declared to his disciples:
“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16
For Jews in Jesus’ day the theme of the ”light of the world” was very well known and usually interpreted as a reference to Israel’s task of proving to the nations that Yahweh – the God of the Jews – reigned over all.
The light itself was understood to be the city and people of Jerusalem, the jewell in God’s crown. One day, said faithful Jews in this period, all nations would come to the light of Jerusalem and worship God.
The thought was based on the declaration found in Isaiah 49:6 “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light to the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.”
In Matthew 5:14 Jesus picks up this traditional idea of a world-saving light and applies it to his followers (disciples). Promoting God’s salvation to the ends of the earth will not be the task of Jerusalem or its inhabitants; it will be the mission of Jesus’ followers. They are the ones who will give “light to everyone in the house”. (15)
But how does this light shine? What will win the world to the worship of God? Verse 16 makes it clear; “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”
These words are fascinating and unexpected – the Lord here insists that the good deeds of his followers could powerfully contribute to the conversion of the world.
Now there are 2 points to be made here.
First the phrase “good deeds” has the same meaning throughout the NT – it means “acts of goodness and kindness”. Some people have tried to interpret it as including preaching the word but the text does not allow that. In the context of the sermon on the Mount, it specifically refers to things like being meek; showing mercy; being a peacemaker; valuing marriage; telling the truth; turning the other cheek; loving enemies; refusing to judge others.
These are the “good deeds” that Jesus is saying will bring people to praise our Father in heaven.
Secondly, the statement is plural. The “you” in the text that are the light of the world is the plural “you”, Christians collectively if you like, not individually. John Dixon in his book “Promoting the Gospel” says that the words could be translated using that wonderful Australian slang “youse” – Youse are the light of the World..
As good deeds are done by Christians as a community, light shines and others are drawn into the worship of God.
The prophecy of the world saving light in Isaiah 49 is fulfilled as Christ’s community is seen to be living out his teaching – being meek, loving enemies, giving to the needy, and so on.
John Dickson says:
Nevertheless, it is precisely because good deeds are an essential fruit of the gospel that they so powerfully promote the gospel. So, although we must not find ourselves “doing good” simply as a gospel ploy, there can be no doubt that Jesus expected unbelievers to observe our acts of love (for one another and the world) and through them to be convinced to worship the source of all love;
“let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” [Promoting the Gospel page 93]
What is the effect of this doing good?
Well, at the first level, as we have already considered, it can beautify the news of Christ and win others to the worship of the father – ‘let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven’.
At another level it can bring comfort, relief and assistance to people in need. For ANGLICARE, the work of street kids ministry helps young teenagers, some only 13 or 14 years of age, find better and safer and warmer accommodation than the roof of the townhall in Parramatta where they have found some kind of dubious refuge.
The loving care of our staff in the dementia wards of our Chesalons brings comfort and peace to troubled frail aged and a sense of relief to their families.
The wonderful work of our teachers and hostel staff at the Kingsdene special school brings some stability and meaning into the lives of the troubled children in their care and an opportunity for some kind of normal life for their families.
Be in no doubt doing good brings comfort, relief and assistance to people in need.
At another level again it can increase man’s respect for what is good and true, especially in days when standards are slipping fast. And it can help arrest the moral deterioration of society – this is the function of the ‘salt of the earth’ Jesus spoke of in Matthew 5 – and even make it a more sweet and wholesome place to live in.
There was a really good example of what I mean here in a recent article by atheist Roy Hattersley in the Guardian. Its sub title is ‘We atheists have to accept that most believers are better human beings’ and he makes the point arising from Hurricane Katrina, that although the Salvation Army and other faith groups have been prominent in relief, ‘Notable by their absence are teams from rationalist societies, free thinkers’ clubs and atheist associations…’ He says, ‘The correlation is so clear that it is impossible to doubt that faith and charity go hand in hand’ ( 12/9/05).
Mr Hattersley is so sure that atheism is true, that he can hardly offer any reasonable explanation for what is so obvious. And yet we know what it is. Our love for others comes from the love of God for us. It is not a superior love which we show; it does not arise from any sense that we are better human beings; our faith forbids us even to think such a thought. But we do know a superior love: it is the love of God expressed in Jesus, a love for individuals which leaves us as individuals no option but to love other individuals as well.
Now, the local church is the central context in which the followers of Jesus are nurtured to maturity in Christ and are equipped to proclaim the Gospel and to do good works.
But we should not leave our consideration of how we are called upon to live there – we need to put it into the context of the society in which we find ourselves.
I was very challenged by the sermon preached by Archbishop Jensen in the cathedral on the occasion of ANGLICARE’s 150th anniversary. In that sermon he quoted from, of all things, Mark Latham’s diaries about our society – Latham says this:
“We live in a nation of record levels of financial growth and prosperity, yet with record levels of discontent and public angst. The evidence is all around us in:
The extraordinary loss of peace of mind in society, evident in record rates of stress, depression and mental illness;
The breakdown in basic relationships of family and community generating new problems of loneliness and isolation in Australia. The traditional voluntary and mutual associations of community life have all but disappeared, replaced by home fortresses and gated housing estates;
The appalling evidence of crimes against family and loved ones; sexual assault, domestic violence and the sickness of child abuse;
The spill over of these problems onto the next generation of young Australians, in the form of street crime, drug and alcohol abuse and youth suicide.”
Mark Latham goes on to say: “A striking aspect of this phenomenon has been the way in which it has affected all parts of society, regardless of their economic standing. Poor communities, after several generations of long-term unemployment and financial disadvantage in Australia, now face the further challenge of social disintegration, loss of self respect and solidarity. 30 years ago these communities were financially poor but socially rich. Today they face poverty on both fronts.”
Well, we might not all agree with Mark Latham on the detail, but I think we can all agree that our society has deep and real problems that are very complex - and it is in this society that we are called on to do good.
Peter Jensen commenting on this challenge said:
“Where families have been weakened, the family of Christian fellowship is all the more important; where individualism rules, it is the more significant that there is a community of people who care for each other and look after each other; where money rules it is vital we gather people who are generous to others and actually give their money away, regularly and freely; where speech is so debased, it is important that we have groups of people who speak to build up, with dignity and freedom from obscenity; where human life is so cheap we abort babies freely it is important to bear witness to the sanctity of every human life; where the size of the city makes for loneliness, it is vital that strangers reach out with love and take us in; where the disabled and the mentally ill are regarded as a burden, we must bear witness to the preciousness of all.”
How can we do all this?
We must act where we can as individuals, that is true.
We certainly must act together to do it – that is not only sensible but scriptural. Remember when Jesus urged us to be light he was talking to us as a group. We must be eager as a Christian community to do what is good.
But it is also evident that we live in a world and society which as described by Mark Latham and which presents the challenges suggested by Peter Jensen is a world and society where even individual churches cannot be and do all this.
The problems are larger than the local community, and we do not have the strength to do all that is required. The sacrifice of doing good and sharing with others in our society has lead us to band together in fellowships such as ANGLICARE.
Through ANGLICARE, its supporters, volunteers and workers, Christians can exercise community; speak up for the stranger; counsel the needy; welcome the lonely; connect people with one another; draw near to the sick and to those in prisons; to do something for love and life and hope in the name of him who came to bring love and life and hope into the world.
Can I urge you to partnership with ANGLICARE in reaching out to a lost and hurting world – partnership through prayer (you could use the prayer diary and the annual report to help you there); by volunteering to assist us in carrying out our programmes (you can ring our Parramatta office and find out how to link up as a volunteer) and by giving to support our work by becoming a care partner with ANGLICARE.
In the end, the work we are all called on to do as redeemed people in and for our community comes from God. He has inspired us through Jesus to do good and share what we have.
Let us pray that we will persist in doing good in the right way and for the right reasons.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for calling us to you and placing us together in a community of believers. Help us we pray to show love to the whole community in which we live, to be a light here in Lane Cove and, through ANGLICARE, throughout the whole Diocese, so that many will see those good deeds and have cause to give you praise. Amen.