Bishops’ News: Easter 2021
“As you come to him, the living Stone — rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him — you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
This is a wonderful piece of scripture for us all as we lead into Easter week, following our Lenten studies focussing on Rebuilding the Ruins. Through Jesus’ resurrected power at Easter we are all a priestly people. Some of us wear clerical collars, but the invitation is for all of us when in our Eucharistic liturgy we say ‘Christ is with us. Here we find new life’.
Many of us here in the Anglican Centre team have been enjoying reading Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell’s book On Priesthood. In this, he explores the five characteristics of priesthood: servants, shepherds, messengers, stewards and sentinels. These are used in the Church of England’s official liturgical resource, known as Common Worship, to describe the work of a priest.
In our revised New Zealand Prayer Book, these characteristics are omitted, but as we approach Easter we think it’s worth picking up one in particular – the concept of the priest as sentinel.
As sentinels, our job is to discern the Missio Dei – the mission of God, and spot the signs of new life. As we notice them, we orient what we do towards them. This means a posture of humility and surrender to accept that we are not in control; that our work programme is actually God’s work programme. It also means a posture of willingness to accept that constant change is part of who we are as God’s people.
One of my (+Ellie’s) favourite art works is currently on display in Te Papa. It’s Colin McCahon’s painting which includes Jesus’ words from John 12:24, which we have heard in our readings this week:
IN TRUTH in very truth I tell you
a grain of wheat
remains a solitary grain unless
it falls into the
ground and DIES
but if it dies it becomes
a rich harvest
In the old hymn that some of us sing during this season, we remember that ‘love is come again like wheat that springeth green’. We know that God always grows the kingdom, and that we don’t live in perpetual winter. Where are those green shoots of new life around us? Take time this week to name the new life that you see around you – in your neighbourhoods, churches, families and beyond. God is at work and it’s a joy and excitement to see what is next.
+Justin and +Ellie
