Social networking
From Wellington Cathedral of St Paul
Social networking… 15 May 2011 The Revd Jenny Wilkens
Ezra 3:1-13 Ephesians 2:11-22
http://wellingtoncathedral.org.nz/index.php/Sermons
I was delighted to see an interview on 'Campbell Live' the other night with a friend of mine from Christchurch, Mary Giles, vicar of Heathcote-Mt Pleasant. You may have seen the item: the local pub was destroyed in the September quake, and seeing it was the only one in the valley and won't be rebuilt for some months, Mary decided that the Church Hall could become a BYO pub, a gathering place for that community as it copes with the aftermath of the February quake which was even closer to home for them. It was great to see people of all ages there, including children gathered around Mary as she 'fessed up to having a Friday night tipple with her flock. Mind you, I recall she was always an enthusiastic participant in our clergy-girl get-togethers when I was in Christchurch!
Social networking is one of the catchphrases of our time, as it seems like everyone spends their day glued to Facebook or tweeting busily. I enjoyed a cartoon recently of the curate busy doing just that, on Facebook and tweeting simultaneously, while two older clergy stood there with their coffee cups in the church hall, saying 'But hasn't the church always been into social networking?'!
Having said that, I'd just like to let you know that I now have over 100 Facebook friends, well, 101, if you must know, so thank you to those who've been willing to be my friends and so allow me to trawl through your on-line lives for sermon illustrations!
Social networking…our two readings tonight both have a lot to say about community-building and what it takes to build and be a community.
The book of Ezra recounts the tale of some of the people of Israel returning from exile in Babylon, and trying to rebuild their beloved temple at Jerusalem, in a very stop-start fashion. Eventually the altar is in place and then the foundations are laid, the rebuilding has begun. There is celebration, joy, jubilation, yes, but also weeping. Poignantly the older people there remember the glory of the former temple destroyed some sixty years before and they weep at the memory of that, and the loss. Perhaps this will be the reality for the people of Christchurch as they rebuild their churches, and a reminder to us all of the call to rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. (Romans 12:15)
Ephesians chapter 2 is one of Paul's stunning passages, piling up image after image as he sets out how Christ has brought together Jew and Gentile into one new people, one body, his body. And lest we cease to marvel at just how extraordinary an achievement this was, we have the graphic image of Christ breaking down the dividing walls of the temple, walls that separated the court of the Gentiles from the court of Israel, on pain of death. One of our NZ Prayer book liturgies uses this image in the words of the Peace (p.485): Blessed be Christ the Prince of Peace who breaks down the walls that divide.
And lest we forget, this is a costly work, this is a work achieved at the cross, thus putting to death hostility (v.16), this is a work of reconciliation achieved in blood (v.13). Should we be surprised then, that that ongoing work of breaking down walls that divide in our church communities is so hard, so costly? Yes, it has been achieved in Christ, but we who are thus grafted in together into the body of Christ have to live that out, to live into the reality. We are thrilled to be a member of the body of Christ, but what goes with that is that all the other people around us are also members of the body of Christ, and we can't get away from the other bits of the body!
The prayer of the Companions' of this Cathedral prays 'that we may see Christ in each other'. To see Christ in each other can be a wee bit of a challenge some days, can't it?! They say you can choose your friends, but not your family, and it's the same with the church family. Maybe that's why God calls us together here, to continue that work of breaking down walls that divide, rubbing off sharp corners, building us together into the household of God, a dwelling place for God. That's an awesome vision, isn't it, and sometimes we sense God dwelling among us in moments of great worship, of profound learning together, of sharing memorable experiences of joy and sorrow together.
But the presence of the Companions with us tonight reminds me that this being the body of Christ together is most regularly played out when we do what Com-panions do: literally they share bread. Again the Companions' Prayer reminds us: 'your Son Jesus Christ was made known to his disciples in the breaking of bread, thus making them his companions'. We heard the story last week of the disciples on the road to Emmaus recognising the risen Jesus in the breaking of the bread, as they gathered round the table as family together.
Our Sentence today from the book of Acts reminds us in summary form of the priorities of the early church: 'they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers' (Acts 2:42). These remain in essence our priorities in the ministry and mission of this Cathedral: worship, hospitality and education.
As I was reflecting on the ministry of the Companions, particularly those of you from other parishes in the Diocese who express in this way your support for and interest in the Cathedral, I got to thinking about what gifts you bring and what gifts your receive through this partnership. Perhaps that is something you can reflect on as you enjoy dinner together and as you go into another year in your life together.
I suppose one of the things we as a Cathedral hope to offer to the parishes of our Diocese is the ability to be a centre for resourcing both individuals and parishes. Two examples of this: 1) we provide a centre for the Education for Ministry programme, two thirds of the 30 students being from parishes beyond the Cathedral, and 2) we are able to provide a context for excellent choral and musical training for adults, young people and children. The Companions' partnership in supporting the Richard Prothero Organ Scholarship is part of that commitment.
One question worth pondering is what do the parishes and the parishioners who are Companions bring the Cathedral? Several Companions offer their services here as Cathedral Greeters and that is a vital ministry of welcome. Some individuals have offered their skills and talents in gifts to this place, and of course there is the financial support you provide to many projects here. I wonder though if there are other gifts we have yet to recognise or appreciate. I always enjoy it when we have a CathEx (Cathedral Experience), a visit by another parish to find out about their Cathedral, as I find out so much about the people of Naenae or Feilding for example. So often we get our heads down in our own patch, that is the reality in most parishes, and it can be the reality for us here too.
I want to commend the Companions for their commitment this year to support two causes in parishes beyond the Cathedral: the organ rebuilding fund at St Peter's on Willis after the fire there, and the Taita Touch rugby Team, which is offering community, hope and faith to young people in an area of social need.
Perhaps part of the role of the Companions is to be a conduit of such partnerships across the Diocese, a way of breaking down the walls that so easily divide us, the walls of busyness and self-focus. A way of helping us to see a bigger picture of the body of Christ of which we are a part, not only in our parish family, but in our Diocese, our country, our world.
That does involve of course a willingness to journey to new places together, to keep our eyes and ears open to needs beyond ourselves, and to get to know those who are part of the body of Christ but who are not yet known to us. Yes it takes effort but as so often in life, it is in giving that we receive.
Joan Chittister puts it like this: It is in community that we come to see God in the other. It is in community that we see our own emptiness filled up. It is community that calls me beyond the pinched horizons of my own life, my own country, my own race, and gives me the gifts I do not have within me.
When we seek to be this sort of community in Christ, we start to glimpse what it means to be 'members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone…a holy temple in the Lord…a dwelling place for God'. (Ephesians 2:19-22).
