Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and His Son Jesus Christ.
We received communication from the Province yesterday, urging us to reduce our numbers again and have a maximum of 50 attending services. I think that we had thought of the third wave as just a rumour and this move is a stark reminder that in many ways people have let their guard down and ill discipline has, as always, caused us a problem. It is a reminder that our lives are not only influenced by our own actions but by the world around us. It is also a reminder that we are to act and organise ourselves not only around our own wishes and demands but we are to be exemplary in the World. As Archbishop Temple is well known for saying – “the Church is the only organisation on earth that exists for its non- members” so we are called now to change our activities in the interest of the world around us. We must lead the world in diligence of mask wearing, sanitising and sacrificing our desires, (to sing for example) for the benefit of the world.
The Christian life is a life of leadership. It begins with self-leadership, which we could define as discipline. We are to discipline ourselves in the way of Christ. this is a great challenge in the complexity of our lives as we are pulled in so many directions by so many needs and challenges. If we are to find any peace, we need bold self-leadership in our lives, we must lead ourselves into the throne room of grace by turning continually to God, by Seeking Jesus the Christ in all aspects of our lives and by submitting to the power of the Holy Spirit through whom we live and move and have our being.
Secondly, we are to lead our neighbour. This we call witness; we display the character that a relationship with a Triune God brings. Integrity, fruits of the Spirit, humility, courage, and an understanding that we are forgiven and that we forgive. Christian leadership means that we show our neighbour what it means to live as a forgiven sinner. We lead others to accept that Christ draws us into a relationship with God through reconciliation with God and with each other.
Thirdly we lead the community. Our relationship with a Triune God is a relationship through which God is healing the world. Our lives in Christ must impact on the world around us. Leadership requires us to remain faithful to the objectives even when the rest of the community around us does not. leadership requires perseverance, commitment, and patience.
Let us as a community of faith lead people to Christ, through our devotion to hm. Let us be disciplined and exemplary and persistent in our task to reconcile the world back to God.
Be assured of my love and prayers.
Fr andrew.
