Readings: Exodus 33:12-23; Matthew 22:15-22
“Ten reasons why the All Blacks can’t lose” was the front page headline in yesterday’s paper[1]. Reason number 1: “The match is being played at Eden Park”. Reason number 2: In Richie – and Izzie – we trust. You might like to know reason number 4 and reason number 7 (they’re the same as the first reason): “The match is being played at Eden Park”. Yes, we hold hope high in the New Zealand camp – hope, based on the team, and strongly boosted by past history. (In case you didn’t read it, reason number 10 reiterates this confidence: “Did we mention the match is being played at Eden Park?”)
Further down on the front page, reality has set in; we learn there is one good reason why the All Blacks might lose tonight: “It’s a Rugby World Cup Semi-Final - against Australia”. Yes, we know in our heart of hearts, there is a chance we’ll lose, even as we hold the hope high. For the other team – our close friends, arch-rivals and neighbours – also come with skilled players and a confident history. There’s no guarantee we will win, but we will continue to dare hope. We also know that even when things become tough, even when we might suffer a devastating loss, our human condition, with its apparently inbuilt tendency toward yearning for a better outcome, almost guarantees that hope will eventually return.
The chance of losing is even higher in that other all-black drama playing out on our shores, as the stricken ship the Rena spills and spreads its debris and toxic contamination throughout the spectacularly beautiful and bountiful Bay of Plenty. At this stage, hope can only be held for minimising the impacts of this disaster. The ongoing consequences from loss of life, loss of ecosystems and loss of livelihoods will continue long after the siren ends tonight’s game. And yet, we still recognise the powerful hope demonstrated by the thousands who have swung into action, determined to save wild-life, to contain the disaster, to clean-up the mess, to seek restoration.
This see-sawing hopeful-hopelessness, or hopeless-hopefulness, is the reality of our lives. Always, there are before us moments of great joy and possibility; and always, there are moments of despairing sorrow and emptiness. This is the “strange land” [2] about which we have sung this morning. It’s a changing land, a place where we cannot be confident that things will go our way; it’s a place where we are called to sing God’s song even as “the boundaries shift”, “the lines delete” and “the old worlds wither away and die.”
The story of our Hebrew ancestors, part of our ancient memory bank, provides another glimpse of those who struggle with hope and hopelessness in strange, painful and alien times. Today’s reading, yet again, provides another account of a recurring pattern found in our faith story: even when it seems that God has abandoned us, the people discover again and again, glimpses of God’s constant presence. Of course the glimpses change. The kind of God imagined and experienced by another era, another people, may change; the expression and description of that God’s presence may change; but we dare to place our hope in the Eternal, Holy Mystery of Love that always surrounds us.
Today, as we come to our annual meeting, we stand in a place of change, wondering how we might sing God’s song even as the boundaries continue to shift. Sometimes we find it difficult to find hope - as that which used to be so secure, is now different and not always so easy to understand.
There have been some significant changes over this past year. Perhaps the biggest has been the shift from a Session to a Church Council. Within the long and proud history of this Church, the Kirk Session has been a valued institution; eldership has been held in high regard. In an earlier period, in the 1970’s I think it was, there was an attempt to change to a Parish Council. But there was only limited success in that venture, and after a short period, governance reverted once more to Session. One of the things I was asked to do, when I came to Knox Church six years ago, was to assist this congregation to establish more efficient and up-to-date processes for administration and management. I was also told that the church was looking for someone with the ability to create and lead a vibrant and united ministry team within the congregation.[3] Over recent years, the Session has expended much energy on working with me on these areas. This time last year, that work came to fruition with a new structure of governance. Instead of monthly meetings of different combinations of perhaps 20 of the 50 or so eligible elders – now we have a Council of 13 elected elders – elected by the congregation for a three year term. These people have made a significant commitment and have attended our meetings regularly. The Council is working very effectively and is presently exploring ways in which future ministry at Knox will have long-term sustainability. The monthly meetings of Council are now supplemented by quarterly meetings of the full Eldership. While Council deals with the day to day governance, the Elders’ Forums provide a well of wisdom within which broader issues can be explored. The balance seems to work well. Another significant change is the way in which the work of the church – the mission, the operations, the worship, the hospitality and the education of our parish has been devolved much more to the members. Five of the elders on Council are charged with convenorship of these broad areas of our life, centring around the goals of the congregation. This new structure opens up the opportunity for everyone to participate in at least one of the goal areas. This is a new strange land, in which there is the possibility for much to be effected; there’s also the possibility for it all to fall in a heap as it depends on each one of us doing our part. We now have a structure that allows the new to evolve – but whether or not that happens will depend on a developing involvement and commitment from everyone.
The Council holds much hope for the future. But, just as the outcome for tonight’s match requires a full contribution from management, coaches and every player; just as the clean-up of the Bay of Plenty requires the expertise and practical commitment of thousands of professionals and volunteers alike, we too depend on each other to be the Body of Christ - to ensure the journey of this community into the future is one of loving, life-giving transformation.
In the end, Karl Rahner claims “all Christian doctrine really says only one thing, something quite simple and radical: the living mystery of absolute fullness, who is nameless and beyond imagination, has drawn near to us amid the tangle of our lives through Jesus and the gifts of [God’s] grace[4] even when we do not realise it, in order to be our salvation, splendour and support over the abyss. Consequently, while the outcome of our own life and that of the world is not yet known, we can have confidence that it is an adventure held safe in God’s mercy. Faith then becomes an act of courage. We can dare hope.”[5]
So, let’s grasp this hope and continue our journey of adventure together – knowing there are many reasons why we might dare hold this hope – many reasons, all summed up in the words declared each Sunday: We are not alone – we are God’s beloved people. Thanks be to God.
[1] Otago Daily Times Saturday & Sunday October 15-16, 2011
[2] “In what strange land will I sing your song, O God, my God? To what new code must my heart belong, O God, my God? The boundaries shift as the lines delete, and the way back home is a tired beat: there are new directions to take my feet to follow you.” Words Shirley Murray; Music Colin Gibson Hope is our Song New Zealand Hymn Book Trust #77.
[3] In “Expectations of a Minister” (from the Terms of Call and Ministry Expectations, Profile, Knox Church Dunedin 2003.)
[4] Elizabeth Johnson distinguishes between the neo-scholastic idea of “created grace” being a finite gift that removes sin and restores our relationship with God and Rahner’s idea of “uncreated grace” which “permeates the world at its inmost roots. Not a separate thing or a special gift that shows up now and again, [but] the animating force of all of human history ... coextensive but not identical with our race, it comes to expression wherever people express their love in care for others, creative art, literature, technology, all the good critical dimensions of responsibility, and trust, even in darkness. Uncreated grace is the Spirit of God dwelling at the heart of our existence.” P.41-42.
[5] Elizabeth A. Johnson Quest for the Living God: Mapping Frontiers in the Theology of God 2008, p.44.
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