On this Mission Sunday we are thinking about a number of mission and charity organizations both locally and around the world, doing great work such as caring for homeless people and refugees, supporting vulnerable children and promoting better stewardship of God's world. We support these organizations financially and we pray for them. It is a privilege to support these various expressions of Christian mission.
Mission is not an exclusively Christian concept. Many organizations issue 'mission statements' explaining their motivations, values and goals. We live in a world of many missions, many declarations of what needs to be done in the world, how to do it, and who to give our money to. So today is a good day to step back for a moment and ask ourselves what we mean by Christian missioIn, what different forms it takes, and what it might look like for us here at St Ursula's.
When we speak about mission we naturally think about our responsibility. Christian faith is not just about receiving but about giving, about doing, about making a difference. What should we be doing? That's quite right. But with mission, as with everything else, we have to remember that God comes first:
Our mission is not really our mission. It is God's mission, and God calls us to share in it, to take part in it. God gives us the privilege of sharing in God's own mission.
Today's Bible readings help us think about the mission of God in the world, the mission in which we are called to take part.
The reading from Proverbs speaks of the wisdom present in all that God does, the coherence, the beauty and the patterned, purposeful action of God in creating and sustaining the world; and Proverbs speaks of God rejoicing in the world, delighting in the human race (8:31). God is related in wisdom, joy and delight to what God has made. There is this involvement, this outward-going dynamic, in God's relation to the creation and especially to us, the human race.
The reading from Colossians goes further. Paul echoes Proverbs, but adds that in Jesus, God's beloved Son (1:13), we see the image of the invisible God. Jesus is the eternal wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:30), through whom God made all things and in whom all things hold together (Colosians 1:16-17). But this eternal wisdom does not remain at a safe distance from the world, directing things from far away. In response to the world's need, its estrangement, hostility and evil (1:21), God comes to the world. God rejoices and delights in the world and in us, his beloved but wayward creatures. So God gives himself to the needy world. In Jesus, this human being, 'all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell' (1:19). This is God's mission. God comes into this hostile, rebellious, broken world in the vulnerable form of Jesus. And this mission, aiming at reconciling all things, leads to the cross, where Jesus makes peace through the shedding of his blood (1:20).
In the prologue to John's Gospel we hear the same story again, in different language. Here Jesus is described as the eternal Word of God that becomes flesh in our world (John 1:14). In Jesus, we see God's glory, full of grace and truth. Again, this is God in mission: God coming to the world in love; God sending his Son, which really means God coming to the world in his Son. God in mission, involved, reaching out, active in the world. And again, this is a costly mission, because the world did not recognize God's Word made flesh in Jesus, did not accept him (1:10-11). The mission of Jesus, the Word made flesh, is to go the way of the cross before he can reach the victory of the resurrection.
The story of Jesus is the story of God's mission. This mission flows out of God's love for all that God has made. This mission aims at the re-making, the reconciliation of all things in God's broken world. It is a costly mission that comes to the glory of the resurrection through the way of the cross, the way of suffering love.
And it is God's mission. It is not our mission. But we are called to take part in it. Today we heard the opening of John's Gospel. If we fast-forward to the end, to the glory of the resurrection on the far side of rejection and crucifixion, the risen Jesus now says to his disciples: 'Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.' Mission means being sent. As the Father gave me a mission, I now give you a mission. And then Jesus breathes on the disciples and says to them: 'Receive the Holy Spirit.' (John 20:21-22) In one sense the work of Jesus is now completed with his death and resurrection – 'it is finished' he says, as he dies (19:30) – but in another sense his mission goes on, carried forward by the Spirit, to be continued, to be unfolded, by the disciples. They are to be Body of Christ, his feet, his hands, going into all the world, doing his work, making him known.
What does it look like for us at St Ursula's to take part in the mission of Jesus Christ in this world?
As Anglican Christians we get some help in thinking about this question. We belong to the Anglican Communion, a worldwide family of many millions of Christians. And for some decades the Anglican Communion has commended to its member churches five 'Marks of Mission'. The point is not to tell all Anglican churches everywhere in the world exactly what their mission should look like. But there are some key activities that we can hope to see in some form in all churches, some universal principles of Christian mission to be worked out in appropriate local ways wherever the Body of Christ is present. As we hear this list of five Marks of Mission, let's ask ourselves: how do we see these forms of mission being worked out among us at St Ursula's?
The Anglican Communion Statement says that the mission of the Church is the mission of Christ:
We could talk for a long time about these five marks of mission. We might query one or two of them. We might re-phrase them here and there. We might want to add something. That could be a good exercise for the Church Council or a wider group of church members for a day of retreat and reflection. But, for now, let's take that list as a starting-point for thinking about the mission of this church; and let's consider about how far these marks of mission are present here at St Ursula's.
In fact, that's a very hard question. None of us can see the full reality of the life of this church. Only God knows all the ways the many members of this community faithfully live out the mission of the Church in unseen ways. But it is still worth reflecting on what we can see and assess about the life of this community. And we can be grateful for how we as a church do engage in Christ's mission; not smugly or in self-congratulation, but with gratitude for the ways God enables us to be faithful to the mission he calls us into.
For example, it's clear that the fifth of these marks of mission is firmly on our agenda as a church. Safeguarding the integrity of creation, protecting the environment, is taken very seriously here. There's always more we can do, but we are moving forward in this expression of mission.
The third of the marks of mission is 'to respond to human need by loving service'; certainly we support a number of organisations that do just that, in many parts of the world and also here in Bern. And we don't just pay organisations out there to do this for us. A great deal of pastoral care and practical support is given and received within our own community. And many among us cheerfully care for others for whom they are responsible, through family, through friendships, through work. These things cannot be quantified; often such service is quite unseen. With gratitude for all that already happens, we pray that, more and more, we will be a community that shares in the mission of Christ by responding to human need with loving service.
The fourth mark of mission is to 'transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence ... and pursue peace and reconciliation.' That sounds a lot for a local church to do. Maybe it is more the task of national and international church leaders and organisations – the Pope, Archbishops, the World Council of Churches – to issue statements challenging unjust government policies, or to send peace delegations into the midst of conflicts. The Church can make a real difference in these ways; it can be salt and light. But this challenge is also relevant to us at the local church level. An important lesson that came out of the discussions in this church about the Responsible Business Initiative last year was that even if there were differences of opinion on specific proposals, there was wide agreement that the Church is called to address matters of justice in public life. Faithful Christian witness in the political sphere is part of the Church's mission, and it requires much wisdom, and sometimes much courage.
Finally, the first and second marks of mission are to proclaim the Good News or Gospel of the Kingdom, and to teach, baptize and nurture new believers. How are we doing here? Something due to happen soon is the baptism and confirmation of a number of young people from families in our church community. Tricia in particular has worked very hard preparing these young people, which is a tremendously important contribution to the life of this church. We look forward to celebrating their baptisms and confirmations as soon as we can. We are grateful also to all those who work with children and young people at St Ursula's. Looking forward, we have to keep thinking about how we continue to nurture new believers among those who grow up within this community. Are we doing all we can to enable them to grow up to become active adult members of the Church?
What about proclaiming the Christian faith and making Christian disciples beyond those who already come to church? Again, how can we quantify all that is happening? Who knows all the ways members of St Ursula's commend the Christian faith to others, making God's love known through what they say and do? In this area there are perhaps some quite different instincts among us. Some may want passionately to see others come to faith in Christ and would like the Church to be bolder, more intentional, in sharing the Gospel with all people. Others may think the faithful witness of the Church depends more on the other marks of mission, loving service, care for creation, challenging injustice, working for peace. This would be another good theme for a day of prayerful reflection, asking what it would look like for us at St Ursula's to grow in faithfulness in this part of our mission, along with all the others.
Many of you will remember the Sunday last summer when Rachel was baptized. The solemn joy of what happened inside church was followed by exuberant joy as champagne corks popped after the service and we celebrated together. It was a great joy, and a tremendous gift to us, to see this young woman confess the faith and be baptized. It would be wonderful if this happened more often.
It is worth remembering that Rachel came to believe the Christian faith far away from here in her native China. When she came to study in Bern she attached herself to St Ursula's and Helen prepared her for baptism. Remarkable numbers of people are becoming Christians in China, far more than in western societies such as Switzerland. In fact, western culture today has been described as 'Gospel-hardened'. It is as if western culture now looks at Christianity and says 'Been there, done that, not interested any more.' When it comes to making new disciples, we must be honest about the tough mission-field around us. But tough doesn't mean impossible. This is another topic for prayer and reflection together. Pray that God will show us how to move forward together.
So on Mission Sunday there is much to think through; many conversations to be had; much to be prayed about. We are grateful for all the mission organisations and charities whose good work we can support. We are grateful for all the ways, seen and unseen, that God enables us to participate faithfully in the mission of Christ, in its many forms. Like any church, we also know our need to grow in our vision of all that God calls us to be and to do. And the more we grow, the more we will know how much more there is to do. We can never imagine we have fulfilled our mission.
But at the heart of it all, we will keep coming back to the truth that it is not our mission, but God's, and God calls us to be part of it. God's mission is the outpouring of God's love in the world through the coming of Jesus and the giving of the Spirit. The risen Jesus says to the disciples, to us: 'As the Father has sent me, so I send you.' And he breathes his Spirit on us.
David Marshall