August 2, 2015

Helen Jacobi

Ordinary Sunday 18     Exodus 16:2-14, 9-15     Psalm 78:23-29     Ephesians 4:1-16     John 6:24-35

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“Jesus said to them ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty’.” (v35) The people have come looking for signs and miracles – they heard Jesus has fed 5000 people; they want to see that happen or even better a miracle like the one from the time of the Exodus, the manna that fed the people in the desert. They want signs, they want evidence, and they too want “to perform the works of God” (v28). But Jesus says – this is the work of God – believe in the one God has sent. (v29) ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty’. This line could be seen as a mission statement for Jesus. Certainly for the Johannine Jesus, and probably for the other gospel writers as well. Like all John’s writing it operates at many levels – John is talking about actual bread and water – Jesus has just fed 5000 people in the desert; Jesus speaks about the needs of the poor and the hungry; and then it has symbolic levels – food for the heart, water for the soul; Jesus feeds our souls; and then the combination of real food and soul food we discover in the eucharist and in baptism. The bread of life in the communion service; the water of life on the baptism service. There is history there too – the people of God being fed in the wilderness at the time of the exodus and passing through the waters of the Red Sea to freedom. Layer upon layer of meaning from John: “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” – real food, soul food, sacramental food, food from faith history.

Writers of mission statements and vision statements today never get to quite nail it like the gospel writer John. Statements like Nike’s “let’s do it” are pretty good.

In our own humble way we have been working on our vision statement here at St Matthew’s. We have wanted to take stock, to reflect and think and answer the question – why are we here? why do we exist; what is the vision we want to aspire to? 30 parishioners gathered at our Visioning Day at the beginning of June and since then a small group have worked (quite hard) to formulate some words we can look to to guide us. Like the gospel of John they are layered with meaning, and we hope you will find a place for yourself within them.

St Matthew-in-the-City: a spirited place where people stand, connect, and seek common ground

St Matthew-in-the-City – our very name defines us – in the city – our location, our connections are with the city in all its vibrancy and all its challenges. We can never be tempted to be cut off in our own little religious hideaway.

a spirited place – this place is key to who we are, these stone pillars, the windows, the light, the organ. Many churches might say we are the people and the building is immaterial – for us the building matters, the church building is a key character in our story. And it is a spirited place – spiritual, spirit filled, energetic, fiery, moving, not static. Like the breath/wind/spirit of God that moved across the earth on the day of creation (Gen 1:2) we allow the Spirit (capital S) to move in this place and in our lives.

where people stand, – and we are about people – this is a place where people gather, and stand; a turangawaewae; people stand here to worship God, to stand next to each other – rich and poor, housed and homeless, tourists and locals. We stand together on issues of concern – at times we have marched together – on the Hikoi of Hope, against the Springbok tour, for peace, for justice. We take stands, we stand together.

connect, – we connect – we build relationships, we look out for one another; the regulars connect and get to know each other; we connect with other groups, churches, communities, businesses.

We are a place where people can come and find connections. And we connect on the web – we have many followers across Aotearoa and across the world who are interested in what we have to say and how we worship.

seek common ground – ground is about the actual ground – our land, which we hold in common together, like the old English idea of “the commons”; and common ground is about coming together to find a safe place for dialogue and debate, for learning and growth; common ground is about finding things in common with people of other faiths and cultures. It is not about all thinking the same thing!

St Matthew-in-the-City: a spirited place where people stand, connect, and seek common ground.

Then we have some sentences which flesh out who are and how we operate together – they are our values and descriptions of who we aspire to be. We know we don’t live up to them all the time but we aspire to them.

Theology:               

Encouraging critical thinking and progressive theological exploration.

You don’t check your brain at the door when you come here, we like to think and to challenge and to learn. We do not feel at all constrained by the inherited doctrines and traditions of our church – in fact we love to challenge them!

Spirituality:            

Worshipping in an Anglican tradition with creative liturgy and inspiring music.

We are an Anglican church and we worship in that tradition, using the best we can find in creative writing and music. We have no problem with chanting an ancient chant alongside a brand new composition; we find what speaks to our souls.

Hospitality:             

Welcoming all people – no exceptions – to the table.

All are welcome here – people of different faiths and no faiths; people of any background and sexuality; they are welcome at the communion table, the morning tea table and the discussion table.

Community:

Fostering respect, compassion, understanding and generosity in a spirit of manaakitanga.

Manaakitanga means hospitality and care; we want to be a community who lives and breathes manaakitanga.

Intention:                

Supporting each other to live out the radical way of Jesus of Nazareth in the world.

Why do we come; what is the point of all this – it is more than our Sunday gathering; our intention in being here is to be able to live better in the world. To attempt to follow the Jesus Way, to live the Jesus Way in our world, not just for one hour on a Sunday.

Justice:                     

Engaging in just and radical action for the dignity of all and the sustainability of the Earth.

We care about the needs and rights of others, and about the earth, our fragile home. We care and want to act in ways that sustain the earth. This is going to be a particular focus for us in the year to come – the earth – our patch of land outside the church and the Earth, God’s creation, which needs our care.

Heritage:                

Valuing our church as a beautiful taonga in the heart of Auckland City, where celebrations and events take place, and people find refuge.

We look after our heritage, this building, its fabric on behalf of all who wish to gather here. From the homeless who take refuge here to the businesses who hold events here; from the celebrations to the funerals; all who come look to us to be caring for the stones and passing them to the next generation.

Lots of words! Lots of aspirations. I hope you can find yourself in amongst them; I am sure you have ideas which you think should be added in or some you think don’t belong. The small group that wrote this on your behalf debated every word I can assure you! We hope the words are layered enough that everyone can find a place to stand and room to move.

What now? well words are great but now we carry on with the job of living them out. The Vestry and other groups within the church will be looking at their work in the light of our new words and looking at how we continue to put flesh on them. I certainly feel privileged to stand with clergy who have gone before me in this place and who have passed this heritage on to me. You all stand with the thousands of people who have passed this heritage on to you.

St Matthew-in-the-City: a spirited place where people stand, connect, and seek common ground.