BISHOP JAMES’ INAUGURAL SERMON
Jesus made something of a habit of giving free lunches, for example, the feeding of the five thousand. Jesus, not content with providing enough, provides more than enough – twelve baskets more than enough. Wasteful, some may think, but here in these leftovers is the sign of God’s overflowing provision, God’s abundant generosity.
There is a wonderful extravagance at the heart of God; an extravagance of what
Christians call ‘grace’ – God’s love, favour and acceptance poured out on humankind without condition. In the welcome you have given me I recognise and am pleased to receive something of the generosity of God. It is good (if also a little daunting) to sense the spirit of expectancy being expressed. Over the coming weeks and months you will find me popping up all over the place as I visit each deanery and try to take other opportunities to build a sense of relatedness between us. As you get to know me, my foibles and weaknesses, you will, I am sure, have plenty of opportunity to develop your gracious generosity in forgiving my failings. But perhaps in other ways, too, we will, in our dealings with each other, mine more deeply from that rich vein of God’s generosity.
I would wish to see that same spirit spread more widely within our Church and
churches. We are in a time of particular tension within the Church of England and the Anglican family more widely. But it’s not simply those high-profile, media-delighting disputes that I have in mind. I’m thinking also of tensions that can arise within congregations or dioceses over money, sharing resources and the like. And I ask myself how the fabric of our being together within the church may more colourfully be shot through with the silken thread of God’s generosity and loving welcome: freely you have received – freely give.
In wider society we hear much of tightening belts and tough decisions as we face real
financial challenges. How do we react? A temptation is to pull up the drawbridge, turn in on ourselves as individuals and as a nation and try to protect our own well-being. But in doing that we actually end up diminishing our own lives.
In these times there is a challenge to us to look beyond ourselves and our own needs,
to open our hands, to work and to pray for that Big Society which the Church has been working for over rather more than a couple of years! In my last diocese we had a link with Papua New Guinea, one of the poorest and least developed countries on earth. There I have had the privilege of meeting people who, in our terms, have almost nothing but who generously welcomed me and shared with me the little that they have. It is often those who have least who show us how to be generous. So how in these times will we open our hands and generously seek the good of all those among whom we live?
Let us be inspired afresh with the extravagant generosity of God, seen especially in the
giving of his very Son for the life of the world. Dioceses sometimes come up with strap-lines to describe themselves and their aspirations: we could do worse than being ‘The Diocese of Rochester: a generous people’ – just so long as it is true.
This is an edited version of the sermon given at Bishop James’ installation on Saturday 11th December 2010. The full version may be found on our parish website.
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