Celebration/Installation Sermon by The Rev. Ellen A. Donnelly

Celebration of Our New Ministry
With the Installation of The Rev. John A. Donnelly
Christ Church Quaker arms, Oxford, CT March 3, 2012
Sermon by The Rev. Ellen A. Donnelly
Well, here’s is a historic occasion. This is, of course, the bicentennial year for Christ Church, which is celebrating 200 years of ministry in this place. And now we are gathered today to celebrate the latest chapter in that history – the new ministry which belongs to the people of Christ Church and their new Rector, John Donnelly. It is also a real family occasion, since we have among us today, in addition to the Christ Church family, the family of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut, represented by Bishop Laura and others, the St. Michael’s Wayne, NJ family (welcome, old friends), the far-flung Donnelly family, and the family of the Quaker Farms community. Of course, it’s also a family occasion because the preacher is the wife of the new rector. I admit I was rather surprised when John invited me to preach at this service, since he had just escaped from 30 years of having to listen to me preach every other week. So I want you to know, dear, that I am strenuously resisting the temptation to regale your congregation with stories that might embarrass you (like falling through the roof of the parish hall, for instance), or, on the other hand, to impress upon you the priority of your Honey-Do list over your church work. Not going there. So you can breathe easy.
Now, turning to the Word of God, the Scriptures that John chose for this occasion, you will notice, are all about LIGHT. The prophet Isaiah urges us to “walk in the light of the Lord.” The psalmist says “in your light we see light.” St. Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, says to us, “You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. [So] Live as children of the light.” And the Apostle John says that Jesus was Himself the “[true] light of all mankind…..[and that light continues to shine] in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Now I happen to know that Fr. John has been lifting up this light theme in recent months, and – no surprise there - has even come up with a visual representation of what the Bible says. So here is Christ Church, lit up with the light of the Lord, as the Bible tells us God wants it to be. And today we’re singing some of Fr. John’s favorite songs about that light – “Praise the Lord, I saw the light!” and “Shine Jesus shine, fill this land with the Father’s glory” – great songs all. But perhaps we would do well to look a little more closely at what exactly this light of the Lord is. The Bible, in both Old Testament and New, uses “light” as an image, a symbol, of the very presence of God Himself. God wants to be present in our world, He wants to be present in this church. When He is present, a church shines with His light; when He’s not, the light is out..
So the question is: how does Christ Church get lit, so to speak? It seems to me that 3 things are needed for any church to shine. The first is that God’s light must shine inside you individually. After all, the church isn’t a building, it’s a community of believers; if this church is going to shine, it’s going to have to start with you. So what does it look like when God’s light shines in you? Well, it’s all about love. The Bible says that God IS love, which is to say that what God does is to love, and that means that He loves YOU personally. But God’s love doesn’t do you any good til you believe it and accept it; and then you begin to love Him back out of gratitude that He loves you. It’s that love relationship between the Lord and you that gives you the peace, joy, and hope that is visible – and that’s the light of God’s love shining in you. Now I can see the light shining in a bunch of you this morning. And I think you’d all agree that there’s nothing spooky about it; it’s not just for the spiritually advanced. It’s for everybody. So if you know you don’t have it, then just look around and fine someone who’s shining and ask them how they got it; it’s that simple.
So that’s the first thing that has to happen for a church to shine with God’s light: a critical mass of its members have to have the light inside them. The second thing that has to happen is that the light of God’s love has to shine inside the church. Again, it’s all about love: God’s light shines inside these walls when you love each other. That’s what St. Paul means when he says “you are now light in the Lord, so live as children of the light.” You have the chance every time you come together to be the human face of God’s love to each other, by accepting each other as God has accepted you.
Now, unless Christ Church is very different from every other church I’ve ever known, that’s easier said than done. In any church, there are some people you like and some you don’t; in any church there are disagreements, conflicts, grudges. And the light of God’s love can get smothered by the lack of love among its members. But a church where sincere love among the members is taught and highly valued is a church that is much more likely to have the light of God’s love shining inside it. And I know that many of you are making an effort in that direction with your Lenten Bible study “Love One Another.”
And finally, the third thing that has to happen is that the church – which means YOU – must be committed to shining the light of God’s love outside the walls of this building. God loves you individually, each of you, but He also loves the world outside your doors; the Bible tells us that He loves that world so much that He gave His son to bring each and every human being home to His family. And He needs YOU to be channels for that love to shine forth into Oxford today. He needs you to be the human face of His love in your community. He needs you to offer His love to the world just the way He offered it to you.
Of course, you are already doing that here at Christ Church; your pizza nights open to the community are one example. But generally speaking, people who don’t know God’s love aren’t going to come to you; you have to go to them. How do you do that? Well, try asking yourselves this question: If Jesus lived in Oxford today, who would touch His heart? Who would He want to reach out to with His unconditional love? If you ask the Lord to open your eyes to the needs in your community, He will do it. And then you will be able to see those people around you who need YOU to be the human face of God’s love. The more you put your time and energy and resources into serving the world for Jesus’ sake, the brighter God’s love will shine through you. That is God’s plan for His church. That is the reason He planted this church in this spot 200 years ago and has allowed it to keep going….so that you can be a shining light for Him.
Fortunately, you have chosen a Rector who excels at love. John Donnelly is undoubtedly the most indiscriminate lover I have ever known! He loves the old and the young, the rich and the poor, the sad and the happy, the powerful and the weak; he loves those he agrees with and those he disagrees with; he loves believers and sceptics alike. He has been the human face of God’s love to hundreds and even thousands of people during his 30 years of ministry. He is uniquely suited and qualified to lead this church to become a church that shines with the light of God’s love. What a gift of grace He will be to you in the years to come!
In conclusion, it is customary on these occasions for the preacher to deliver a “charge” – a word, hopefully from the Lord – to the new Rector. But I sense that the Lord wants to speak to the Rector and the people of Christ Church together. So I would ask Fr. John and all the members of Christ Church to stand.
Dear people, deeply loved by God, as you embark on your third century in this place, be closely attentive to the new Word the Lord has for you today. Love is not an optional extra. God’s amazing, extravagant, unconditional love for the world He made IS the message. God’s love – shining in you, shining among you, shining outside you – IS what the church is meant to be. So don’t waste your time and His by putting all your energies into merely surviving. Dare to dream big dreams, dare to believe that God can use you to be the human face of His love in Oxford. Dare to hope that you can shine the light of His love into the darkness of a world that has no hope without Him. God has sent your Rector here to be the human face of His love for you, and through you, the world around you. He wants you to cherish him; John, He wants you to cherish them. Never forget that it is all about love. Everything else will fade away – the sermons, the programs, the dinners, the magic tricks, even this beautiful building – none of that will last. But the love that you receive from the Father of all mercies will last; the love that you give Him in return will last; the love that you show to each other will last; the love you show the world around you will last. Let that be your purpose, your mission, your goal.
So I invite the congregation to join you in standing and making this song a prayer: “I want to walk as a child of the light….shine in my heart, Lord Jesus.”