For him, the most important thing in the world for any human being is that he or she should know God. Paul could say that from his own experience. He set out that morning from Jerusalem on his way to Damascus in a desperate spiritual state. He was going with the express purpose of persecuting Christian believers. So he is including himself when he says, "the god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ".

What happened that day changed Paul's life for ever, and he alludes to it in amazing language: "God who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness', made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ". At the very dawn of creation, "In the beginning", God dispelled the deep darkness that covered the earth with the powerful words, "Let there be light". As Saul of Tarsus neared Damascus that day, nothing less than a new creation was dawning. God was causing the splendour of his light to shine in Paul's heart, a light so bright that it blinded his blindness, and dispelled forever the utter darkness of his sin and guilt, his rebellion and ignorance. Paul fell on his face before Jesus Christ the Lord. From there on, Paul could say that he knew God.

But Paul does not just speak about himself. He speaks in the plural – "God made his light shine in our hearts". He said that because in the course of his ministry, he had seen God reach down in love and mercy, and as he proclaimed the Gospel, that same light shone in the hearts of so many of his hearers. They too knew God.

So we rejoice, on this great Feast Day in this ancient cathedral, with all those down the ages who have come to faith in Jesus Christ, and by God's grace, today know God.

Such was Paul's appreciation of what had happened to him and to them, that he encourages us, saying, "We have a treasure", something of incalculable value, indeed of eternal significance – "the pearl of great price". But this is not a pearl simply to be admired objectively. It is a jewel whose brilliance must reach down into the depth of our hearts and shine there with its radiance and transforming beauty.

And because of that, you will see, like Paul, that this treasure demands that its wealth be shared. Paul called that sharing "ministry", service, and a service that he was under obligation to give to others. Today you, Kenneth, receive a further commissioning to that ministry and as a bishop in the church of God, to give leadership to your clergy and to your people in all those 25 parochial units, in the service of the Gospel.

We live in days of great spiritual need. But likewise we live in days of a growing spiritual hunger, and because of that, days of great opportunity. If people have tended to abandon the churches, they are not abandoning religion. People are seeking that pearl. True, most people are looking for God in the wrong places. But the emptiness, the inadequacy of other faiths will drive them back to God, the only God, the only Saviour. And you, along with your fellow bishops and other Christian leaders must see the pressing urgency of forming a Christian family that talks a language that people can understand, that offers a style of worship that people can relate to, that gives a generous, loving service that meets people's physical, spiritual and emotional needs, and above, shows a welcoming love that people can respond to.

That ministry starts with Jesus Christ. The centrepiece of Paul's message, the diamond in the crown, is this. "We preach Jesus Christ as Lord". We do not have to invent the Gospel. The Good News message is a given. It is "Jesus Christ is Lord". He is the theme. Any other so-called Gospel would not be good news. People in the Diocese of Kilmore, and indeed all of this lovely island, need to know the crucified and risen Jesus as the Messiah, the anointed and sent One, in who all God's purposes are fulfilled, not just for the Jews but also for the gentiles. They need to know Jesus as the Saviour who liberates from the guilt and power of sin. They need to know Jesus as the Lord, who demands the total allegiance and obedience of every Christian believer.

I know you, Kenneth, have a concern for the extension of Christ's kingdom. My heart beats with yours in that. So make sure that, whatever else you are called to do, evangelism has a high place in your own ministry and in the activities and indeed the budgets of your diocese and its parochial units. "Do the work of an evangelist". If you proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord, you will be following a good apostolic example and be in true apostolic succession.

As we remember that our message is Christ, we must also remember who we are. "We preach Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. We live in a world, which gives great importance to status, to the image we project. That was nothing that interested Jesus Christ less. "I am among you as a servant", a waiter at table. Paul had clearly picked up the message, "we are your servants for Jesus' sake". People always want to put their bishop on a pedestal. The media will want to interview you and know your opinion. Part of your ministry will take you out of your Diocese to important meetings. God help all of us never to forget that we are servants of others for Jesus' sake. "Feed my sheep" said the risen Saviour. "Feed my sheep, feed my lambs". Those sheep are His, not ours. So we are responsible to Him for the quality of the care we give.

As we remember who we are, we also need to remember what we are. "We have this treasure in jars of clay". Paul, we understand, was no Mr Universe. He certainly wasn't the best-dressed man in Asia Minor. Possible even his eye problems meant he did not have a very attractive face. Go to a jeweller to buy a ring, and the salesman will set out the diamonds on a black velvet cushion, so that the background shows up all the facets to best advantage. Paul had a treasure, but God had put it into a real jar of clay. But when Jesus sent Ananias to visit Paul in Damascus, he said, "Paul is a chosen jar of clay." and that is the important thing.

The treasure of the Gospel is still entrusted to people subject to severe limitations, instability, and insecurity of character. But the fact of being "chosen" by God for the task means that, not only are we responsible to God as we do this work. It means also that God makes himself responsible for us as we do his work.

Happily the divine Potter has not finished with us yet. His hands are still fashioning us. Every pressure of life for every Christian, every pressure of Episcopal life for every bishop, are the pressure of loving hands that care for us very much as the bearers of God's treasure. Those hands as they mould us bear the marks of nails, so we know that the pressure is the pressure of love and God's own warm comfort.

The fact is that the task we are given, the burden we lay on Kenneth Clarke today, is much greater than our strength to fulfil it. The glorious truth is that with the task, God also gives the strength to do it. Indeed, Paul speaks here of  "the all-surpassing power that comes from God". Jesus Himself, by His Incarnation, also became a jar of clay. He knew hunger and thirst, fatigue and sorrow. He felt the loneliness of rejection and mockery. He suffered the pain of the most horrific death that humankind has invented.

But with that jar of clay, broken on the Cross – God's power. God's "all surpassing power", raised Him gloriously to life and He lives in the power of the Resurrection. So as Kenneth makes his weighty promises today, I need to remake mine. Indeed as you consecrate yourself to this ministry, we all need to stand with you, and re-consecrate ourselves to the service of Christ, so that in the power of the Holy Spirit of God, our service can be effective for God and well pleasing to Him.

It is a mammoth-size task that you receive. You receive the responsibility of giving direction to your Diocese and to all the members of your churches in the ministry of the Gospel and making it relevant to Irish society today. You receive the labour of strengthening and encouraging your brother clergy in the care of all the churches. You receive the challenge of mobilizing the army of lay people in your churches so that every one becomes a witness for Christ and a servant of his people.

So be a bishop full of the Word of God, for here is the truth about God and about humankind. It is your only sure guide. Be a bishop full of the power of God, because that is the only power that is effective in our weakness. And be a bishop full of the love of God, because that is the only sure way to win great victories to God in that Diocese which is being entrusted to you and which you will come to love deeply.