Press Releases31 Dec 06

Final sermon as Archbishop of Armagh, by the Most Reverend Dr RHA Eames, Primate of All Ireland

The Most Reverend Dr RHA Eames will preach for the final time as Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland at an Evensong ser vice in St Patrick's Cathedral Armagh at 3.15 p.m. on Sunday 31st December. The text of his sermon follows in full. The Archbishop's sermon addresses the pilgrimage of the Christian life around the text from St Luke, Chapter 2, "I must be about my Father's business". The Archbishop expesses his thanks to the Diocese of Armagh and to the people of the Church of Ireland for their support and sharing in that pilgrimage. He articulates a vision for the future of the community in Northern Ireland that in "recognising our differences we may be guided under God into a future where this entire community can turn the memories of the past into a future of hope". The Archbishop concludes by sharing his own experience of faith urging people to "grasp the joy there is in believing and live by it."

"The words from our second lesson this afternoon: the second chapter of St Luke are:

"Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" Or as some translations put it: "I must be about my Father's business."

In this passage, we are taken to the heart of what it means to be a follower of Christ, to be a pilgrim and to be the Church. The anxious search of frightened parents, who had lost a son in the crowd, ended when they found him in a place and doing what seemed natural to him - being about His Father's business. From then until now, that is the real reason for all of our pilgrimage - to search out, to find and to be about our Father's business. That is our task, that is our calling - and that is the centre of it all for the Church.

This afternoon, we worship together in the Cathedral as clergy and people who are about our Father's business. That task far outweighs any emotion, any personal feelings, any sadness at parting. That task is what alone can make sense out of the complexities and contradictions of life for those who believe. It means that none of us are more important than the privilege of believing, of worshipping or of witnessing to the love of a forgiving God. It means that as individuals or as the Church we are at our most vital and most effective when we pray. It also means that the Church must move on irrespective of the individual role any of us are called upon to fulfil.

Today, I have so many different emotions as I speak to you. Naturally, I am sad to be laying down my part in the ongoing pilgrimage of Primacy. When I was ordained in 1963, I little imagined my pilgrimage would have brought me to this moment. The years since then have held so much privilege in ministering, sharing and being a part of people's lives. Here in Armagh diocese, over the past twenty years, Christine and I have been overwhelmed by your kindness, welcome and may I say, your love. In parishes, rectories, homes and on public occasions we have been very much a part of people's lives. For those privileges, we say a grateful thank you. For confidences shared, for trusts extended and for friendships so freely offered - all will remain cherished memories as we move on.

As I leave office I thank God for the privilege of serving him and the people of the Church through so many different experiences of joy and sorrow. In those days of darkness when lives were scarred and lost I witnessed the courage and dignity of those who found in their faith the strength to go on. I saw the faithfulness of clergy who ministered to people of all sorts and conditions. I saw the stability parish life provided in many situations of local hardship. In more recent times, we have seen developments in the community which once seemed impossible. No-one ever imagined the path to a stable and just society would be easy. But never forget - in life difficulties faced and overcome make their own contribution to stability.

Two communities have to find ways of sharing this land - sharing opportunities, sharing problems and sharing solutions. We cannot pass on to a new generation the hatreds and divisions of the past. We have got to create a future under God where young people have real pride in their community. The Church, politicians and all of us leading ordinary lives must grasp the opportunities for reaching that shared future which now present themselves. I welcome the debates within the protestant and unionist community on a way forward. I welcome the historic attempts within the nationalist and republican community to address issues such as policing. Let us recognise in both communities, individual courage and integrity when we see it in others we may not always agree with. We need to become a community of shared generosity as much as one embracing difference. I long to see a meeting of minds which will allow that shared future to become a reality. I pray that recognising our differences we may be guided under God into a future where this entire community can turn the memories of the past into a future of hope.

But this afternoon, we are again "in our Father's house" - we are "about our Father's business". We meet on holy ground, sanctified in this Cathedral by generations each, in their own time, seeking to do their Father's business. As each generation has tried to live up to its calling in its time and in its situation the pilgrimage has moved on - it has called us to make our contribution and then to leave it to others to follow. So today, as a new chapter for this Cathedral, this diocese, this Church and this community beckons, we offer to God what we are, what we have been and what we hope to become. Whoever is chosen by God to accept the privileges and burdens of leadership next month, I pray that he will be given the support and the love I have experienced in such abundance. I pray that in your parishes, in your homes and in your lives, you will go on being about "our Father's business."

I want to say something which I feel is very important on this occasion. It is about our faith. I want my last words to you as Archbishop to be about our faith. There is a phrase you will find in our Anglican liturgy more than once. It is "joy in believing". Those words mean a great deal to me. They are much more than words about passing emotions or temporary happiness. They are about feeling confident, feeling certain, feeling comfortable in believing. This is God's word. This is the life he has given us. In suffering, in disappointment, in failure, just as in experience of satisfaction and happiness, it is the same God we believe in. The Christ who was found by His parents in the Temple Court was no mere figure of a point in human history. He is alive in our faith. He is alive in this world today. He alone can help us make sense out of it all.

The levels of our faith will vary. One moment strong, another questioned. Hold on to your faith. Believe in it and live by it. Let others be drawn to it by your life and example. Do not lose your faith - all will be well in God. So grasp the joy there is in believing - and live by it.

Thank you for everything, may God bless you all."