Diocesan News
Enthronement of Bishop of Connor
BISHOP OF CONNOR ENTHRONED IN CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL
Preaching at a Service of Enthronement in Christ Church Cathedral, Lisburn, the new Bishop of Connor, the Rt Rev Alan Abernethy, has described himself as ‘a fellow struggler who has failed to be what God wants me to be.’
But he said he was also the recipient of God’s amazing grace which meant he could look to the future with hope and joy knowing he was loved and forgiven.
“My prayer is that we may learn to rejoice in our brokenness and weakness and thereby welcome and accept all who need to know that being a disciple is not about being good and perfect but it is about recognising that we are fellow travellers on the road of grace that allows us to be human and gives us hope that we might just be better people by that same grace,” the Bishop said.
He based his sermon on the Gospel of St Luke chapter 15, which he described as the parable of the ‘Forgiving Father.’
While the love and grace of the father is the miracle, the critical part of the story is the reaction of the older brother, the Bishop said.
“We have found the sting in the tail. This forgiving father in being merciful and full of grace appears to be unjust. This grace and love is actually unfair. The lesson the older brother has to learn is difficult, grace is not fair. Grace is about failure. Faith in Jesus is not about being good and holy and perfect, it is about being able to admit we are not good enough.”
The Bishop urged parishes to be places of welcome and acceptance, where the grace of God is dispensed and not bottled for the select few.
He concluded his sermon: “I look forward to journeying with you as your bishop and I pray that I may be filled with grace of God to help me be a channel of that same amazing grace. This is the grace that is about failure and hope.”
Bishop Abernethy was installed and enthroned by the Dean of Connor, the Very Rev John Bond, who also dedicated the Bishop’s new Pastoral Staff.
In the first part of the service the new Bishop came to the Cathedral to be publicly installed and enthroned in his seat by the Dean at the command of the Archbishop of Armagh, the Most Rev Alan Harper.
In the second part of the service, the Bishop began his ministry in Connor, praying for the Church and the community, before responding to the acknowledgement of his pastoral responsibility from the clergy and to a pledge of support from the laity of the Diocese.
The former rector of Ballyholme parish was appointed Bishop of Connor by the House of Bishops on the Church of Ireland which met in Dublin on April 17. He was Consecrated Bishop at a service in St Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast, on June 29th.
Bishop Abernethy is married to Liz and the couple have two children, Peter and Ruth.
For further information contact Karen Bushby, Connor Diocesan Communications Officer, on 028 4066 0798 or 07766 103880 (mob) or email DCO
The full text of Bishop Abernethy’s sermon at the Service of Enthronement
Luke 15:11-32.
It has become one of my prized possessions and it is not of any monetary value. I received this pen as a gift from friends but the real value for me is that it reminds me of my early school days. I learnt to write with a fountain pen not unlike this one. My teacher in Harding Memorial Primary School insisted that we used a fountain pen. This pen is made up of different parts and the most important part is undoubtedly the part containing the nib but it is incomplete without the other parts not least the lid.
Our gospel reading tonight has different parts to it and I have heard it read and the last few verses have often been omitted. These are the verses that refer to the older son. The parable needs to be taken as a whole but I want to focus my thoughts around the older brother. But let me just put those in context. This is the parable of the “Forgiving Father” although I do acknowledge that it is usually referred to as the parable of the “Prodigal Son”. The father in this story lets the son go, there is no emotional blackmail but an amazing love that just gives in to the son’s demands. The younger son in asking for his inheritance is wishing that the father were dead. The father should have cast him out but instead he agrees and lets him go. The younger son finds himself in the place that any self respecting Jewish boy would never be, feeding pigs for a Gentile master and eating pigs’ food. He then disgraces the father even further by returning home and so the father runs to greet him again - something senior members of families do not do. The amazing love and grace of the father is the miracle of this story but the sting in the tail of this story is where I want to be this evening. The reaction of the older brother is critical to this story. The older brother represents the religious people of Jesus’ day who were finding it very difficult to come to terms with the ministry and message of Jesus.
One of the things my dear mum despised was sulking. I have to confess I was guilty of this when I was a child. I am reliably informed that this is a trait more commonly found in men. The body language is usually the most important tell tale sign. The older brother is very definitely sulking. He was not for joining in the party because this young brother who has essentially been a waster and completely failed is home again and there is this ridiculous party for him. It is unfair and we have to agree. He has been a good son and there is no party for him. I hope he has our sympathy and we can understand his grievance.
We have found the sting in the tail. This forgiving father in being merciful and full of grace appears to be unjust. This grace and love is actually unfair. The lesson the older brother has to learn is difficult, grace is not fair. Grace is about failure. Faith in Jesus is not about being good and holy and perfect, it is about being able to admit we are not good enough. We have to recognise that we like the prodigal are in need of grace and it is freely available to all. This grace helps us to accept others and not to judge. We are to become dispensers of grace to fellow failures and those who feel unloved and unaccepted by the religious norms that exclude and reject.
So as I begin this ministry among you I want to acknowledge that I am a fellow struggler who has failed to be what God wants me to be, but I am also a recipient of this amazing grace that makes it possible for me to look to the future with hope and joy because I am loved and forgiven. My prayer is that we may learn to rejoice in our brokenness and weakness and thereby welcome and accept all who need to know that being a disciple is not about being good and perfect but it is about recognising that we are fellow travellers on the road of grace that allows us to be human and gives us hope that we might just be better people by that same grace.
To the clergy may I encourage you to be wounded healers who in your humanity and brokenness learn what it is to bring God’s healing love to others by being true to yourselves in Christ? To those not ordained I pray that you may not be the older brother sulking that God is more graceful than you would be but relish the amazing message we have to proclaim that all of us are broken people who have acceptance and hope to offer to all. Our parishes need to be places of welcome and acceptance, places where the grace of God is dispensed and not bottled for the select few. As we baptise and celebrate the Eucharist we offer the grace of God to all, we become channels of the grace that the prodigal found overwhelming. We must not become the older brother that resists the amazing grace of God that does not make sense and does appear unjust.
I look forward to journeying with you as your bishop and I pray that I may be filled with grace of God to help me be a channel of that same amazing grace. This is the grace that is about failure and hope.
Amen.