Prayer for a New Incumbent
Sermon Preached by Reverend Stuart Langshaw on Sunday, 6 October 2024.
Mark Twain had many good things to say. One of them was … “All good things arrive unto them that wait – – and who don’t die in the meantime.” We need patience in so many areas of life – making a doctor’s appointment and then waiting the three weeks till the doctor is available! I like the saying that says patience is something we admire greatly in the driver behind us, but never in the driver in front of us.
Here at St Andrew’s we are needing to exercise patience as the process for finding a new priest for the parish takes its course. To us it may seem like ages that this process has been going on. And there’s a reason for that. It has been ages!!! We are nearly at the 12 month mark since Sam and Kate Goodes and their family came to the end of their ministry here. We are nearly at the 12 month mark since we started praying together the prayer for a new incumbent. We are nearly at the 12 month mark since the Patronage Committee started its meetings and investigations and advertising and researching the Anglican Church of Australia Directory for the names of potential candidates and meeting with the Archbishop. If it seems to the rest of us as though the process has been going for ages, then for the people on the Patronage Committee it must seem almost an eternity.
Prayer – we have been doing that – week by week we have prayed that God will give to St Andrew’s a faithful pastor who will speak God’s word, minister God’s sacraments and be an encourager. Week by week we have prayed that God will give each member of the Patronage Committee wisdom, discernment and patience. Week by week we have prayed in the Parish Prayer that we may encourage and care for each other.
Work – the Patronage Committee has been doing that. While those of us who are not members of the Patronage Committee probably would like to know what’s happening and how things are going, the work of that committee is necessarily confidential. From time to time the Committee does report to us in general terms about its work – and that’s about as much as it can do.
Prayer and work. St Augustine of Hippo – a chap who knew quite a lot about spiritual things once said, “Pray as if everything depends on God. Work as if everything depends on you.” Prayer and work. We have prayed and we are praying. The Patronage Committee has worked and is working. So, what’s happening? Why are we not seeing results?
There is no doubt that we are being called on to be patient, and to be persevering. We are being called on to be faithful, and to be fervent. It is right now that we are in the toughest part of the whole patronage process – when nothing seems to be happening. There is a temptation to give up. If we give up the congregational work of this process – the prayer and the encouragement to the members of the Patronage Committee, then it’s the same as if we give up putting fuel in our cars. They will run out of puff. If we give up the Committee work of the process – the meetings and the searchings and the invitings – then it’s the same as if we turn off the car’s ignition, pull on the handbrake, and walk away. It is a very human thing to feel disheartened and disenchanted when we see nothing happening. But we need to remind ourselves about what the Bible has to say about patience and perseverance and prayer.
Patience is a fruit of the Spirit. In Galatians chapter 5 St Paul said, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” Patience. That’s a tough one. You would imagine that after almost 12 months we have shown patience double-plus. Surely we haven’t fallen behind in that virtue. When he wrote to young Timothy, Paul said that patience is a constant aim of Christians – and when we have achieved patience, we aim for more patience. “What Paul said was this – “ But as for you, man of God, aim at righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.” (1 Tim 6:11).
Perseverance in prayer is another thing spotlighted by New Testament teaching. Ephesians 6:18 and 1 Thessalonians 5:17 both have St Paul saying that we have to persevere in prayer. “Pray at all times in the Spirit with all prayer and supplication.” Says Ephesians. And 1 Thessalonians says simply, “Pray without ceasing.” Do you remember that Jesus told the parable of the widow and the judge? It’s in Luke 18:1-8. It’s a very Jewish story about a widow who kept coming to a judge with a request for vindication and compensation. And she came, and she came, and she came till the judge’s resistance was exhausted and he granted her request. Jesus’ point was not that we wear God down by constant prayer. Jesus’ point was that prayer is not a once-off activity. Like the widow we pray and we pray and we pray. And as a congregation we have been praying and praying and praying the prayer for a new incumbent week by week by week for month after month after month.
So – what’s left? Here are a few suggestions. Let’s find out the names of the members of the Patronage Committee, and in our own private prayers and devotions each day, pray the prayer for a new incumbent …. not SAY the prayer, not RECITE the prayer, but PRAY the prayer. And when we get to the phrase “ … give to those who will choose wisdom, discernment and patience …” insert the name of one of the Patronage Committee. “Give to Fred wisdom, discernment and patience …” “Give to Audrey wisdom, discernment, patience …”There are 7 members of the Patronage Committee and so we could pray for each member by name once each week. This would sharpen and make personal our prayer. This would form a Prayer Chain for the Patronage Committee. Perhaps we could send them messages and emails of encouragement and affirmation in their work for the parish … for us … for you as an individual. Don’t let the Patronage Committee get lost simply because its work is necessarily confidential.
Secondly, let’s identify in our own mind what our particular ministry or calling in our congregation is. Perhaps ask another congregation member what they see your calling is. Many of us have the calling of friendship. Some have the calling of pastoral care. Some have the calling of hospitality. Some have the calling of generous affirmation of others. Once each of us has identified our calling, and when we pray the prayer for a new incumbent privately, change the plural personal pronouns into singular personal pronouns. “… an encourager who will equip me for ministry, and enable me to fulfil my calling … my calling of …[whatever it is]”
Perhaps, too, we could adapt the prayer for a new incumbent to be a prayer for ourselves as individual parishioners. “Bountiful God, help me to be a parishioner who faithfully speaks your word … help me to be an encourager, encouraging others for their ministry and supporting them as they fulfil their calling. Give me a warm and generous heart, for Christ’s sake.”
In these ways we can turn this prayer we use every week in church, into a daily prayer we use at home, that expresses the benefit that each of us will receive from a new incumbent, a prayer that individualises the care we have for each member of the Patronage Committee, and that also prays for ourselves as parishioners. Our part of the patronage process is to pray. Let’s rededicate ourselves to that with renewed zeal.
As I said, there’s no doubt that we are we’re in the toughest part of the nomination process right now- when nothing seems to be happening. And therefore we need to remind ourselves of what the Bible says about prayer and about perseverance. And therefore we need to remind ourselves about the relationship between prayer and work. And therefore we need to hear again the encouragement from St Paul – “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”— Galatians 6:9, NIV
Let’s remember, patience is not simply he ability to wait . . . but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting.
Pray without ceasing.