Finally, dearly beloved Archbishop Fred Hiltz, you will keep alive your passion for God, his Church and his world if, like the Apostle Paul, you continue to have Christ at the Centre of everything.
The Apostle Peter always had JESUS CHRIST AT THE CENTRE OF HIS LIVING. “For me to live is Christ.” (Philippians 1:21)
He always had JESUS CHRIST AT THE CENTRE OF HIS THINKING. “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5)
He always had JESUS CHRIST AT THE CENTRE OF HIS PLANNING. His aiming, his motivation. “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:14)
I beg of you to look at your past achievements and failures with the eyes of an accountant. And so whatever you have lost or gained, let Christ be your prize. Let Christ always be your balance sheet.
I beg of you to look at the present with the eyes of a sportsperson. Train for Christ. Throw yourself into the race for Christ. Aim for Christ. Let your faith be ready for adventure — ready to go into the unknown and forsaking the right to ask where you are going. May our Lord give you a reckless willingness to adventure. A venturesome faith — like that of Abraham.
A creative sermon. But why do I feel it will have no practical impact on Canada’s part in the international Anglican explosion. This was Sentamu’s one chance to make a big point for the sake of the truth in our situation. If I missed it, help me out.
And forgive me for picking, but surely the preacher is just cross-pollinating with attaching Peter to the quotes from Philippians. Or maybe it was one of those Oops from a copy editor we learned about in textual criticism.
“JESUS CHRIST AT THE CENTRE OF HIS LIVING”
Yes, but the real question has always been, “Who is this ‘Jesus Christ’? Methinks they have created a “Jesus” in their own image rather than acknowleging Him as God and Lord of them.
DonGander
Difficult to feel that this was Sentamu ‘ticking off’ the liberal Canadian church. Rather, it seemed to be: go, do it. Very interesting. Of course, Sentamu, like many big C of E people, speaks with at least two different tongues. Nevertheless, it’s absolutely clear that his heart isn’t in it as Windsor enforcer.