The Rt. Rev. Bill Godfrey, “Bishop Bill” of Peru, preached at Wednesday’s Eucharist at the Gibraltar Archdeaconry Synod. Centring on Luke’s gospel account of Jesus’ explanation of the parable of the sower and the seed, Bishop Bill made five key points. The core of Christian ministry has to be a serving heart, a serving spirit, as taught and modelled by Jesus. This comes from obedience, a word that has the same root in Latin as “audio” – Jesus’ message is, repeatedly in Luke’s gospel, “Hear and obey.” Bishop Bill pointed out that in the parable, all the seed sprouts: the word that it represents is heard by all. It is a matter of who hears and absorbs the message, rooting it deeply and imbedding it in their lives. We cannot simply hear the gospel; we must be the gospel. The gospel itself can be like a plough, furrowing places in our lives where the word can take healthy root. We encounter Jesus in the gospel; beyond that, we must decide for ourselves how to let his word take root in our lives, and how we put it into action. If we can be obedient in serving as Christ taught and modelled, then, as Jesus told his followers immediately after explaining the parable, we become a light for the world, not hidden, but illuminating a world with many dark places.
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