Sermon by Bishop David Wilbourne for the NSM Eucharist
but ordained ministry as well.
Tuesday 22 June, 2010
at St. Catherine’s Church, Caerphilly
What may seem an idle speculation
is given force by three words in the narrative.
Martha and Mary:
The English reads
which of these two is the NSM?
Martha was distracted by her many tasks.
Well, at first sight Martha would seem the obvious candidate.
The Greek actually reads
The elder of the two,

the householder,
Martha was distracted by much deaconing,
a woman who has fallen straight out of Proverbs 31
which I guess is signal to Luke’s readers
who rises while it is yet night
about the dangers of doing too much ministry.
and fills 14 verses with her ceaseless activity,
My wife’s stepmother
whilst her husband sits at the city gates,
is a caterer and a very caring Christian.
as husbands are wont to do.
One Christmas she wore herself out
Clearly this woman is adept at multi-tasking big time,
cooking for every single old soul in the parish,
a born NSM
and then wore my brother-in-law out
who can not just juggle work and family,
as he despatched sweetmeats to all and sundry.
‘I’ve delivered tart noel to 40 people,
in the original,
whether they wanted it or not,’
‘Do you not care that my sister
he commented tartly.
has left me to deacon alone?
Too much deaconing.
Tell her to come and lend a hand!’
Martha’s is clearly the sort of busyness
That’s my third key word,
that not only makes her brittle

but draws others in too.
meaning to collaborate.
‘Do you not care that my sister
Tell her to come and collaborate.
has left me to get on with the work alone?’
Collaborative ministry:
she complains to the guest she is supposed to be entertaining.
at its best sharing the ministry
‘Look at all the extra trouble your presence is causing me,’
among all the baptised;
is the subagenda.
at its worst
Setting the precedent for all those people who huff and puff
allowing being busy, busy, busy
as they do jobs around the church:
to spread like swine flu.
all this trouble that Jesus is causing me!
We have to be doing,
and worse,
Again we have that word 
we have to disturb the peace of others
and can’t let them rest
To humbly sit at Christ’s feet
until they are doing too.
and listen to him.
We, whose reformation faith is defined
That’s prayer,
as being saved by grace
and a priest’s chief work is prayer.
thrash about as if we are only saved by works.
Just in case we don’t get the point,
We all do it.
Luke’s Jesus teaches us how to pray
When I was a parish priest,
in the verses following this episode,
if I was in my study reading a book and the door bell rang,
the shorter version of his prayer,
I’d shuffle my papers and ruffle my hair
just 38 words in the original Greek.
and answer the door with a studied stressful air:
The fewer the words the better the prayer,
‘I know you’re very busy, vicar…’
claimed Martin Luther.
Again, beware of the busyness and babble
‘One thing is necessary,’
invading your prayers:
Jesus says to Martha,
Mary wasn’t chattering,
addressing all his audience
she was listening,
preoccupied with so much deaconing.
hanging on to Jesus’ words.
Well, what is that necessary thing?
Is she the archetypal NSM,
I’m both fascinated and excited
or just the archetypal priest?
by what difference
Well, for a long time I’ve hankered
your priesthood makes to that day job.
after being an NSM,
There’s a Father Ted episode,
because I’m fascinated by what difference
Speed Three,
priesthood makes
where Fr Ted and his priestly cronies
when you can no longer define it by doing the churchy things.
celebrate a mass
I know NSMs do lots of churchy things,
on a moving trailer
indeed without your gift,
to help Fr Dougal out of a spot of bother
and I do believe NSMs are a massive gift to the Church,
when he’s driving a milk-float.
indeed without your gift
‘Is there nothing to be said for another Mass?’
the Church would not function.
one of the cronies asks
But by definition
when they realise their first Mass
NSMs have a necessary context outside the Church,
hasn’t improved things.
their day job,
as it were,
But I’m interested in those situations
where they earn their bread and butter.
where there’s nothing to be said for another mass,
where there’s a priest
And in a secular context,
but with no altar, no chalice, no paten,
absolving means seeking reconciliation,
no bread, no wine.
reconciliation of people and systems,
What difference does that priestly presence make?
seeking healing and forgiveness
where otherwise there would be
I think I’d have to do it
hurt and intolerance.
to find an answer to that question.
And translating
You all do do it,
celebrating communion
and I would be interested in your answers.
into a secular context
has something to say about seeing Christ
It is not an easy question to answer:
impaled on the sorrows of the world
what’s the difference between a priestly presence at work
and trusting that Good Friday
and a Christian presence?
will work through into Easter day,
Well,
tragedy will be redeemed by triumph.
a priest is released from the 1001 things Christians have to do
to focus on two things,
Of course,
absolving and celebrating communion.
the classic fourfold action of the Eucharist is
he took
everyone deserves life in all its fullness.
he blessed
he broke
That’s just a few stabs at an answer to my question,
he gave,
what difference does a priestly presence make
and a priest under cover, as it were,
in a secular context.
should be doing that.
In many ways,
Taking, noticing, being alert to everything around them.
it’s probably impossible to voice an answer,
Blessing whatever,
often it’s just about a presence,
in the name of the Christ
a Mary who has sat at Jesus’ feet
who abolished the sacred
and is quietly aglow
by conferring a sacredness on everything.
with the spirit that he has given to her.
Breaking, entering into the broken-ness
inherent in our world,
Such Marys
the toil, the graft, the heart-break.
inevitably NSMs
And finally giving,
breath music
embodying the fact of faith
into a world which has forgotten to sing.
that everything is resurrectable,
La’s orchestra in McCall Smith’s novel
is a lowly amateur thing
and forgiveness.’
based in a Suffolk village,
but which actually outplays the massive cosmic events
Thank you for the music,
that are going on around it,
to quote that great Father of the Church, Abba!
the Second World war,
Simply thank you for all the music
the Cold War,
you bring
the threat of nuclear annihilation.
to the Church and the world
‘Absurdly, irrationally,
La believed that music could make a difference
Thank you for showing the human face
to the temper of the world.
of love and forgiveness,
She did not investigate this belief,
which is no less than the face of Christ.
test it to see whether it made sense;
Whatever is true,
she simply believed it,
whatever is noble,
and so she chose music that expressed order and healing.
whatever is right,
This was the antithesis of the anger and fear
whatever is pure,
that could unleash missiles.
whatever is lovely,
This was music showing the face of love,
whatever is admirable,
if anything is excellent or praiseworthy,
think about such things.
Thank you for being such things.