Episode Transcript
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Whenever we gather as Christians,
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we gather as part of the one Church of Jesus Christ.
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As parts of His body
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into which each of us has been baptised
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and as which we have together been entrusted with His mission.
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One of the main focuses for a bishop's ministry
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is to strengthen and make visible our participation
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in that broader communion of the Church.
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Thereby building up the way we together belong to the body of Christ.
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From my earliest years in the seminary,
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I've been conscious of the gifts of the Church of Brisbane
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that have been shared with the broader Australian Church.
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This is a vibrant community of faith
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that lives out its commitment to carrying on in our own time
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the mission that Jesus entrusted to us.
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The second reading and the gospel that we have heard,
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which are the ones that happen to be set for today in the lectionary,
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both speak of Christian love.
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That radical love is a profound challenge
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to our human tendency,
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to think first of our own immediate needs and inclinations.
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It calls us instead to look beyond ourselves to those
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who we are least likely to notice.
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As Christians, we're called to strive to make
Jesus' radical commitment real in our world today,
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which is never easy.
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But is even more important
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at this present time when the trend in so many communities
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is to turn inwards
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and withdraw from concern for the broader human family.
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A study earlier this year found that only 19% of Australians
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feel hopeful about the next few years.
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Interestingly, that study also found
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that the three most significant factors in improving people's sense of hope
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are religious faith, connection to others,
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and being involved in shared action.
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It's in those three dimensions of our Christian identity
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that we are called to show the radical love we see in Jesus
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and to carry on His mission of service in the world
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that is evoked in my Episcopal motto,
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"I have come that they may have life and have it to the full".
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Leaders matter of course,
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but it is only together as a community
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that we can live out the mission that has been entrusted to us.
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God's word continues to be proclaimed amongst us.
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And as we heard in the first reading,
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God promises that his word will not return
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without succeeding in what it was sent to do,
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bringing life and nourishment in our world.
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I look forward to serving the Church of Brisbane
as we develop our response to God's word
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in our place and our time.
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Taking the next steps on our journey as God's people
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by living out Jesus' example of radical love
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and placing our hope
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in what God continues to do amongst us.
