St. John’s Cathedral, Hong Kong Island

Let me begin by thanking Archbishop Andrew and his fellow bishops for their invitation to preach this morning at this Chrism Mass. It is truly an honour to be with you. And perhaps the most important thing to say at the start of this homily is a huge “thank you” to you, as clergy and ministers in Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui. Ministry is tough, demanding and exhausting.  It is also inspiring, rewarding and exciting. But I know, as you do, that it is costly: personally, to your families and friendships, and to our lives.

So, whether you are a curate or a bishop, a vicar or a chaplain, a deacon or a priest, I begin today with gratitude. I begin with thanks for your faithfulness, fortitude, resilience, resolve, care, compassion and cheerfulness. Ministry is not easy, and never was. And this morning we gather not only to renew our commitment to the One who stooped to serve and wash his disciples’ feet. We gather in gratitude for each other, and the common call we share to follow Christ, no matter what.  We gather around the Jesus who came to gather us all, and loved us enough to make his home amongst us. We gather as a church, as God will gather us all in love.

So, a question: what’s in a name? Our gospel reading for this Chrism Mass gives us Jesus talking about the Messiah, the Christ, from the prophet Isaiah.  But those who heard Jesus speak already have their doubts.  For verse 22 says,

All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked [verse 22].

To put this in context, Jesus is in attendance at a first-century synagogue where he and others would be singing the Psalms, reciting the Shema, rehearsing the Benedictions, reading from the Torah and the Prophets, followed by some teaching and a final blessing. I think it is fair to say that “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” is erring on the side of a very short homily.  Has Jesus nothing else to say? Who on earth does he think he is?

The answer lies in what we find in Luke, who has constructed a composite of Isaiah 61 and 58. So it would not have been read directly from the scroll. But this is not just any Sabbath service.  Luke’s theological point is that this is when Jesus announces that the Messianic era has come.  

But let me return to names. How did you get your name, and how did you choose the name for your children [if you have any]? Emma and I chose biblical names for our sons…Benjamin and Joseph. Neither is a family name. We chose the names because our wider family shortens them, and ‘Ben’ and ‘Joe’ seemed fine. By the way, Ben has the initials BCP…so clearly the child of Anglican clergy.

But names are interesting for other reasons. They go in and out of fashion, and they reveal interesting things about our society and culture. John is a sturdy name in almost any culture. But in America in 2023, there were only 414 boys given the name Donald. The magazine The Economist has been analysing names in Britain and America for nearly 150 years. What we learn from this history might surprise you.

In 2024, the most popular names for girls are associated with beauty or fame.  For boys, names associated with intelligence or cleverness are declining, and names associated with strength and power are on the rise. Names associated with religion, or biblical names, are relatively constant. In the UK, the most popular name for a boy is now Mohammed. Names associated with virtue, love and character show the steepest decline.

The Economist thinks that the names in vogue reflect social values. Parents are anxious about wealth, and so fame and beauty feel like the easiest paths to later wealth and fortune. Unique names also give children an edge. Maybe calling your child Sorrel, Saffron or Samphire means your progeny stands out from the rest of the crowd made up of John, Anne, Peter or Sarah. Names are faddish.

Like the rest of us, Jesus did not choose his own name. It was chosen for him. It means The Lord is Salvation. Joshua is the nearest common English name to Jesus. And the name Christ, though it is really a title and not a name, means Messiah, or Anointed One. The One designated by God to save.

So, here is Jesus, on this day, with his name, saying to us, I am the one named The Lord is Salvation, and also Messiah, or Anointed One. No wonder the reaction from the congregation is “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”.

The Sufi poet Rumi wrote: “God’s truth is an ocean and orthodoxy is a boat.” So let me tell you something true today, as clergy. This is the ocean.  Your name is Jesus too. Your name is also The Lord is Salvation. And you are also ordained and set aside and marked to be an anointed one.

Everything that unfolds here in this account from Luke points us to the person of Jesus, for Luke is clear that he is the fulfilment of God’s promises for the poor, imprisoned, blind and oppressed. “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” And what does that mean for us? We cannot spiritualise this call, our ministry, the Church’s ministry, in which we are engaged. Today, on this of all days, we remember that we serve real people, in real-life situations.

Our flesh meets flesh. Our flesh feeds off Christ’s flesh. His ministry is for the benefit of the physically and socially excluded, the poor and the lame, the prisoner and the scorned. Our ministry, in the name of Christ, is about setting people free, released in the power of the Spirit so that the structures of the life around us can begin to reflect the reign of God among us.

These oils of Chrism and Unction are the sacramental signs of this call. They signify that we all have a responsibility to minster to the marginalised. The oils signify God’s desire that all be set free and made whole. Yet I hope we see that this is also about our being set free, released from the prison of “churchiness” or anything else that holds you captive, to be more fully who God calls you to be. I’m speaking here not just of who you are clergy, but first and foremost of who we are as human beings.

Yet perhaps we sometimes despair of the Ark of Salvation? Can my personal priestly calling really stand a chance when the church is in such a state of disrepair? I think of this prayer written by Jeffrey John about 25 years ago…

Lord, do something about your Church

It is so awful, it is hard not to feel ashamed of belonging to it

Most of the time it seems to be all the things you condemned.

Hierarchical, conventional, judgmental, hypocritical.

Respectable, comfortable, moralising, compromising.

Clinging to its privileges and worldly securities

And when not positively objectionable merely absurd.

Lord, we need you to overturn the tables.

Judge us and cleanse us.

Challenge and change us.

Break and remake us.

Help us to be what you called us to be.

Help us to embody you here on earth.

Help us to make you real down here and so feed your people bread instead of stones.

And start with me. Amen.

So, what do you know and what have you seen that has persuaded you to keep following Jesus and serving as an ordained leader in His Church? You could have quit at any point along the way. What keeps you on this path, choosing to live out your vocation every day? Remember. God spoke to you, and speaks to you still, as you go about ministry: feed my sheep.

Jesus’ vision of the Messianic hope, the year of God’s favour for the poor, the prisoner, the blind and the oppressed, is rooted in communion with God who is an Ocean of Love. Swim in it, be immersed in it. This is our first duty as a Christian, layperson, deacon, priest, bishop, for the sake of God’s people. You and I need to be set free to serve the one who came to serve.

Let me close with a word about this past year. I daresay that there have been times when we’ve all felt at our wit’s end, when we’ve lost heart, felt a failure. There are surely other times when we’ve felt the opposite…strong, clear, confident – and everything in between. But no matter where we are on the spectrum of “success,” “fruitfulness,” or “failure” in ministry, we are earthen vessels. So that it may be clear to everyone that the power we proclaim belongs to God, and does not come from us.

I pray that you remember God thanks and blesses you for following and serving Him in the call to ministry. I pray that you remember his power is there for you. You can trust it and abide in Jesus’ love for you and your calling. You can turn to Scripture to feed your souls, and allow Jesus to meet you there, so that you might live the gospel – the good news – that Jesus proclaims in his life, witness and ministry. May it be that “today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing”.

Amen.