The Very Reverend Nicholas Frayling, Dean - Chichester Cathedral

CHICHESTER CATHEDRALA SERMON PREACHED BY THE DEAN AT MATTINSON 30 JUNE 2013 - 5 AFTER TRINITYThe Reading from Deuteronomy, which formed our Old Testament Lesson,spoke of the relationship between need, communal or individual – and the dutyof the person of faith to be alert to it:‘Open your hand willingly enough to meet the need, whatever it maybe…Give liberally, be ungrudging when you do so, for on this accountthe Lord God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake.’These verses are often used to commend the practice of generous financialgiving in sermons on Christian Stewardship, and that’s very appropriate; butthe writer is not only on about money. He is speaking of the need to placeourselves at the service of others, to which we would want surely to add, asservants of God’s Kingdom as it was described and demonstrated by Jesus.I have had the privilege of sharing much of the past week with 16 men andwomen preparing for Ordination as Deacons, which took place here yesterday.They included, Alison Green, our new Cathedral Curate, whom we welcomewarmly today. The role of service to the community is especially laid on aDeacon, but it is open to all God’s people.Even in a place like this, where we find all manner of tasks to occupy some600 volunteers in the service of the Cathedral, people say, ‘Oh, I don’t haveanything to offer. I don’t have the right skills.’Well, I heard from a priest/teacher friend a wonderful story. She is the head ofEnglish and Drama in a huge multi-cultural London comprehensive school. Itis housed in an award-winning glass building from which the children have tobe sent home in summer because it’s too hot, and in winter because it’s toocold…Anyway, she was in Knightsbridge on a Saturday morning when she wasstartled to see one of her pupils – a low-achieving boy whose first languagewas not English – surrounded by an admiring throng outside Harrods. He wasjuggling with extraordinary dexterity, and receiving large sums of money in tipsfrom shoppers and tourists.When my friend spoke to him during an interval, and congratulated him on hisperformance, he said:‘Oh, I’ve just taken over Floyd’s patch ’cos he’s away. He usually playsthe Irish Fiddle here on Saturdays!’1

Hidden talents… Nobody at the school had the slightest idea that Ali was ajuggler or Floyd a Fiddler, because they didn’t seem to fit the schoolenvironment. It was not the right time or place for their talents.This is, in a sense, a curious story to tell in commending the offering of ourtalents for the work of God’s Kingdom; but of course, all our interests andtalents are implanted by God and of at least equal interest to Him, as well asbeing a part of his plan.Lay people, the worshipping backbone of the Church, have great opportunitiesto get alongside people – neighbours, colleagues, friends, associates; to valuethem, as we know God does, and to affirm their gifts and talents as youenlarge and employ your own.The opportunities for volunteering in this City are very considerable. Already,members of the Cathedral congregation are a mainstay of the ChichesterFoodbank, but there is also Stonepillow, Citizens Advice, a huge number ofcharity shops and all sorts of other more directly personal ways of serving thecommunity and helping to support individuals in various categories of need.Just last month a gentleman told me his life had been turned round by theexperience of volunteering, and I suspect that is not unusual.I am not suggesting that you all become jugglers or fiddlers outside the Houseof Fraser on a Saturday morning; but, as the hymn writer says, you could‘improve your talent with due care’ and think – carefully and prayerfully - how itmight be placed at the service of God’s people and of his Kingdom, in howeverunlikely a way.________________2