By Anthony Thiselton

Sermon at the Consecration of Alistair Magowan as Bishop of Ludlow and Alan Winton as Bishop of Thetford, St Paul's Cathedral, London
29 September 2009

“Truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending & descending upon the Son of Man” (John 1: 51).On this St Michael and All Angel’s Day the main lesson of our set Gospel reading is clear and simple: Heaven stands open, and through Jesus Christ the reality of heaven and the presence and of God becomes accessible for everyday life.

God’s Unseen World made Accessible

In his conversation with Nathaniel, Jesus uses the singular "you".But then "you" becomes plural: “You (plural) will see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man”. This declaration is addressed to all of us; to the whole Church.

The reference to “Angels ascending and descending” recalls Jacob’s dream, when he saw a ladder between earth and heaven. It is depicted in Genesis 28.The open heaven is more than a rift in the sky! It is a symbol to convey that God and the reality of the unseen world have come near. God may seem beyond all thought and imagination. Yet he becomes thinkable, conceivable, expressible, and present through Christ.Christ, by his life and death, opens the path to God's presence.

On this St. Michael and All Angels day, we recall the reality of this unseen world, and the Old Testament tradition of God’s heavenly hosts. The angels universally appear at our Lord’s final Advent and at the Last Judgment. Scripture, the Church Fathers, the mediaeval Church, and many Reformers offer universal testimony to the company of angels with Christ at the last Day. Yet how much more energy, time, attention, and careers, do we give to earthly things and to this life only, rather than to what will be our state when we face God on the Last Day, not to mention the witness of angels? Augustine, Chrysostom, and many Church Fathers speak of this. Jesus said, according to John 6: 27, “Do not work for the food which perishes, but for what endures for eternal life”.

Yet the angels not only feature in the drama of the Last Day; they are God's messengers and ministers from this unseen, but real, world. This brings us to our second main theme of Ministry.

Ministry and the Special Office of Bishop

John places our text about Christ as the door between heaven and earth, because it provides the framework for understanding Christ and his ministry. Ministry is serving God and others by showing the path to God. 2 Corinthians suggests a marvellous analogy: Apostles are to be transparent windows through which others see Christ and God. What greater privilege can there be than leading people to God? In 1 Thessalonians Paul calls his converts “our crown and glory” (2: 20), not in the sense of personal reward, but as the crown of his life, when he meets with Christ at the last day. Yes, in 1 and 2 Thessalonians we see the cost of persecution and affliction; but we also see profound joy and satisfaction in the work. Yes, in Galatians Paul speaks of being crucified with Christ; but he also speaks of Christ’s living within him.People seem to forget that one response to God’s call to a career is: what will we see to have been most worth while, at the Last Day, from the perspective of eternity? Christ opened the way to God; ministers, including bishops, lead people into it. But if all ministers are called to do this, does it leave any room for the special role of bishops?

What emerges from 1 Timothy 3: 1-7 and Titus 1: 6-9, and from several bodies appointed recently to reflect on the role of bishops, is a hope for these nine qualities: 1, a guardian of doctrine and apostolic tradition; 2, an apt teacher; 3, a focus of unity; 4, a spokesman for the church's mission; 5, a capable manager; 6, someone who avoids unnecessary conflict; 7, someone respected by outsiders; 8, not a grasping or over-ambitious person; 9, an approachable or hospitable person. But all nine expectations may be burdensome. The danger of aiming at all these different things is a blurred target.

Finding a Unified Focus in Christ

The danger is distraction and fragmentation.Bishops say that they are often plagued by multiple demands and busyness.Our text reminds us that pointing the way to God through Christ, providing a bridge between earth and heaven, between God and people, sums up their main task, as reflected in Christ himself and his ministry.The challenge is to provide these nine qualities, while never for one moment losing sight of the basic one in our gospel passage. The New Testament gives us another image to clarify this. In Col. 1: 17 Paul asserts: “In Christ all things cohere”, or “are held together”.Without Christ everything would fly apart. Christ holds together all the varied demands of life. He is the focal point that gives a coherent meaning to all the demands and expectations that impose themselves on us. For which of these nine qualities is not found in Christ?He is guardian, teacher, head of the Church, sent to perform God’s mission, a peace-lover, and approachable, or today we might say socially at ease with all races and classes, and with both genders.

A Man Torn in Two

We must explore the ladder image a little further. John, Paul and Hebrews see Jesus as standing between God and the world: as Mediator. In Exodus 32, we read, Israel sinned, and Moses implored God to show mercy. He spoke to them on God’s behalf. Finally he returned to the Lord, and spoke on the people’s behalf to God: in v. 32, he says remarkably, “If you will forgive their sin – But if not, blot me out of the book that you have written”.In effect: “If I cannot successfully plead for my people, then take away my life and identity.” Here is a man torn in two, in love and solidarity with the people; also in love and solidarity with God. Should not this be true of all of us, and of every minister and bishop?

But Moses is not alone. In Rom. 9: 2-3, Paul writes of his sorrow and anguish for Israel; he is in love and solidarity with them. But he is also in love and solidarity with God. So he writes: “I could wish that I were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people.”Moses and Paul were torn in two: deeply one with God; and deeply one with the people. Bishops stand as intercessors for presbyters or priests and people; but equally as mediator of God’s requirements for priests and people. This is part of the cost of ministry. Jesus Christ is the key example on which all other ministry is based. Who else was and is uniquely one with humans while one with God, so that in his life and death he is torn in two - to die for us, and to bring us to God?

So we return to John 1 and Jacob’s ladder. Augustine says, the angels in John 1 and Gen. 28 are “good preachers, preaching Christ”.Calvin declares, “It is Christ alone who connects heaven and earth”. Milton writes, “The stairs were such as whereon Jacob saw Angels … waking he cried: ‘This is the Gate of Heav’n’” (Paradise Lost, 3: 510). Of all the nine qualities demanded and expected of a bishop, can any be more basic,more Christ-like than this, to reflect his ministry: to show the way through Christ from earth to God?He may be man torn in two; but he is also the open way and a transparent window onto God in Christ.

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The Revd Canon Professor Anthony Thistelton DD is Professor of Christian Theology at the University of Nottingham and a former Principal of St John's College, Durham