I was given this excellent book by Fr Chrichton, my last vicar in Southgate. I think it helped (but was not essential) that I had read “Four Gospels : One Jesus” (by the same author and considered to be a modern classic) before reading this book.
‘Four Ministries’ draws on the theme of the earlier (1994) text, using the four symbols now associated with the evangelists to describe a different area of mission and ministry. As in the earlier book, in which Richard Burridge makes clear that the four portraits of Jesus offered by each gospel help to provide a different picture of the same man (in the same way that at Chartwell, different photographs on the walls in different rooms show different aspects of the life of Churchill), so this text, divided into sections examining each gospel, describe different aspects of the one mission and ministry of the church.
In the section on John’s gospel, which focuses on prayer, Burridge explains that the gospel writer’s “sacramental approach to the whole of life encourage us to.....look for the signs and symbols of the presence of Jesus in everything we say and do, and everyone we meet.”
Helping to bridge the visible and invisible is what the author has achieved in this book, which is based on a series of reflections he gave to candidates at a pre-ordination retreat. It is a highly practical text rooted in scripture and illustrated with examples drawn from the author’s long experience as a teacher, Lay Reader and ordained priest serving as a university chaplain, parish priest and Dean of Kings College London - which included assisting Desmond Tutu in celebrating the Eucharist on the train from London to Exeter - a route I know well!
Each part of the book begins with a reflection on what the gospel teaches about a particular aspect of ministry (Matthew’s teaching and preaching ministry, Luke’s pastoral ministry, Mark’s suffering way of the cross and John’s praying the divine life). It then moves on to consider where aspects of each ministry can be found in the text of the current Church of England Selection Criteria for Ordained Ministry and (in the next chapter) in the Ordination Liturgy; these texts are both provided as an appendix. Richard Burridge explains that just as God created the world with words it is important to analyse, reflect and pray using the words in both the selection criteria and ordination liturgy as a way of understanding ministry and mission. The following chapters move on to focus on how these ministries may find expression in our own lives and, finally, how we might sustain them.
It is clear from the way he is able to apply his observations to ‘real life’ that the author has been thinking and writing about the four ‘portraits’ of each gospel for many years.
In Matthew, we are told, Jesus says all the important things on top of mountains. Matthew’s carefully crafted blocks of teaching place the Kingdom structurally and theologically at the centre. We are asked to consider how we might make the Kingdom central to our ministry.
In Luke, Jesus preaches at a human level (not on a mountain) walking slowly alongside the poor and the outcast (a fact we are reminded is revolutionary in view of the tradition in the Hebrew Scriptures that wealth is a blessing from God) sharing the burdens they bear, like the Ox, the symbol for Luke’s account of the life of Jesus. Richard Burridge explains that the gospels are written in the genre of ancient biography, which place speeches in the context of a person’s deeds and actions. It is not enough therefore to preach the gospel - the gospel must be lived. Deacons are called to a life of visible self-giving; broken into its constituent parts, the Greek for deacon means ‘through’ ‘dust’ - implying that being a deacon means getting down and dirty. The pastoral ministry evidenced in Luke makes “significant and perhaps impossible demands on us” - but the gospel also provides glimpses as to how Jesus sustained this ministry. Before every significant event of the life of Jesus, Luke adds the words “as he was praying.”
Richard Burridge describes Mark (symbolised by the lion) as a symphony in three acts. Likely to have been written during the 60’s when Emperor Nero was burning Christians in Rome, Burridge explains; “Sometimes when I’m reading Mark, I can almost see through his pages and see the flames or feel the heat and destruction which lie just below the surface.”
The whole narrative of the gospel is dominated by the shadow of the cross and the suffering of Jesus. The second section is, as in a symphony, slower than the first and is bookended by the healing of two blind men. The first can only partially see initially - the second (Bartimaeus) gains his sight immediately; through this section, Burridge explains, Jesus reveals who he is and what he has come to do.
In the selection criteria, candidates are called to follow Jesus obediently, to be open to change and challenge - to think more flexibly. Richard Burridge suggests that we must aim to be like Jesus and the disciples - patient like Jesus, with those who struggle to understand the Good News (and flexible in the way we communicate it), but also obedient, like the disciples, who despite their lack of comprehension continued to follow Jesus, even when Jesus compares them to Satan (as in Peter’s case)!
Mark is a fast-paced gospel which takes its toll - we come across Jesus asleep, tired and drained. Richard Burridge suggests this is not surprising when you consider his first “crazy” experience of ministry (Mark 1.16-34) all occurs in the same day. Jesus goes out to a deserted place to pray and recharge - an important lesson for all involved in the ministry of the church.
Mark’s gospel story shows that the ministry of Jesus results in conflict with his family, friends and the authorities and (unlike the other accounts) dying alone on the cross; abandoned. It offers no easy answers to this desolation. In the selection criteria, Richard Burridge explains that candidates are asked to display a robust faith that has been able to wrestle with doubt and disappointment and are able to discern God at work in times of joy and sorrow. “If you have not dealt with your own pains how can you minister to anyone else’s?”
We are told that John’s gospel has been described as a text in which “a child can paddle and an elephant can swim deep.” It’s emphasis is on prayer - and how through prayer we can share in the life of God.
Whereas Mark starts with Jesus fully grown, Matthew describes his infancy, Luke describes the birth of his fore-runner, John the Baptist, John goes right back to the “beginning.” This prologue introduces Johns key theme - the divine mission which lies at the heart of Christianity. “Like an eagle, Jesus swoops down to gather under his wings the children of God and bring them back to the Father’s heart.”
Richard Burridge explains that the selection criteria requires candidates to articulate a call to ordained ministry as a priest which is both personally owned and confirmed by others. John’s gospel shows Jesus has a clear sense of vocation - he refers to God as the ‘one who sent me’ over twenty times.
In John, rather than withdrawing to pray to the Father, Jesus addresses God with confidence as others listen to him - such as after the raising of Lazarus (11.41-42). Richard Burridge suggests that there are lessons here for the way we intercede for those in our own parishes, using prayer lists or cycles to communicate who we are praying for and when.
Whilst there are few references to specific disciples (who are usually referred to by John as “the twelve”) it is in this gospel that we find some of the most well known individual characters described such as Nathaniel “can anything good come out of Nazareth”? or Nicodemus or the Samaritan woman at the well. John’s account of Mary, Martha and Lazarus includes many anecdotes revealing how well he knows them. Richard Burridge suggests it is helpful to keep this in mind if we feel we are being asked to conform to “the system” - John shows us that there is no one size fits all or off the peg Christian.
But, he says, this gospel also shows that although individuality is important, we are never alone. “Know thyself” isn’t a singular activity - John says Jesus “knew all people and needed no one to testify about anyone; for he himself knew what was in everyone.” (2.24-25). This leads the author to suggest different approaches to prayer and to spiritual refreshment, including study days, retreats and spiritual direction to suit our individual personality types and interests.
This is a book which helps to bring us closer to the mission, ministry and the life of Jesus and relate this to our own lives in a practical way. It helps to make visible the invisible work of the Holy Spirit. In concluding, Richard Burridge reminds us that whatever our gifts, whether in teaching and preaching or pastoral care, all must be present in some ways in our ministry - as all four portraits make up the gospel. He also reminds us that our gifts have been given by God not for our own benefit but for the benefit of others - it is never “my” ministry but the ministry of the whole church:
“The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.” (Ephesians 4.11-13)
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