Consecration of the Venerable Riah Abu el-Assal

In the name of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit: The One God. Amen.

I would like to take as my text a quote from Archbishop Oscar Romero, martyr for the Faith, June 19, 1977. Archbishop Romero said,

"I speak a word of encouragement for the Lord's light will always brighten these days. New shepherds will come but always the same Gospel."

What a perfect scenario. The feast of the Epiphany and a new shepherd is about to be set apart. What a privilege to be in Jerusalem to celebrate the consecration of a new Bishop for this great Diocese and to hear the familiar passages of Scripture from Ephesians and Matthew. What more could a preacher ask for? I cannot think of anything. For today we have come to celebrate Our Lord's Epiphany, an historic day in the life and witness of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem. Indeed today is a momentous day in the life of the Anglican Communion.

The words from the epistle to the Ephesians leap off the page to me. In Chapter 3, verse 5 -

"...the mystery of Christ .... as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit, .... how the Gentiles are [now] fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel."

The mystery is revealed. It is a revelation for all people, no matter who you are; what you are; where you are from; what you do or anything else that we do to separate human beings from each other. St. Paul in these words makes it absolutely clear. The Gospel is for everyone. In our very midst today the Gospel is fulfilled. Today we see the reality of an inclusive international Church. We come to consecrate and set apart Riah, Priest, Archdeacon, friend, family member, and brother in Christ as a bishop in the Church of God.

No-one can lay hold to an exclusive Gospel. Today we celebrate in the consecration of Riah the realisation that Anglicanism continues to open its doors more and more readily, more willingly and with more ability to all peoples. Not just for people from one culture, not just for people from one nation, not just for people from one commonwealth.

But we are here to do more than recall the Epiphany and celebrate our inclusiveness. We are here to give thanks and to consecrate a person to a special order of ministry. An order of ministry that, as the American Prayer Book says, is the witness to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Riah, you are called to be a witness to the Resurrection in the City of the Resurrection. You have the greatest privilege to be a bishop in the City of the Empty Tomb. The Bishop's chief obligation, his chief role, his chief mission is to be the unwavering, unequivocal, uncompromising witness to Jesus' resurrection.

The various prayer books of our Anglican Communion emphasise different aspects of a bishop's ministry. Indeed according to the New Zealand Prayer Book one of the things bishops are to do is "to heal and reconcile, uphold justice and strive for peace". They are to be Christ's shepherds.

This is a land of shepherds. The shepherds in this land are not like the shepherds depicted in the gothic stained glass windows in the west; instead the shepherd carries a bag of stones and when a sheep gets away from the pack, the shepherd carefully aims a stone at the heel of the sheep to keep them in line. Riah, be a shepherd. Prepare your bag of stones. Use your stones to heal and reconcile.

The new Australian Prayer Book calls for the ordaining of Bishops, Priests and Deacons to serve the Apostolic Church and to believe the Catholic faith; the Bishop is to preserve the purity of the Gospel, to be a good example to his flock and to be hospitable. Your whole ministry has been that of hospitality. You have opened your home to friends and strangers, to guests and sojourners. You have always welcomed people.

The Canadian Consecration rite speaks of sharing in the leadership of the Church throughout the world. Your heritage is the faith of patriarchs, prophets, apostles and martyrs. It also calls on the bishop to enlighten the minds and stir up the conscience of people.

The South African Prayer Book prayer of consecration says "Give him humility, that he may use his authority to heal, not to hurt; to build up, not to destroy."

We who witness this consecration and join in this celebration must recommit ourselves to allow all bishops, but especially Riah, to experience the sense of care, support and joy that we can give to our bishops as members of the body of Christ. We, as the clergy and the laity of the church have a responsibility to care and to support our bishops. We need to embrace our bishops in love. Bishops often take the most battering from clergy and laity who find a need to express disharmony, disunity or disenchantment over a particular issue or particular event. There is no more lonely job in the world than being a bishop. Although we cannot shield Riah from that mean-spiritedness, I would say to each of us, including myself, remember a bishop's unique gift to us, their unique ministry. We are given the opportunity to help our bishop exercise that ministry in love, joy and unity. The bishop in any diocese is a focus of unity, the focus of the resurrection.

As Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, I can tell you that we face crises in the Anglican Communion where the bishops live in life threatening situations, and in dire circumstances. Places like Rwanda or the Sudan immediately come to mind as places today where bishops are separated from their people. Therefore they cannot function in the way Church order demands. I ask you to pray for all of our brothers and sisters who find themselves in these situations.

For many years this diocese has been one of the crisis spots in the Anglican Communion. For those of us who lived through the Occupation and the Intifada, we know how important the prophetic voice of the Church in this land has been. We all know the significant role that President Bishop Kafity has played in the Councils of the Anglican Communion so that grass root Anglicans around the world would know the plight of the Church here. Therefore, there was special rejoicing this Christmas when Bethlehem once again became free, when Suha and Zawha Arafat were able to light a candle in the Church of the Nativity; when Yasser Arafat was able to join the Anglican Church on the roof of the Holy Nativity to sing Christmas carols.

But the peace process in this land is only beginning. There are major issues still facing every person in this region and the Church must speak clearly on the critical issues of justice and peace for the Palestinians, for the Israelis, for the Jordanians, for the Syrians, for the Lebanese, and for the Egyptians. The Church must play its active part. You, Riah, will be called upon not only to speak on behalf of your people, but for all voiceless people of the world, be they Sudanese, Rwandan, Burmese or whomever.

From what we have heard from the various Prayer Books used around the Anglican Communion, is what Riah is being called to take upon himself today, that is, one more dimension in his life. He is being taken by God's hand. We have to remember the Gospel which tells us that Jesus came among us as one who serves. Who is greatest in the Kingdom? The one who sets the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who sets the table, but I come among you as the one who serves. So a bishop must take on the same Christ-like role. Frequently Riah will be given the seat of honour at the table, but never forget Riah that your real place is not at the table: instead you are the one called to wash the feet of those whom you serve.

Today in our liturgy you will be receiving symbols of your office: the mitre, the crosier, the ring. Indeed when a bishop puts on those symbols there is an aura of authority of being the greatest. However, the reality is that when you put on those garments, you are putting on what one bishop called the "leastness", that being least in the Kingdom of God. You are called to wash the feet of those you serve.

At the consecration of Victoria Matthews, the first woman bishop in Canada, Bishop Frank Griswold of Chicago, a former ten week course member at St. George's College, said the following,

"In the Catholic tradition of Anglicanism the office of bishop is the focus of ordained ministry. All ministry, with or without rings, hats and walking sticks, all ministry is derived from baptism. So, it is to all of us that this liturgy speaks today."

The exercise of the office of Bishop is not an exercise of usefulness and productivity. The office of Bishop is not an exercise of accomplishing goals and programs. Bishop Griswold in his sermon also made a reflection on something that is vivid in our thoughts. As we complete our Christmas cycle, as we look to the sense of fulfilling and owning our vocation, what better example do we have than Mary?

Mary, that young girl from Nazareth who lived just meters away from you Riah, is unique in God's economy. Mary, who we particularly venerate at this time of the year, is unique as she accepted God's call to be what God wanted her to be. She literally lived into that reality in her own being, that lowly handmaiden, as we hear in the Magnificat. She becomes great. Mary's whole life was stretched and transformed by the difficulties she experienced as being the carrier of "the word made flesh", the God-bearer, the Theotokos.

In the same way Riah, as you take on your new ministry as Bishop Coadjutor of this Diocese, sharing in the ministry of Bishop Kafity until his retirement, you will enter into that same sense of carrying the sorrows and joys, as well as the pains and delights, which face the people of God in this place.

As Simeon predicted to Mary "a sword will pierce your own soul also that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed." Mary's life, Mary's vocation, Mary's ministry culminates at the foot of the Cross again in this place, in this very city. The Cross still stands high. The Crucified One needs people like you, Riah, to stand at the foot of the Cross and to understand the grief, the pain and the sorrow which inflicts not only the Saviour of the world, but us all.

So, like Mary, it is absolutely imperative that Riah's "Yes" to God, is heard today. His public affirmation today is that he is ready to take this yoke of office. This means Riah's life will be changed.

In the same way our ministry comes alive today in that great hope. However, do not be surprised when God moves in mysterious ways, ways in which we do not want God to move; but God moves. God is going to move you Riah in ways you never dreamed possible. Although becoming a bishop is a transforming and earth shaking experience, Riah always be yourself. Riah, be who you are, and what you are, for in God's eyes, that is what has brought you to this holy place today. You are here because God has chosen you. God has chosen you in your strengths. God has chosen you in your weaknesses. Do not worry when your weaknesses show, people will be very eager to point them out to you, so do not be surprised. For God will use your weaknesses, for it is "then you shall see and be radiant, your heart will thrill and rejoice".

Thanks be to God that God works through our weaknesses. Do not be dejected by your failures. Do not feel rejected when things go wrong. Indeed, God has brought you to this point in your life, in the history of this Church, to be a bishop in the one holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. Be assured of one thing: that as you are consecrated bishop today, the indwelling spirit will be given to you in a special way. God will be with you. God will be in, with and surrounding you in your ministry.

Again, Riah, trust in God's revelation that we have in Jesus Christ, the mystery now made known to all the world as we heard in today's Epistle. You and your predecessors, Najib, Aql, Elias, Faiq and Samir, stand in fulfilment of the Scripture, "as partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel". Stand in awe and wonder like the three wisemen, present your gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Present your gifts which we know are many, present the gift of your person, be that person whom God loves, whom we love. Riah, move forward with strength, do not seek false comfort, but move forward to work for justice, freedom and peace. Open yourself to the breadth and force of the Holy Spirit. Let your heart always be at the centre of what episcopal caring and loving means. Let me share with you a passage from a Brazilian archbishop, Dom Helder Camara. These are costly words and they are not easily lived, but the vision here is your charge today. Speaking of his role as a Bishop, Camara says:

Let no one be scandalised
if I frequent those who are considered unworthy and sinful.
Who is not a sinner?
Who can throw the first stone?
Our Lord,
charged with visiting publicans and eating with sinners,
replied that it is the sick who have need of the doctor.

Let no one be alarmed
if I am seen with compromising and dangerous people,
of the left or the right,
of establishment or opposition,
with reformist or anti-reformist,
revolutionary or anti-revolutionary,
with those of good faith or bad.

Let no one claim to bind me to a group,
so that I should consider that person's friends to be mine
and make my own that person's hostilities.

My door and my heart will be open to everyone,
absolutely everyone.
Christ died for all;
I must exclude no one from dialogue.

To conclude, I offer a prayer for you, Riah. Please stand to hear the words from Alcuin, writing to Ethelhard, Archbishop of Canterbury in the year 800.

Almighty God grant all go well with you.
Be an honour to the Church,
follow Christ's word, ...
Let your hands be open, ...
Christ in your mouth,
Let none come to you and go away sad.

Hope of the poor, and solace to the sad,
Go before God's people to God's realm,
that he who follows you may come to the stars.
Sow living seeds,
words that are quick with life,
that faith may grow in human hearts.
In word and example
let your light shine in the black dark
like the morning star.
Let not the wealth of the world nor its dominion
flatter you into silence as to truth,
Nor king, nor judge, nor your dearest friend
muzzle your lips from righteousness. Amen.

We love you Riah.

In the name of God. Amen.