It was a great privilege last weekend to be in our link diocese of Västerås in Sweden as the guest of Bishop Mikael Mogren, joining in their ordination services.
On the evening before the ordination, their tradition is to host a formal dinner for the candidates, along with members of their families and other guests. During the evening, the candidates introduce their guests and share something of their stories, reflecting on how those they have invited have helped and shaped them on their journey to this moment in their lives. It was a deeply moving occasion, as we heard stories of joy and peace alongside times of pain and hardship, and of partnerships of mutual support and encouragement that had been formed. Most moving of all was the sense of how these personal stories were interwoven with the story of God, who in Jesus Christ comes to share our lives and calls us to live.
At the dinner, we also spoke of the challenges facing our fractured society, and of the fears many people hold for the future.
In the ordination the next morning, Bishop Mikael brought these stories together, reminding those being ordained — and indeed all of us present — of the call of God to look outward, especially towards the forgotten places and people of our world. He encouraged us to share what we have come to know for ourselves, so that all may have the opportunity to know the love of the one who has made us, who calls us, who is faithful, and who sends us out as agents of reconciliation.
What was particularly striking for me, however, was not that the stories I heard were different, or that the service of ordination was different, but rather how similar they were to the stories of those being sponsored for ordination in the Church of England, and to the services of ordination that will be held here the weekend after next. This should perhaps be no surprise, but it was a helpful reminder that the God we meet in Jesus Christ is the God of all people, of all cultures, and of all nations.
We do indeed live in a world deeply fractured by borders, language barriers, and cultural divides, and this is a word we need to hear. The Scriptures remind us that we all share a single, sovereign Creator who looks beyond the borders of nations and cultures and offers his boundless grace, love, and presence to every human heart without distinction (Romans 10:12; Acts 17:26; Romans 3:29).
This weekend, I have been reminded not only that the Church, despite our divisions, is one family, but also of the gift this is and the calling it places upon us: to work for peace and unity across the families of the nations and within our divided world. I was strengthened by the reminder that we are but a part of God’s global Church, and encouraged in the good news we have to share with all — of the grace and love of God, who comes with healing for the peoples of our world.
I return looking forward to our own ordinations, praying for our ordinands and giving thanks for them and for their stories — stories that will be shared here in the coming days. But these stories do more than encourage us; they challenge us. For the God who is at work in them is also at work in us. We cannot remain simply observers, rather each of us is called to share in God’s mission: to step beyond what is familiar, to seek out those who are overlooked, and to become agents of his reconciliation in a fractured world. The question is not whether God is calling, but whether we are willing to respond.
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