Robert Smyth reflects on his deacon year
On 28 August Robert will be ordained presbyter to serve as Diocesan Curate with special responsibility for the Parish of Annalong.
Sometimes, as pastor–teachers we can easily forget that teaching is a reciprocal process. In my deacon year I have been reminded of the motto of Stranmillis College, “As we teach we learn.” I considered it a great privilege to preach and to lead the mid–week Bible study through the book of Exodus. We learned much together and I was thrilled to see the group grow deeper in faith and increase numerically.
But to teach or pastor effectively in a parish one must first get alongside people, get to know them, find out what it is they know before leading then on into what they do not know. Whether in someone’s home or a hospital visit, sharing a meal or having a coffee, in fact, in all contexts, it was clear that the Word of God did the work of God through the Spirit of God. Therefore, reminding people of the promises, assurances and truth of God’s Word, brings true encouragement, peace and hope.
Our journey through Exodus showed us this. God fulfils the promise He makes with Abraham in Genesis 12 by graciously choosing a people for Himself, intervening in their sufferings and delivering them from bondage and slavery by providing a mediator in the form of a man called Moses. This showed us that God ultimately provides the perfect mediator in the God–man, The Lord Jesus Christ, who makes Himself the sacrifice and who spills His own blood so that we may be forgiven and come into God’s presence today. Exodus is therefore a prefiguring of the story of the gospel. The fact that Christ is revealed in all the scriptures has made me realise the necessity to preach and teach the whole counsel of God and that the Bible tells one story about one Saviour.