The Greatest Lesson I Ever Learned - Rev. Geoffrey Fletcher

Geoffrey Fletcher

After war service as a flying instructor in the R.A.A.F. Geoffrey Fletcher was ordained, served in several parishes, and was for ten years the Secretary of the Church Missionary Society.

He set up the Department of Evangelism of the Anglican Church in Sydney and launched Life Ministries in Australia (now called Campus Crusade for Christ Australia) through a Church-based lay training evangelism programme.

He was a foundation member of both the Australian and International Boards of World Vision and was for a number of years the Chairman of the Australian Board.

He is Chairman of the Council of the Mount Tamborine Christian Convention and has travelled extensively for over thirty years as both a speaker and international conference member.

He enjoys living at Maleny on the hinterland of the Sunshine Coast of Queensland, Australia.

BUCKSHEESH

I learnt a great lesson from two Africans - one a simple village mother- the other one of the first East Africans to be made a bishop in the Anglican Church.

There had been a very moving grand service in the Anglican Cathedral of Kampala in Uganda. After the service which had seen the consecration of Erica Sabiti as bishop many of the Africans had walked some miles out of town to the home of old Mondo who was a leading light among the revival brethren. There the brethren together with a number of missionaries and other locals rejoiced that one of their number was so honoured. In response the new bishop told a story about a woman shopping in India who encountered for the first time the custom of "bucksheesh" - the giving of a little gift by the shopkeeper. She had bought some expensive cloth and had received a specially prepared box of matches by which to remember the occasion. She was so taken by this custom that she departed excited about the box of matches and forgot to pick up the expensive cloth. The bishop applied this by remarking" that God had given us his only Son - a priceless gift - for me" said the bishop, "he has thrown in a box of matches 'bucksheesh' and made me a bishop." This really tickled the fancy of the lay brothers and sisters who, one by one, made light of things by agreeing that being a bishop was just a "box of matches". It almost got to the point of what the Scripture refers to as "making light of dignitaries". Then one dear old lady in very simple village garb and needing to be interpreted before many of the Africans understood her, and of course twice so I knew what she was saying, stunned us all! She said "Our dear brother has been made a bishop and we are all thrilled with that - he says it is only a box of matches - but I am asking God that with this box of matches he will light fires of love for the Lord Jesus all over our country of Uganda."
It was so moving that after swallowing a lump in your throat either tears or laughter would seem to be equally appropriate. However a quiet reverent silence prevailed and one of the number led all in prayer to that end.

For me the lesson was clear. But it is further clarified by a letter from another African bishop - Yohana Omari. He was invited to six months deputation in Australia and New Zealand with Festo Kivengere. As he planned he wrote to me as the Secretary of the Church Missionary Society. "Geoffrey" he said, “I come to your country only as a donkey praying that my precious Lord Jesus will ride through the streets of your city on my back." And that is precisely what happened!

I can remember a very grand occasion in Albury when a liturgical Episcopal welcome had been organized. Midst all the grandeur and ceremony the bishop shared a simple testimony as to how as a lad he was nurtured in a faith that denied the deity of Christ. The fact that the Bible was forbidden aroused his interest and he read of Jesus' claim to be the Way, the Truth and the Life. He related how he had responded and then challenged all at that service to personally consider their own response to Christ's claim. After the service, in a large group gathered around the bishop, the wife of a church leader, with tears coursing down her cheeks, asked that he consider sending missionaries to Australia. "Oh," said the bishop, "you don't need missionaries from us, we heard the gospel from you." "True," said the weeping woman, "but we have become so confused with ceremony and tradition that we have forgotten the simplicity we have in Jesus."

From the woman in Uganda and the bishop in Albury I learnt that when the focus is on Jesus himself the messenger is not as important as the message. In fact when I thought that the message from God was conveyed to the great prophet Balaam by a donkey I felt at home in the ministry so long as I allowed the Spirit of God to keep me focussed on the Lord Jesus.