In our gospel reading [Mk. 9:38 et seq.], au unknown person acting in Jesus' name is "casting out demons."(In modern language, he was relieving mental and emotional suffering). The disciples have their knickers in a twist because the man is not one of them, not a certified member of the apostolic college. Jesus attacks their criticism, saying "whoever isn't against us is for us." We don't know the historicity of this episode; when Matthew picks up a decade later he changes it; he has Jesus say just the opposite, "whoever isn't for me is against me." No matter, we don't look to Scripture as historical but as theological material and we focus on the message.
I find some really solid messages here. First, we are not presume that we know what God is doing, nor why nor with whom. That is not our province. Second, we must not be elitist or exclusive. We must avoid us v. them scenarios. Not to say that we should not stand by our convictions, but we can do some without judgmentalism towards others. As Christians we aren't called to be right. We are called to be faithful. I recently received an invitation to a clergy-appreciation event at a retirement community where I offer regular services and minister to several people. I was shocked to learn that some residents asked the management not to invite me (or the Roman priest who also serves) as they don't consider us Christians. They need to read this passage and some history books.
Another message that the passage conveys to me is the value of ecumenism. First, Christian ecumenism which allows us to learn from persons of various traditions and to be more tolerant. I serve in an ecumenical body with a gentleman who was a lifetime pastor in an exclusivist type of tradition, and I was delighted when he announced recently that he has left denomination for a more open and progressive one. Second, broader ecumenism can also be wonderful. The teaching which we called the Golden Rule is the philosophical basis for all the worlds great religions. I have come to know, respect, and learn from, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist and other faith traditions.
In our Hebrew pericope [Esther 7, portions] we engage a wonderful book which was written in the fifth century B.C.E., and the text was enlarged and finalized in the second. There are only three books of the Bible starring women, the other two being Ruth and Judith. In Esther, persons following the traditional religion and values of the Persian Empire have decided that Jews are guilty of being different and need to be annihilated. Showing amazing chutzpah, Esther, learning of a planned pogrom, enters the King's court, reveals the plot and saves herself and her people. The book teaches several good points. First, people of faith, faced with an Empire and its culture hostile to their values (as we are today) need not withdraw, but become involved in the culture and try to better it. Second, people of faith can and should honour what is good in the prevailing culture. And, finally, people of faith should cooperate with the system when they can do so with violating the principles of their tradition. There is good stuff here about being responsible, yet faithful, in a hostile environment.
Let me close with Edwin Markham's poem "Outwitted"
He drew a circle that shut me out
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But love and I had the wit to win.
We drew a circle that took him in.
Sunday, September 30, 2018
Monday, September 24, 2018
Saint Matthew, Patron
In the Fifties, the flagship parish of Tulsa, Trinity, in a paroxysm of evangelical fervour, founded four mission churches in its environs: St. Matthew, St. Mark, St. Luke, and St. John. Located on the four points of the compass, all these are still extant, though St. Mark and another congregation were later merged to become St. Aidan's.
In the three great traditions of Christ's One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church -- Roman, Orthodox, and Anglican -- it is customary to place each new congregation under the protection of a Saint for whom it is named. Thus, Saint Matthew, tax agent of the first century, is our Patron. He is an interesting character. As a Jew who collected taxes for the occupying enemy, the Roman Empire, he was despised by co-religionists, who shunned the traitorous tax collector, and were aware that most were con-artists who charged for their fee whatever the market would bear. A pious Jew would not even marry into a family that contained a single tax collector. Jesus rejected that kind of harsh judgmentalism; indeed one of his most powerful stories is about a proud Pharisee whose judgmental prayer was rejected even as God honoured the prayer of the very tax agent he criticised, when the tax man prayed, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner." Jesus liked to turn things upside down.
We see that in today's pericope [Mt. 9: 9-13] depicting the call of Matthew. He is in his tax booth where goods going out of Palestine were charged a toll (a rate set by Rome but then augmented by any amount the tax agent could get away with adding on). Jesus says "Follow me," Matthew does immediately follow. Then later the new recruit throws a dinner party for Jesus at which Pharisees bitch and moan because Jesus and his disciples are eating and drinking with people like Matthew and other outcasts.
After the Resurrection, Matthew was an effective evangelist in Judaea, then travelled east and was martyred. That is why our liturgical colour today is red. The gospel later named in his honour is truly Jewish-Christian and its Jewish provenance is seen in the emphasis of deeds over words, and especially a person's religious obligations to neighbours, family, even enemies. And the capstone of the Matthaean gospel is the Sermon on the Mount, which contains many things to do, not one doctrine or dogma to profess.
Matthew's life teaches us the importance of discernment and then bold action in response, (Be sure you are right, then go ahead, as Abraham Lincoln said). When Matthew read who Jesus was, he was all in, forever. His life also teaches us the importance of perseverance; his ministry was rich and full, continuing to the end of his life.
Saint Matthew, teach us to read the signs of the times, to respond to God's call on our lives, and to live out that response forever. And, to aid us in fulfilling our mission, Saint Matthew, pray for us.
In the three great traditions of Christ's One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church -- Roman, Orthodox, and Anglican -- it is customary to place each new congregation under the protection of a Saint for whom it is named. Thus, Saint Matthew, tax agent of the first century, is our Patron. He is an interesting character. As a Jew who collected taxes for the occupying enemy, the Roman Empire, he was despised by co-religionists, who shunned the traitorous tax collector, and were aware that most were con-artists who charged for their fee whatever the market would bear. A pious Jew would not even marry into a family that contained a single tax collector. Jesus rejected that kind of harsh judgmentalism; indeed one of his most powerful stories is about a proud Pharisee whose judgmental prayer was rejected even as God honoured the prayer of the very tax agent he criticised, when the tax man prayed, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner." Jesus liked to turn things upside down.
We see that in today's pericope [Mt. 9: 9-13] depicting the call of Matthew. He is in his tax booth where goods going out of Palestine were charged a toll (a rate set by Rome but then augmented by any amount the tax agent could get away with adding on). Jesus says "Follow me," Matthew does immediately follow. Then later the new recruit throws a dinner party for Jesus at which Pharisees bitch and moan because Jesus and his disciples are eating and drinking with people like Matthew and other outcasts.
After the Resurrection, Matthew was an effective evangelist in Judaea, then travelled east and was martyred. That is why our liturgical colour today is red. The gospel later named in his honour is truly Jewish-Christian and its Jewish provenance is seen in the emphasis of deeds over words, and especially a person's religious obligations to neighbours, family, even enemies. And the capstone of the Matthaean gospel is the Sermon on the Mount, which contains many things to do, not one doctrine or dogma to profess.
Matthew's life teaches us the importance of discernment and then bold action in response, (Be sure you are right, then go ahead, as Abraham Lincoln said). When Matthew read who Jesus was, he was all in, forever. His life also teaches us the importance of perseverance; his ministry was rich and full, continuing to the end of his life.
Saint Matthew, teach us to read the signs of the times, to respond to God's call on our lives, and to live out that response forever. And, to aid us in fulfilling our mission, Saint Matthew, pray for us.
Sunday, September 16, 2018
Pentecost XVII: New-fangled Messiah
Mark is the earliest canonical gospel and it does not have a flattering portrait of Jesus' disciples. They are an ignorant and hard-hearted lot. In Chapter 4, they debate who Jesus might be. They are clueless. In Chapter 6, they mistake him for a ghost. They're hopeless. But for us who are readers, reality sets in from the very first sentence of the gospel: Jesus is "the Messiah, the Son of God."
In today's pericope [Mk. 8: 27-38] Jesus calls the question and Peter actually gets the answer correct, "You are the Messiah." So far, so good. But then Jesus tells the disciples not to tell anyone. (In the Markan gospel, his true identity is to be kept secret until the resurrection). More importantly, Jesus now pivots to explain that he is re-defining messiahship! He will not be the expected and glorious military leader who heads up a violent revolution against the Roman Empire, re-establishes Jewish statehood, and brings in God's earthly kingdom by magic. On the contrary, this new-fangled Messiah will suffer.
Suffer? That is a shocking notion, that the one we awaited should be a suffering servant instead. And suffer he shall. Let me make a theological statement about that. He will not suffer because suffering builds character and endurance (suffering often just makes people weaker, and bitter). He will not suffer because his angry, unforgiving Father demands to be appeased through bloody sacrifice. No, Jesus is going to suffer because it is the natural consequence of a life lived fully in conformance to God's will. He will reject bad social and religious norms, opposed imperial power and the values of the Empire. He will lift up the marginalized, the unclean, the forgotten, teaching that God equally loves all his children and never gives up on any of us.. That kind of social action can get a person killed -- and it will.
The question for us is not "do we profess?' but "do we practice?" Do we live Jesus' life and take those same risks that Jesus took for the sake of God's inbreaking Reign?
In answering the interrogative "Who do people say I am?," many folks today acknowledge Jesus a prophet, a religious leader. Many others, like the disciples, mistake him for a ghost with unlimited knowledge and powers, not a fully-human being magnificently radiating the love of God. But Jesus wants to be our leader and master, not our favorite philosopher, nor a godlet disguised as a human. Jesus wants to be our Lord and Savior, not our mascot. That requires surrender to the faithful and dangerous God-life which is our mission and is the only life worth living anyway.
In today's pericope [Mk. 8: 27-38] Jesus calls the question and Peter actually gets the answer correct, "You are the Messiah." So far, so good. But then Jesus tells the disciples not to tell anyone. (In the Markan gospel, his true identity is to be kept secret until the resurrection). More importantly, Jesus now pivots to explain that he is re-defining messiahship! He will not be the expected and glorious military leader who heads up a violent revolution against the Roman Empire, re-establishes Jewish statehood, and brings in God's earthly kingdom by magic. On the contrary, this new-fangled Messiah will suffer.
Suffer? That is a shocking notion, that the one we awaited should be a suffering servant instead. And suffer he shall. Let me make a theological statement about that. He will not suffer because suffering builds character and endurance (suffering often just makes people weaker, and bitter). He will not suffer because his angry, unforgiving Father demands to be appeased through bloody sacrifice. No, Jesus is going to suffer because it is the natural consequence of a life lived fully in conformance to God's will. He will reject bad social and religious norms, opposed imperial power and the values of the Empire. He will lift up the marginalized, the unclean, the forgotten, teaching that God equally loves all his children and never gives up on any of us.. That kind of social action can get a person killed -- and it will.
The question for us is not "do we profess?' but "do we practice?" Do we live Jesus' life and take those same risks that Jesus took for the sake of God's inbreaking Reign?
In answering the interrogative "Who do people say I am?," many folks today acknowledge Jesus a prophet, a religious leader. Many others, like the disciples, mistake him for a ghost with unlimited knowledge and powers, not a fully-human being magnificently radiating the love of God. But Jesus wants to be our leader and master, not our favorite philosopher, nor a godlet disguised as a human. Jesus wants to be our Lord and Savior, not our mascot. That requires surrender to the faithful and dangerous God-life which is our mission and is the only life worth living anyway.
Tuesday, September 4, 2018
St. Paul Jones, Bishop
Born in Pennsylvania, Paul Jones was graduated from Yale University and then took his theological decree at Episcopal Theological Seminary in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His first posting was to a congregation in Logan, Utah. That must have been a bit of a cultural shock. In the event, Father Jones was named Archdeacon of the Missionary District [proto-diocese] of Utah. He excelled at the growing of congregations and diocesan institutions and, in 1914, was elected Bishop of Utah. He was strongly opposed to the First World War, which was born out of entangled alliances and had no moral purpose, and that opposition soon led to trouble.
In 1917, Bishop Jones attended a meeting of the Fellowship of Reconciliation in Los Angeles and, in a speech, made the statement that "war is un-Christian." He was immediately attacked in the press, especially with banner headlines in Utah. In the ensuing furor, the House of Bishops appointed a committee to investigate the situation. The committee conducted a trial, found fault with Jones's statement and called on him to resign, explicitly rejecting his contention that he had a right to object to the war on grounds of faith and conscience. In the spring of 1918, Bishop Jones resigned. From then on, he continued to lead a strong peace movement. Under his leadership, the Fellowship of Reconciliation became international and accomplished much. In 1940, he was the Socialist Party candidate for governor of Ohio. Bishop Jones died on 4 September, 1941.
The churchly crisis Bishop Jones faced is a reminder of how, even today, there are Christians and religious leaders who refuse to allow their religion to interfere with their politics! Leaders for whom values instilled by Jesus Christ are to be openly rejected, especially his clear teachings on peace and non-violence. When Christianity becomes inconvenient, just redefine it to conform to the world's agendas! It is a sad fact of life that Christianity does not convert cultures; cultures find ways to convert Christianity.
I am pleased to say that the House of Bishops, meeting in 1962, declared "the validity of the calling of the conscientious objector and the pacifist, and the duty of the Church fully to minister to him, and its obligation to see that we live in a society in which the dictates of his conscience are respected."
Bishop Jones wrote, "Where I serve the Church is of small importance, so long as I can make my life count in the cause of Christ." So it must be for us.
In 1917, Bishop Jones attended a meeting of the Fellowship of Reconciliation in Los Angeles and, in a speech, made the statement that "war is un-Christian." He was immediately attacked in the press, especially with banner headlines in Utah. In the ensuing furor, the House of Bishops appointed a committee to investigate the situation. The committee conducted a trial, found fault with Jones's statement and called on him to resign, explicitly rejecting his contention that he had a right to object to the war on grounds of faith and conscience. In the spring of 1918, Bishop Jones resigned. From then on, he continued to lead a strong peace movement. Under his leadership, the Fellowship of Reconciliation became international and accomplished much. In 1940, he was the Socialist Party candidate for governor of Ohio. Bishop Jones died on 4 September, 1941.
The churchly crisis Bishop Jones faced is a reminder of how, even today, there are Christians and religious leaders who refuse to allow their religion to interfere with their politics! Leaders for whom values instilled by Jesus Christ are to be openly rejected, especially his clear teachings on peace and non-violence. When Christianity becomes inconvenient, just redefine it to conform to the world's agendas! It is a sad fact of life that Christianity does not convert cultures; cultures find ways to convert Christianity.
I am pleased to say that the House of Bishops, meeting in 1962, declared "the validity of the calling of the conscientious objector and the pacifist, and the duty of the Church fully to minister to him, and its obligation to see that we live in a society in which the dictates of his conscience are respected."
Bishop Jones wrote, "Where I serve the Church is of small importance, so long as I can make my life count in the cause of Christ." So it must be for us.
Sunday, August 26, 2018
Pentecost XIV: Communion
In today's gospel reading [John 6: 56-69] Jesus delivers a sermon about his real presence in the Eucharist. His language is unmistakably clear, "My flesh is real food, my blood is real drink." And he repeats the assertion many times. The result is that many of his followers bail out, because they won't believe it. That has always been something of a mystery to me. If the Spirit of God infuses all of creation, why is it so hard for some today to believe that the same Spirit infuses and transforms bread and wine at Mass? That protestants can blow off this clear biblical teaching is more of a mystery to me than the mystery of real presence itself.
I read recently of the experience of a theologian who served as a tour guide in the Middle East, enjoying the privilege of bringing visitors to sites where Jesus lived, taught, aggravated so many Establishment types, was crucified, buried, and resurrected. One time, at a stop in Cana -- the town noted for the water-to-wine story -- tourists were sampling locally-made wine when one lady asked him whether that wine was from the time of Jesus. The theologian replied, yes, because now is the time of Jesus. He is risen, he is alive and in charge of the Christian enterprise. What a poignant and meaningful observation. For many protestants communion, when it happens, seems to be about the consumption of bread and grape juice while thinking about the events of two thousand years ago. In our tradition, Communion is about the real presence of Christ under the appearances of bread and wine, received at every Mass, every Sunday and holy day. It is spiritual food for our life journey.
But we need to recognize that the eucharistic sacrament is also sacramentum unitatis, as we have always held, the sacrament of unity. We live in a society which is continuously more polarized, in political and social matters, divided along lines of race, gender, sexual orientation, and other human- made barriers to relationship. Jesus warns us that unless we find unity among ourselves, we will not find unity with God. Judgmentalism and exclusionary policies in many Christian traditions make a bad situation worse. That model is avoided assiduously by Episcopalians, as our part of being faithful to Jesus who taught us about God's equal and unconditional love for all.
In the late 1940's, a young Afro-American woman in Ohio, who had been raised Baptist, visited an Episcopal parish, loved it, took instructions, and became an Episcopalian. Soon she began to date a young man, whose background was also that of a Black Baptist. She invited him to Mass at her church. He told her that he knew that most of the members of her church were white and, in that segregated society, he was frankly afraid to participate in race-mixing. She assured him that there was nothing to fear, and he gave in and attended with her. He enjoyed the liturgy, but when it was time for Communion and she took him to the rail, he said that he was terrified. The priest came through with the hosts and administered those, "The Body of Our Lord Jesus Christ which was given for thee preserve thy body and soul unto everlasting life." The couple received the consecrated bread together. Then the chalice was brought, and the young man was astonished that all partook of the same cup. "The Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ which was shed for thee preserve thy body and soul unto everlasting life." All those who came forward for Communion knelt together as equals, as brothers and sisters whose relationship transcends human categories. The young couple received the consecrated wine together. The boyfriend said that his amazement was based on knowing that he could not drink water from the same public fountain as whites or eat in the same restaurant, yet here in the Episcopal Church all were equal in Christ! He was so impressed that he soon took instruction and was confirmed in the Church.
The couple went to on to have a successful marriage and life. In 1953, they had a son, Michael Curry, who is now the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church -- a great blessing in his national ministry. I am so delighted that we can preserve our Catholic Tradition in an open fashion. Here you don't have to "qualify" for Communion by allegiance to the Pope, or by affirming all Eastern Orthodox doctrines and being confessed. You just have to be a baptised child of God, that's all.
I read recently of the experience of a theologian who served as a tour guide in the Middle East, enjoying the privilege of bringing visitors to sites where Jesus lived, taught, aggravated so many Establishment types, was crucified, buried, and resurrected. One time, at a stop in Cana -- the town noted for the water-to-wine story -- tourists were sampling locally-made wine when one lady asked him whether that wine was from the time of Jesus. The theologian replied, yes, because now is the time of Jesus. He is risen, he is alive and in charge of the Christian enterprise. What a poignant and meaningful observation. For many protestants communion, when it happens, seems to be about the consumption of bread and grape juice while thinking about the events of two thousand years ago. In our tradition, Communion is about the real presence of Christ under the appearances of bread and wine, received at every Mass, every Sunday and holy day. It is spiritual food for our life journey.
But we need to recognize that the eucharistic sacrament is also sacramentum unitatis, as we have always held, the sacrament of unity. We live in a society which is continuously more polarized, in political and social matters, divided along lines of race, gender, sexual orientation, and other human- made barriers to relationship. Jesus warns us that unless we find unity among ourselves, we will not find unity with God. Judgmentalism and exclusionary policies in many Christian traditions make a bad situation worse. That model is avoided assiduously by Episcopalians, as our part of being faithful to Jesus who taught us about God's equal and unconditional love for all.
In the late 1940's, a young Afro-American woman in Ohio, who had been raised Baptist, visited an Episcopal parish, loved it, took instructions, and became an Episcopalian. Soon she began to date a young man, whose background was also that of a Black Baptist. She invited him to Mass at her church. He told her that he knew that most of the members of her church were white and, in that segregated society, he was frankly afraid to participate in race-mixing. She assured him that there was nothing to fear, and he gave in and attended with her. He enjoyed the liturgy, but when it was time for Communion and she took him to the rail, he said that he was terrified. The priest came through with the hosts and administered those, "The Body of Our Lord Jesus Christ which was given for thee preserve thy body and soul unto everlasting life." The couple received the consecrated bread together. Then the chalice was brought, and the young man was astonished that all partook of the same cup. "The Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ which was shed for thee preserve thy body and soul unto everlasting life." All those who came forward for Communion knelt together as equals, as brothers and sisters whose relationship transcends human categories. The young couple received the consecrated wine together. The boyfriend said that his amazement was based on knowing that he could not drink water from the same public fountain as whites or eat in the same restaurant, yet here in the Episcopal Church all were equal in Christ! He was so impressed that he soon took instruction and was confirmed in the Church.
The couple went to on to have a successful marriage and life. In 1953, they had a son, Michael Curry, who is now the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church -- a great blessing in his national ministry. I am so delighted that we can preserve our Catholic Tradition in an open fashion. Here you don't have to "qualify" for Communion by allegiance to the Pope, or by affirming all Eastern Orthodox doctrines and being confessed. You just have to be a baptised child of God, that's all.
Sunday, August 19, 2018
Assumption of Mary
Today the Feast of Saint Mary the Virgin, commonly called the Assumption, reflects the ancient belief in the Church that, from the last moment of life, Our Lady was reunited with her Son in heaven. This conviction is shared by us Anglicans and Roman Catholics. Mary's Assumption constitutes a beautiful sign of our own resurrection to glory and is the logical conclusion to her remarkable life. Let's take a look at the life of Mary, "Model Disciple."
First, Mary is a model of faith; she demonstrated radical trust in God all her life, no wavering. Second, she is also a model of obedience; her 'yes' made out salvation possible. She is also a wonderful model of prayer, pondering the things of God in her sacred heart. She is a model of devotion, responsible for Jesus' religious education; serving him during his earthly ministry, experiencing her Son on the cross and in resurrection; patiently waiting with the disciples of the coming of the Spirit on her and them at Pentecost, the birthday of the Church; then on to Ephesus with Saint John to be a special light to that congregation until the end of her earthly life. Now in heavenly reality, she is our heavenly prayer partner.
We don't know exactly what resurrection is like, but we can to turn to the analogy used by Jesus as well as Saint Paul, that of the seed -- something dies so something more wonderful and beautiful can emerge. Where Mary is, and how Mary is, we shall be. She has shown us the way.
First, Mary is a model of faith; she demonstrated radical trust in God all her life, no wavering. Second, she is also a model of obedience; her 'yes' made out salvation possible. She is also a wonderful model of prayer, pondering the things of God in her sacred heart. She is a model of devotion, responsible for Jesus' religious education; serving him during his earthly ministry, experiencing her Son on the cross and in resurrection; patiently waiting with the disciples of the coming of the Spirit on her and them at Pentecost, the birthday of the Church; then on to Ephesus with Saint John to be a special light to that congregation until the end of her earthly life. Now in heavenly reality, she is our heavenly prayer partner.
We don't know exactly what resurrection is like, but we can to turn to the analogy used by Jesus as well as Saint Paul, that of the seed -- something dies so something more wonderful and beautiful can emerge. Where Mary is, and how Mary is, we shall be. She has shown us the way.
Sunday, August 12, 2018
Pentecost XII: Getting Real about Religion
In 1963, on a whim before I was involved in the Civil Rights Movement, I decided to take a road trip with some beach time. Having limited resources, I took a Greyhound bus from Tennessee to Florida. The bus drove southwards through Mississippi before hanging a left to go to Pensacola. On the way south, I watched uniformed police officers standing out in the fields, training dogs to attack young men in white shirts and ties -- the uniform of freedom riders. Then, during a stopover in Jackson, I -- also wearing a white shirt and tie -- went into the coffee shop next door and could not get served. I repeatedly requested a cup of coffee and was uniformly ignored, so I returned to bus, went on to the beach for a couple of days, then homewards again.
Those experiences made a strong impression and led to my later involvement in promoting civil rights. I am still an ACLU member and proud of it. During the trip I kept thinking that many of the leaders of the Movement were Christian clergy, like Doctor King and Episcopal Presiding Bishop John Hines. Yet, my parent's denomination taught that people of colour were inferior and quoted bible verses to prove that God wanted blacks to be a servant class for Caucasians. I heard one of our pastors actually use the description, "sub-human." I realized that Christianity could be approached, as Doctor King did, with focus on Jesus' teachings or it could be co-opted to justify prejudices and ignorance or to satisfy a political, economic, or social agenda.
That is still the case. If you don't believe that the Faith is manipulated by cons motivated by a desire for self-aggrandizement and accumulation of great wealth, just tune in to the entertainment-religion television channels. Or listen to the messages of a variety of eccentric Christian cults who are obsessed with everything but the issues important to Jesus like promoting freedom, justice, and equality. Like opposing violence in all forms and accumulation of wealth. In recent polls we find that the fastest growing religious classification in America is "no thanks." Persons whose religious preference is: none. When you see what passes for Christianity, it is not surprising.
We all know of people whose personal code of conduct is irreproachable but have not come to faith. They do so for humanitarian reasons outside the context of religion and community. They may style themselves as "spiritual, not religious." We do not judge them or question what God may be doing in their lives. A priest friend of mine, formerly a protestant minister, was fired as youth pastor of his Baptist congregation after he told a youth group that Mahatma Gandhi (whose life has remarkable parallels to the life of Jesus) could be in heaven!
Alongside those who have rejected Christianity are two categories of Church members. First, we know of many who have deep trust in God and mature relationship to God in Christ. They show remarkable strength and resilience when dark times pass through their lives. They bounce back. They experience the Church as their prime resource, where they are fed by "the Word faithfully preached and the Sacraments duly administered." We might analogize that they make regular deposits into their "heavenly bank account." On the other hand, there are many tangential members: Sometimes we speak of C&E's (Christmas and Easter Catholics) or ACE's (Ash Wednesday, Christmas, and Easter folks.) They are often devastated by a crisis and get angry with God because, when they need to make a withdrawal from that heavenly account, it is empty or overdrawn. We get out of our spiritual life pretty much what we put into it.
As Episcopalians, we strive to follow genuine Christianity, the actual teachings of Christ, and to be fed by Word and Sacrament to do just that. Let us then recommit to our mission of building God's Kingdom, a world where God's will is done in earth as in heaven. Then victims of phony religion, doubters, and half-hearted people may see the real thing shining in our lives and want that life for themselves.
Those experiences made a strong impression and led to my later involvement in promoting civil rights. I am still an ACLU member and proud of it. During the trip I kept thinking that many of the leaders of the Movement were Christian clergy, like Doctor King and Episcopal Presiding Bishop John Hines. Yet, my parent's denomination taught that people of colour were inferior and quoted bible verses to prove that God wanted blacks to be a servant class for Caucasians. I heard one of our pastors actually use the description, "sub-human." I realized that Christianity could be approached, as Doctor King did, with focus on Jesus' teachings or it could be co-opted to justify prejudices and ignorance or to satisfy a political, economic, or social agenda.
That is still the case. If you don't believe that the Faith is manipulated by cons motivated by a desire for self-aggrandizement and accumulation of great wealth, just tune in to the entertainment-religion television channels. Or listen to the messages of a variety of eccentric Christian cults who are obsessed with everything but the issues important to Jesus like promoting freedom, justice, and equality. Like opposing violence in all forms and accumulation of wealth. In recent polls we find that the fastest growing religious classification in America is "no thanks." Persons whose religious preference is: none. When you see what passes for Christianity, it is not surprising.
We all know of people whose personal code of conduct is irreproachable but have not come to faith. They do so for humanitarian reasons outside the context of religion and community. They may style themselves as "spiritual, not religious." We do not judge them or question what God may be doing in their lives. A priest friend of mine, formerly a protestant minister, was fired as youth pastor of his Baptist congregation after he told a youth group that Mahatma Gandhi (whose life has remarkable parallels to the life of Jesus) could be in heaven!
Alongside those who have rejected Christianity are two categories of Church members. First, we know of many who have deep trust in God and mature relationship to God in Christ. They show remarkable strength and resilience when dark times pass through their lives. They bounce back. They experience the Church as their prime resource, where they are fed by "the Word faithfully preached and the Sacraments duly administered." We might analogize that they make regular deposits into their "heavenly bank account." On the other hand, there are many tangential members: Sometimes we speak of C&E's (Christmas and Easter Catholics) or ACE's (Ash Wednesday, Christmas, and Easter folks.) They are often devastated by a crisis and get angry with God because, when they need to make a withdrawal from that heavenly account, it is empty or overdrawn. We get out of our spiritual life pretty much what we put into it.
As Episcopalians, we strive to follow genuine Christianity, the actual teachings of Christ, and to be fed by Word and Sacrament to do just that. Let us then recommit to our mission of building God's Kingdom, a world where God's will is done in earth as in heaven. Then victims of phony religion, doubters, and half-hearted people may see the real thing shining in our lives and want that life for themselves.
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