Written for "The Living Church"
I am disturbed with what our Prayer Book calls our unhappy divisions. In the past, there have been differences in opinion within our Episcopal Family, but we have managed to reconcile them through discussion and awareness that we share a mutual responsibility.
The American Episcopal Church has weathered many a storm since it separated from the Church of England in 1776. Some matters that have caused anguish since then include saying prayers for the king, slavery, the mixing of water and wine, processional crosses, eucharistic vestments, prayer book revision (starting in the late 1800’s) marriage of divorced persons, ordination of women to the priesthood and the episcopate, and most recently the consecration of an openly “gay” bishop as approved by General Convention. What I perceive to be most scandalous is the tragic and unnecessary break- up of our family when the world disparately needs the example of unity in the spirit of love, understanding, and reconciliation.
Archbishop William Temple, during the Second World War, taught that what is really important is not our ability to agree, but our capacity to love.
Jesus' prayed that we all may be one. Should that not be our prayer as well? We need not agree on all issues, but we are called by Jesus to love one another.
Separating over issues is not an act of love - - at least as I understand the love expressed by Paul in I Corinthians 13.
Canon Carey
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
In my own personal spiritual development, one of the greatest changes I have noticed is a growing comfort with mystery-- not knowing the right answer because it is unknowable or because I simply don't yet know it. I have come to trust in God's love and compassion so that I am confident that whatever the answer, the "truth", turns out to be, it will be merciful as God is merciful. This is quite a change for me: in the 6th grade, under the inspiration of a gifted teacher, I became motivated to learn everything there was to know, unconsciously assuming everything was knowable.
Concurrently, with this growing comfort with mystery, I have had a realization that some of the people that I disagreed with most strongly in my life were also among those most dear to me-- most loved, most honored-- despite our disagreements which continue to this day. Therefore, I do not think that separation over differences is better than continued co-existence and dialogue about them.
The fundemental principle that should be followed is "Elizabethan Fudge". The current thinking in the church in North America iappears to be that you are either with us or against us on so many issues, including leadership, just like a political party. We forget that we are just christians. What happened to restraint. The leadership should be acceptable to all and not representing pressure groups. The apointment of controversial bishops is the obvious example. If that was the case, OK, we may be a little bland, but even the traditionalists could go with the flow. The other option is to become yet another curious Protestant Sect. Bishop Beisner seems to understand what is required by "Elizabethan Fudge" Maybe his installation tomorrow will the turning point for the national church.
As has been written before .... Dear lord and father of mankind forgive our foolish ways, reclothe us in our rightfull mind, in purer lives thy service find, in deeper reverence praise.
Post a Comment