That We All May Be One

 

The themes of Advent seem to me to get sounded earlier and earlier each year! Which is OK with me since I love the season of Advent above all others, and four weeks is much too short a time to cover all the richness and variety of the season. Certainly in our Readings today we have “semi Advent” themes. In fact, this is kind of an interesting transitional Sunday between the All Saints’ observance and the approaching Advent season!

 

First of all, we had Job’s powerful affirmation of eternal life that even after his “skin has been thus destroyed (by death), then from my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see on my side, and my eyes shall behold, and not another.” (Job 19:26-27). And then we move on to St. Paul’s words to those Thessalonian Christians “beloved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.” (2 Thessalonians 2:13).

 

And, finally, Jesus’ assurance in the Gospel that — even though the mystery of resurrection and the specifics of eternal life are far too complex for us to comprehend fully — we can rest assured that God “is not a God of the dead, but of the living; for all live to him” (Luke 20:38).

 

I don’t know about you, but those are welcome words of good news for me in a time such as this. Good news for those of us living in apocalyptic times: with the continuing insecurities of domestic and foreign terrorism; of a seemingly never-ending war in Iraq; and worrying tensions about escalation in and toward Iran. We see the ravages of nature quite literally in earthquakes, fires and floods – and the crushing realities of poverty at home and abroad which makes some people so much more vulnerable to those natural disasters. Economic uncertainties of a fairly large magnitude.

 

On a less cataclysmic scale, but still important in my life – and those of us who care about ecumenism and church unity – we’re in somewhat of a crisis time in the ecumenical movement today. With our own difficulties in the Anglican Communion, our ecumenical partners are a bit suspicious. We have mixed signals at best coming out of the Vatican as all non-Roman Catholics are reminded by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith that we are, at best, “ecclesial communities” rather than part of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church we confess ourselves to be each Sunday in the Creeds. I wonder what your former Rector, William Reed Huntington — that great ecumenist — would have to say about that!

 

A bright spot in all this is Cardinal Walter Kasper who is the President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity in Rome. He has admitted that we are in a time of transition in the ecumenical movement, perhaps even a time of “crisis.” But has pointed out  that the word “crisis” also means a time of opportunity. It’s like balancing on a knife edge, and we can go either way.

 

Kasper has suggested some attitudes Christians need to have during this crisis or transitional time. We must avoid stereotyping one another or trying to convert one another from one denomination to another. That’s not easy to do with “fellow Christians” like Pat Robertson threatening a Pennsylvania community with the wrath of God for throwing out their school board in a vote against the teaching of so-called “intelligent design,” or the Vatican seeking to purge Roman seminaries of gay students in a misdirected effort to deal with their problems of clergy sexual abuse. But we need to avoid making snide comments or taking cheap shots at one another, even if we do disagree…and have to say we disagree.

 

Next, Kasper says that we need to find new forms and structures for our national and world councils of churches. Indeed, an encouraging development in our time is something called “Christian Churches Together in the USA,” a new expanded ecumenical table including Roman Catholics, Orthodox, historic Protestant churches, Evangelicals and Pentecostals, and those churches which define themselves largely through their Racial or Ethnic identity. A similar effort is underway internationally with something called The Global Forum which just concluded a very successful meeting in Nairobi.

 

And even though some of our bilateral ecumenical dialogues seem to have bogged down a bit, Cardinal Kasper has encouraged us all to hang in there with them. “False irenicism gets us no where in these dialogues, “he points out, and we cannot avoid the tough issues today around ordained ministry…the ministry of bishops…even papal primacy in those discussions. As well as honestly sharing our own internal issues as churches.

 

For there are two forms of ‘ecumenism’ according to Kasper: external ecumenism which is the search for unity between the churches; and internal ecumenism which is the search for unity, renewal and reform within our own churches. For, surely, the more we can renew and reform our own church to conform to the will of Christ – and the more other churches do the same – the closer we will draw to one another!

 

Finally, Walter Kasper speaks of celebrating what he calls “spiritual ecumenism,” remembering that the ecumenical movement for the unity of the church has always been and will always be an impulse and gift of the Holy Spirit.  If the Church is ever to be one, it will not be something we create, but will be a gift and work of the Holy Spirit. So, ecumenically concerned monasteries, movements like Cursillo and Marriage Encounter, healing groups like the Order of St. Luke all will make enormous contributions toward unity if we give them our attention.

 

So, times of crisis can also be times of opportunity!  Certainly that was the case in our Readings from Scripture today: Job’s faith was deepened and enriched through all that he suffered. Paul’s frustration with the Thessalonians does not keep him from giving thanks for them, “beloved by the Lord” because God had chosen them from the beginning. And Luke’s Jesus is actually pretty gentle with the Sadducees, even as he tries to correct their faulty view of the resurrection. That is good news, dear friends. Good news even in the midst of troubling times.

 

I just got back from a National Council of Churches meeting in New Jersey and found good news there as well – with the election of a world renowned ecumenist, Dr. Michael Kinnamon, as our new General Secretary, with the NCC speaking out against genocide from Armenia to Dar Fur, reaffirming our commitment to seeking peace with justice in the Middle East, celebrating the good work of our Special Commission for a Just Rebuilding of the Gulf Coast, working hard to reassure and strengthen our commitment to the Orthodox churches by choosing an Armenian Orthodox Archbishop as President and celebrating his election in St. Vartan’s Armenian Orthodox Cathedral with Evening Prayer that included an ordained woman officiating, an Eastern Orthodox priest delivering the homily, and a Black Methodist pastor leading the prayers.

 

So, times of crisis can be times of opportunity! And I challenge you, in these days, to witness to your family and friends about the security you find in God, even in times of in-security. To speak of what really matters, what is really important, and what is not – in tight economic times. To speak of the peace which will inevitably come, finally, on the heels of war. To speak of the compassion which has been unleashed in the wake of natural disasters. Yes, even to speak of an ecumenical springtime in what feels to many like an ecumenical winter!

 

That was certainly the message of the prophets. That was certainly what Jesus’ proclamation of the Kingdom of God was all about. That was the Gospel, the Good News, Paul was so passionate about preaching. And, I think that is what the ecumenical movement is all about at its very best.

 

For, like Job, we know that our Redeemer liveth! Like Paul , we know that God has chosen us from the beginning! And, like our Savior Jesus Christ, we know that our God is not a God of the dead…but of the living!

      

 

We celebrate today, of course, All Saints’ Sunday, the Sunday after All Saints’ Day. And we have heard powerful readings from the Bible already! “Let us now sing the praises of (the) famous…” says the author of Ecclesiasticus. (Chapter 44) And then we heard about the vision of St. John the Divine (Revelation 7) in which he sees, “…a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands.” Truly, a vision of All the Saints!

But then we come to the Gospel of St. Matthew and his reporting of the famous “Beatitudes” from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Up until this point in his Gospel, Matthew has only given us a summary of Jesus’ teaching (In the 4^th Chapter, the 17^th verse, he simply says: “Repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”). There have also been no miracles stories reported so far because, for Matthew, “words” take precedence over “works.” As the NT scholar Douglas Hare writes in his Commentary on Matthew, “Miracles do not certify teaching; it is the other way round” for St. Matthew. The teaching certifies the miracles!

So, the Sermon on the Mount is the longest, uninterrupted – and carefully structured — speech in Matthew’s Gospel. It’s not a random collection of individual sayings, but a unified discourse with a deliberate structure. Clearly, then, we are supposed to take this sermon seriously! And, I suppose, there have been few texts preached upon more often than the Beatitudes!

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, is – as you know – the spiritual leader of our Anglican Communion. Long before he was appointed to this office, he was a scholar and a teacher. And he still takes refuge from his current “day job” of trying to hold together this fractious Anglican Communion of ours by lecturing all over the world and by writing some absolutely amazing books! His most recent one is entitled “Tokens of Trust” and it’s a very readable introduction to the Christian faith …a commentary, really, on the Nicene Creed.

And in Chapter Three of that book – “A Man for All Seasons” – Rowan says this about the Beatitudes: This “…isn’t so much a list of rules to follow; it just tells us what sort of lives show that God is in charge – lives that are characterized by dependence on God’s goodness, that show forgiveness, single-mindedness, longing for peace and for justice, and patience under attack.”

“People who live like this already belong in the new world: the kingdom is theirs. And, as this ought to make clear, this message is both a very sharply social and political one, and one that will never be captured by political and social reform alone…In terms of the historical world in which Jesus was speaking, all this was something of real and immediate relevance.  The Jews of Jesus’ day were acutely concerned about who was going to be a true member of God’s people…when God’s rule was fully established.”

“The different…groups all had rival solutions.  You could be assured of your belonging if you were obedient to the sacrificial laws and the demands of the priestly class; or if you obeyed the oral law in all its detail; or if you went off to the desert and lived a life of strict ritual purity in community.  What Jesus says cuts across all this…The revolutionary claim that emerges is that Jesus is proposing to redefine what it means to belong to God’s people.” (Tokens, page 59)

Well, dear friends, there are a lot of folks in the Church today who want to tell us what it means to be a “true member of God’s people.” Some think it depends upon obedience to certain laws and demands of ecclesiastical structures.  Some stress conformity to certain constitutions and canons. Others emphasize standards for moral and ethical behavior. All of those things have their place and their own importance – as Jesus would have been the first to acknowledge.

But he had a different definition of what it means to belong to God’s people, to be numbered among “all the saints.” For Jesus, you are blessed if you “know that God is in charge.”

You are among the blessed if you are “poor in spirit” – if you know that you are absolutely dependent on God’s goodness (because you have no goodness of your own).

You are among the blessed if you are “merciful” – and show forgiveness to others (because you know you need forgiveness).

You are among the blessed if you are “pure in heart” – single-minded in your desire to know God and God’s will for your life.

You are among the blessed if you are a “peacemaker” and if you “hunger and thirst after righteousness” – because peace and justice are God’s deepest desire for his people. And,

You are among the blessed if “people revile you and persecute you” because of your faith – because then you are showing the kind of “patience under attack” that Jesus himself showed all the way through his life and ministry to the very end!

So, no matter where you find yourself in the various social and political debates in the Church and in the world today, don’t let anybody except Jesus define you in or out of what it means to be a true member of God’s people. You are a baptized member of the Communion of Saints. You are among those called to show the world “that God is in charge!”  Let us pray:

“Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord:  Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting.” Amen.  

                

  

   

  

      

    

At its recent meeting, the Executive Council of The Episcopal Church received and approved its writing team’s response to the Draft Anglican Covenant the development of which is suggested by the Windsor process. The full text is at

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_91392_ENG_HTM.htm 

I am actually quite pleased with most of it! Not least, I suppose, because it incorporates most of what I submitted to the committee as my personal response and concerns!   See my input below:                

 Responding to the Draft Anglican Covenant   Question:  

 (1) Do you think an Anglican Covenant is necessary and/or will help to strengthen the

interdependent life of the Anglican Communion? Why or why not?

 Depending on the form and substance of such a Covenant, I believe it could be helpful. Just as we have entered into simple covenants ecumenically (the Bonn Agreement, Called to Common Mission, etc.) we should be able to craft one for the Anglican Communion.  

“An Introduction to a Draft Text for an Anglican Covenant”

This part of the report presents an initial theological introduction to the Draft Covenant

which is to follow immediately afterwards. Its focus is on the nature of communion that

we Anglicans share.

(2) How closely does this view of communion accord with your understanding of the

development and vocation of the Anglican Communion?

 The third paragraph of “An Introduction to a Draft Text for an Anglican Covenant” makes adequate reference to Scripture and Tradition but, once again, omits any inclusion of the third leg of the famous Anglican triad – Reason. The Windsor Report was similarly deficient.  

“An Anglican Covenant Draft”

1. Preamble

Section one is the Preamble and sets out the rationale for an Anglican Covenant.

(3) Is this a sufficient rationale for entering into a Covenant? Why or why not?

 I think so and particularly the phrase maintaining “the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”  

2. The Life we Share

Section two seeks to articulate aspects of the faith and order shared by all of the churches

of the Anglican Communion. Note that Items 2-3, affirm the first three points of the

Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral, specifically: the Holy Scriptures, the creeds, and the

sacraments of baptism and Eucharist.

(4) Do these six affirmations adequately describe The Episcopal Church’s understanding

of “common catholicity, apostolicity, and confession of faith”? Why or why not?

 Why not simply use the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral in its entirety for this section?  

(5) The Thirty-nine Articles of Religion and the 1662 Book of Common Prayer (of the

Church of England) are not currently authoritative documents for The Episcopal Church.

Do you think they should be? Why or why not?

 No. Both the 39 Articles and the 1662 BCP reflect perspectives and battles of the 16^th century Reformation and, as such, are not timeless documents. The Articles are in the right place in our Prayer Book: Historical Documents. The drafters may think this is covered by the phrase “…led by the Holy Spirit, it has borne witness to…” but I think this is not clear.  

The Covenant could simply say, “…Christian truth in its historic formularies, the Book of Common Prayer, and the various Ordinals.”

3. Our Commitment to Confession of Faith

Section three posits five specific commitments of each Church in the Anglican

Communion based upon the faith and order described in part 2.

(6) Is each of these commitments clear and understandable with respect to what is being

asked of the member churches and are they consistent with statements and actions made

by the Episcopal Church in the General Convention? Why or why not?

 No, Number 1 is very problematic with developments in our understanding of divorce and remarriage, homosexuality, perhaps even the ordination of women.Number 2 is OK.Number 3 is OK in that includes bishops and synods and “building on our best scholarship”Numbers 4 and 5 are OK. 

4. The Life we Share with Others

Section four outlines some common elements of the Anglican Communion as we seek to

work together in service to God’s mission in the world. Note the vision articulated here

is consistent with that offered by the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Mission

and Evangelism in their report to ACC XIII “A Communion in Mission” and underscores

the “Five Marks of Mission”5 articulated by the Anglican Consultative Council at their

meetings of 1984 and 1990.

 (7) Is the mission vision offered here helpful in advancing a common life of the Anglican

Communion and does this need to be a part of the Draft Covenant? Why or why not?

Yes, I actually think this is very important section on mission. It is the best part of the entire Draft Covenant in my estimation. 

5. Our Unity and Common Life

Section five describes some of the structural aspects of an emerging polity (the

organizing of our common life) of the Anglican Communion. Note the first affirmation

picks up the fourth point of the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral – the historic episcopate.

The second affirmation, involving paragraphs 2-6 of this section, concerns the “mutual

loyalty and service” to which the several churches of the Communion are called and thus

lays out an understanding of the role of four “Instruments of Communion” (the

Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lambeth Conference, the Anglican Consultative Council,

and the Primates Meeting).

(8) Does this section adequately describe your understanding of the history and

respective roles of the “Four Instruments of Communion”? Why or why not?

 No, it does not give attention to the recent development of these “Instruments.”They may be very good, or even essential, but they are still evolving and that needs to be acknowledged.  The description of the Archbishop of Canterbury is OK.The Lambeth Conference is a conference – not an instrument to “guard the faith and unity of the Communion.”The Primates’ Meeting is a meeting. Mutual support and counsel,  yes. Monitoring global developments, fine. But what does it mean to “work in full collaboration in doctrinal, moral and pastoral matters that have Communion-wide implications?” Too much power here in the hands of a few bishops/primates.The Anglican Consultative Council definition is too weak. If any instrument is to be strengthened it should be the ACC.    

6. Unity of the Communion

The churches of the Anglican Communion are mutually responsible and interdependent

but autonomous. To date there has not been an “executive” or “judicial” body for

resolving disagreements or disputes.

 The Draft Covenant proposes a new process by which the Instruments of Communion

can be both supported and utilized when areas of disagreement and/or difficulties

between churches in the Anglican Communion arise.

 Section six also refers to “a common mind about matters of essential concern. . .”

(9) Do you think there needs to be an executive or judicial body for resolving

disagreements or disputes in the Anglican Communion? If so, do you think it should be

the Primates Meeting as recommended by the Draft Covenant? Explain.

 No. There probably needs to be a point of reference outside the Provinces, but it should be the ACC, made up of lay persons, bishops, priests and deacons – not the Primates. 

(10) What does the phrase “a common mind about matters of essential concern. . .”

mean to you?

 Well, clearly, we all seek the mind of Christ. Corporate discernment takes time and we may need to learn the value of consensus before taking decisions that threaten to be communion-dividing.    

7. Our Declaration

The final section is a proposed signatory declaration by which each church of the

Anglican Communion would commit to this proposed Covenant.

(11) Can you affirm the “fundamental shape” of the Draft Covenant? Why or why not?

 Yes, with some major tweaking of language as indicated above. 

(12) What do you think are the consequences of signing such a Covenant as proposed in

the Draft?

 I think we will give up a certain amount of autonomy for the sake of interdependence. However, if we want to be taken seriously as a global communion, something like this will have to happen sooner or later. The devil is in the details and we have to be very careful and consult fully with our closest partners – Canada, New Zealand, Scotland, Ireland, Brazil, etc. However, I think the time has come for something like this.  

 Concluding Questions:

(13) Having read the Draft Covenant as a whole do you agree with the CDG’s assertion

that “nothing which is commended in the draft text of the Covenant can be said to be

‘new’”? Why or why not?

 I do not agree with that statement. There is much that is “new” here for Anglicanism. It may be evolution of the Communion and necessary, but it is new.  

(14) In general, what is your response to the Draft Covenant taken as a whole? What is

helpful in the draft? What is not-helpful? What is missing? Additional comments?

The Preamble is helpful.

1. The Life We Share – should replace sections (2) and (3) with the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral in its entirety.  Section (5) should either be omitted or refer to “historic formularies such as the 39 Articles of Religion, the Book of Common Prayer, and the various Ordinals of the Provinces.”
2. Our Commitment to Confession of the Faith is helpful.
3. The Life We Share with Others is very helpful.
4. Our Unity and Common Life is largely not helpful. Work needs to be done on this. The Primates are given too much authority; the ACC not enough.
5. Unity of the Communion is not helpful. I would prefer to see “matters in serious dispute” be taken up by all 4 Instruments of Communion, as a kind of checks and balances system. Again, the ACC should have the central role here – since it is a somewhat representative body and could become more so in the future.
6. Our Declaration is helpful.

  Additional comments: We should fully engage in this process, consult broadly, and make our contribution to the shaping of this Covenant. Then, if at all possible, we should sign it.     

 

“The Primates and provincial secretaries of Iglesia Anglicana de la Region Central de American (IARCA), La Iglesia Anglican de Mexico, Igreja Episcopal Anglicana do Brasil, and the Episcopal Church in the Philippines, along with Bishop Edward W. Neufville of the Episcopal Church of Liberia and Sandei Cooper, Liberian diocesan treasurer, addressed the council during its October 27 afternoon plenary session.”

The above line from Episcopal News Service summarizes what was a pretty amazing day at our Executive Council meeting in Detroit. I call this web log “That We All May Be One” and the topics usually revolve around the ecumenical movement for church unity or efforts to preserve the unity of our Anglican Communion.

What must never be forgotten, however, is the unity in mission we already enjoy with so many overseas partners. In addition to our dioceses in Central America and South America, Taiwan, and Europe who are full members of our House of Bishops and General Convention (therefore part of The Episcopal Church) the dioceses listed in the first paragraph above have special covenantal links with The Episcopal Church, receive some level of support from us, and enrich us in return by their faithfulness in mission.

The amazing stories of such mission in war-torn (now “post war”) Liberia were particularly moving, but the commitment and zeal of our covenant partners in Central America, Mexico, Brazil and the Philippines also inspired and encouraged us.

Whatever “Anglican Covenant” we may eventually come up with (and a special task force of Executive Council has written a very thoughtful response to that Covenant Process — about which more, soon),  let us pray that it can be mission-focused like the covenants we have with the churches listed above. Most of them are not so much interested in some kind of “confessional statement” which has the potential of defining some of us “in” and some of us “out” of the Anglican Communion.

Rather, they (and we) hope for a Covenant which can facilitate the mission to which we are called. God’s mission of reconciliation…in all the world! 

  

On the Feast of St. James of Jerusalem we read a selection from Acts 15 in which he presides over what has come to be called the “Council of Jerusalem.” The issue, of course, is whether or how to accept Gentiles, alongside Jews, into the early Church.

We still use scriptural accounts like this to help us wrestle with contentious issues in the Church today. Let me share a brief selection from “To Set Our Hope On Christ” — the little book submitted as part of The Episcopal Church’s response to the Windor Report. Referring to Acts 15, the authors wrote:

“The point of these accounts in Acts is that a particular part of the Church (Peter and his friends) has an experience of the Spirit that prompts them to question and reinterpret what they would previously have seen as a clear commandment of Scripture, not to associate with a particular group of people who were considered unclean.  After careful deliberation and much discussion (Acts 10-15) the Church as a whole agrees.”

“Not everyone agrees, however. The New Testament itslef reflect a number of patterns of Christian life with varying degrees of openness to Gentiles — Paul and Mark reflect clear openness while Matthew and Revelation are more guarded. What seems to have convinced the rest of the Church is Peter’s  credibility as a witness (on behalf of Cornelius and the rest) that the gifts of the Holy Spirit were indeed present among [the Gentiles], that that they were living lives of holiness, understood differently, but holy lives nonetheless.  The Church as a whole gradually shifted its position, but only after careful reflection. In the meantime, there was room for a diversity of lifestyles, which were all understood as committed to seeking holiness in the Lord.”

“In summary, these reflections on the Scriptural witness to early Christian life highlight two crucial features of our tradition.  First, we have always believed that God opens hearts and minds to discover yet deeper dimensions of Christ’s saving power at work, far beyond our limited power to conceive it.”

“Second, tradition tells us that by God’s grace we ought not to let discouragement at disagreements jeopardize our common work for God’s misssion in the world. If God the Holy Spirit can hold the early followers of Jesus Christ together, even when they disagreed over so central a question as who might come within the reach of the Savior’s embrace, then surely we must not let Satan turn our differences into divisions.”

“May we hold [those differences] all the more humbly before Christ, that he may bless our proclamation of the Gospel in all the many and differing places and conditions of the whole human family.” (To Set Our Hope On Christ, pages 15-17)

May we indeed do that. Hold our differences humbly before Christ.  And let us pray for the leaders of the Church today that they may be granted the wisdom and abilities of St. James of Jerusalem, Brother of our Lord Jesus Christ, and Martyr!