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Extending Hospitality To Strangers

September 1, 2008

It was not an easy decision for me, some eight years ago, when the then Presiding Bishop, Frank Griswold, asked me to consider leaving this diocese and working for him on the national level in the area of ecumenical and interfaith relations. But, then as now, I felt a special vocation around Jesus’ prayer in John’s Gospel that we all might be one as he and the Father are one…so that the world might believe! (John 17:23)

In a world divided in so many ways, the Church has a special message to deliver about unity. But sadly, our message lacks credibility when the world looks at us and sees how divided we are as Christians! So the task begins…with us! Us, meaning Episcopalians and Anglicans in the first instance.

It’s been less than a month since we bishops returned from the Lambeth Conference of Bishops in England where we worked pretty hard to strengthen our own unity as a global family of churches. We felt there a bit like Jesus’ first disciples in this morning’s Gospel, hearing our Lord say to us, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 16:24-25)

All the churches of the Anglican Communion were asked to make sacrifices, at Lambeth, for the sake of our unity in witness and service around the world. We made some progress, I think. Certainly it was a vast improvement over my first Lambeth in 1998, but we will be living into this hard work of unity for months and years to come. Unity is hard work. But it is work well worth engaging in…for the sake of the Gospel!

This morning’s Epistle from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans is probably my favorite in all his writings and, in it, Paul tells us what kind of lives we have to live if we expect to grow in love and charity, in “unity” with our sisters and brothers. Listen again to these wonderful words:

“Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another is showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints, extend hospitality to strangers.” (Romans 12:9-13).

When I became the Presiding Bishop’s Deputy for Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations, my counterpart in the Church of England – Dr. Mary Tanner – said, “Christopher, we have the best job in the Church. They pay us to make friends!” And there’s some truth in that! Ecumenical relations — our dialogue and cooperation with other churches — is all about “hospitality.” Extending hospitality to strangers!

It’s all about “blessing those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” (Romans 12:14-18)

More words from St. Paul this morning and they are words I try to live by as I oversee our relationship with Roman Catholics, the Orthodox, Lutherans and Methodists and Presbyterians and all other Christians with whom we are in dialogue and in mutual ministry. They are words I would commend to you in your relationship with sister and brother Christians in this community and in your daily lives.

But I’ve come to believe that our Lord’s call to unity extends even far beyond our fellow Christians. Roman Catholic theologian, Hans Kung, has written that there will be no peace in the world without peace among the world’s religions, there will be no peace among the world’s religions without dialogue between the world’s religions, and there will be no dialogue among the world’s religions without an understanding of one another’s histories and foundations.

The goal of interfaith dialogue, of course, is different than ecumenical dialogue. In ecumenical dialogue we are seeking the full visible unity of the Church eventually. We’re not trying to create one world religion in interfaith work, but simply to move beyond tolerance to mutual understanding and respect and even honoring one another, as Professor Kung suggests.

We used to talk a lot about “the mission of the Church.” But it was Jim Ryan, who used to direct Ecumenical Ministries of Iowa, who I first heard say, “God’s Church doesn’t have a mission…God’s mission has a Church!” (Repeat Slowly) And today missiologists of all our churches are talking about the “missio Dei”…the mission of God!

The mission of God is to reconcile the whole world, indeed the whole Creation, to himself. To reconcile us to one another and all of us to God. It’s called the “ministry of reconciliation” and the Church is to cooperate with all people of good will, of whatever religion and none, who are working for that same end.

When Moses stood before that burning bush we heard about in our First Lesson today from Exodus, he heard a voice proclaiming “I AM WHO I AM…Tell them I AM has sent you to them” (Exodus 3:14). That Divine Name – so holy that it was not even to be pronounced out loud by the people of Israel – gives us some inkling of just how a big a deal all this really is!

The great theologian, Paul Tillich once wrote that, “the name of infinite and inexhaustible depth and ground of our being is God. That depth is what the word God means. And if (the word God) has not much meaning for you, translate it, and speak of the depths of your life, the source of your being, of your ultimate concern…For if you know that God means depth, you know much about (God).” (The Shaking of the Foundations)

Christianity is not the only religion which knows such deep truths. I have discovered them in conversations with Jews and Muslims, Sikhs and Buddhists. I have come to know that God through my Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. But it is the same God others have glimpsed through their traditions. And I must respect and honor that, even as I bear witness to my own journey, to my own faith.

So, dear friends, I invite you to continue with me along that path to unity with God and with one another. It’s one way for us to take up our cross and follow Jesus who was all about such unity. It’s a way of extending hospitality to strangers and living in harmony with one another as in the words of St. Paul this morning. And it’s a way of standing before the great “I AM” in the burning bush – the Ground of our Being…and the depth of our souls.

Let us pray:

Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things: Graft in our hearts the love of your Name; increase in us true religion; nourish us with all goodness; and bring forth in us the fruit of good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Posted in Blogroll, Church Life, Ecumenical, Emergent Church, Interfaith, Religion, Scripture, The Episcopal Church, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

Lambeth Retreat

July 20, 2008

I had rather hoped that our pre-Lambeth Conference retreat would be a “real retreat,” meaning three days of disciplined silence and time for prayer guided by meditations from the Archbishop. This was not to be as we were bussed daily from the University of Kent campus to Canterbury Cathedral and bussed back each evening.

Even the time for silence after Rowan Williams’ addresses was observed mostly in the breach as bishops from all over the world met in informal groups and buzzed about a variety of topics. Not a bad thing, all in all, but it forced those of us who really needed silence to find a stall in the Great Choir or in one of the chapels to be alone with our thoughts, our prayers, and our God.

It was a joy to spend real time, nearly twelve hours over the two days in Canterbury Cathedral itself which is a great and sacred space, light and airy despite its antiquity. And to feel more like a pilgrim than a tourist for a change.

The Archbishop was, of course, in his element as a teacher and retreat leader. He appeared relaxed and confident with clarity of expression a no little humor. In the first address he asked us to give thanks for times of healing we have experienced, to reflect on the faces of people over our lives who have revealed the image of Christ. And to think of times when we have been “convicted” and called to change.

He asked too for us to give thanks for the bishops who confirmed and ordained us and for the gifts of the Holy Spirit we received in those sacramental moments. He spoke of our own role as bishops presiding at the Eucharist and laying-on-of-hands as participating in bringing God’s future into the present and so preparing the way for the Kingdom.

In the second address Dr. Williams described the mission and ministry of a bishop as showing forth the Son of God as “the gathering Christ” in whom all things hold together – for that is the very mission of God. But he said that, because we have been made Christ’s own, bishops can be undependable allies in any “cause” because we have to take the larger view. I understand what he means and have some sympathy with that perspective, yet would want to raise the questions about Christ being made known in some of the “causes.” Bishops are not Jesus’ sole voice. He often speaks from the margins and edges. The question is one of discernment.

A very nice image was that unity is not merely an institutional one or finding consensus. It is a quality of life where each suffers with the other, where each death diminishes me. Surely we are experiencing that cruciform reality in the Anglican Communion today!

We were asked to reflect on when we have felt pressure as bishops to “belong” to something less than Christ. And to think of those whose suffering today diminishes us.

In the third address, the Archbishop pointed out that the apostles were “people on the road” and as such had to learn new languages in order to communicate. To speak God’s word in the language of the people. As apostles and bishops (and, I would say, as Christians!) we must listen with one ear to God and with the other to God’s people.

He singled out Paul as trying on the language of Greek philosophy in Acts. 17 (with limited success!). And in I Corinthians 9:19 and following knowing that who had taken hold of him yet belonging to everybody. Rowan concluded that session by quoting two unlikely sources seen together – American lawyer and social activist William Stringfellow and St. Ignatius of Antioch!

Stringfellow on the distinction between a “religious” person and a “biblical” person. A religious person knows all the rules and seeks to follow them. A biblical person is one caught in the spotlight of God’s attention, fearing God and yet having no fear. Ignatius, on his way to martyrdom, said that sometimes the “silence” of bishops is pleasing to God.

Amen!

The fourth address began with the citing of Luke 10 and the sending out of the seventy to underscore the fact that a disciple alone is no disciple, a Christian alone is no Christian, and a bishop alone is no bishop. He then moved on to explore perspectives from those who have gone before us – the desert fathers and mothers, the Benedictine way.

The desert fathers and mothers were scrupulous about themselves, not letting themselves get away with anything. But they were slow to condemn others. How do we measure up to that standard as bishops? And the Benedictines show us a community bound together in common prayer as well as common work. Rowan mused about what it might be like for small groups of bishops from around the world to share a common Rule of Life – praying the same prayer and psalms and scripture on the same day. What might that do for our Communion?

He concluded with the observation that fear is at the root of so many of our problems and suggested that the only thing to do with fear is to put it in the presence of God. And he invited us to seek out another bishop who “makes us nervous” and pray with him or her. To see what God might do in such a grace-filled moment. I’m not sure how many bishops actually were bold enough to respond to this challenge!

In the fifth and final address, delivered back under the “Big Top” at the University of Kent, Archbishop Williams said that the only way Christians can lead is by following – following the way of Jesus. Christian community is to remind and encourage one another that there is “a way,” that the final reality is not anxiety but hope. Concluding with Hebrews 2:9-15 and 12:1-2, he asked us to pray that Christ will guide us, by the way of the cross, to the Father…to resurrection and new life.

It is surely our prayer indeed. And these thoughts will provide “grist for the mill” during these next days.

Posted in Blogroll, Church Life, Ecumenical, Emergent Church, Religion, Scripture, The Episcopal Church, Uncategorized | 5 Comments »

Hospitality and Ecumenism

June 29, 2008

Until recently, I have been based in our national offices in New York, but thanks to the hospitality of the Diocese of Nebraska and Trinity Cathedral in particular, I am now back living in Iowa (just in time for the floods!) and relating to one of our new regional offices which will be housed right here at Trinity Cathedral!

The other regional offices are slated for Los Angeles, Seattle, Atlanta and Washington DC. The Presiding Bishop of our church, Katharine Jefferts Schori, has cast a vision for our national offices to be more collaborative in working together, and more connected to the needs of our people in the pews, our bishops, priests and deacons in dioceses and congregations across the country and beyond. Our hope is to learn from the many fine ministries going on here in Nebraska and throughout Province 6. And also to help interpret The Episcopal Church’s ecumenical and interfaith work on the local level.

Today’s Gospel is all about hospitality as our Lord tells his disciples that “whoever welcomes you welcomes me…and whoever welcomes me… welcomes the one who sent me.” (Matthew 10:40) If the welcome and hospitality we have already received from Bishop Burnett, Deans Hurley and Medina, and Canon Tim Anderson are any indication, you are fulfilling that Gospel mandate to the fullest! We feel welcomed indeed.

In many ways, the ministry in which I am engaged is all about hospitality. When the Presiding Bishop, then Frank Griswold, asked me to leave my diocese and come to work for him in ecumenical relations, my counterpart in the Church of England, Dr. Mary Tanner, said, “Congratulations, Chris. You and I have the best jobs in the Church. They pay us to make friends!”

And there’s some truth in that. The ecumenical movement is all about building friendships and relationships between separated Christian communities and working for the unity of the one Church.

Jesus prayed on the night before he died that his followers might be one as he and the Father were one so “that the world might believe!” For me, ecumenism is all about that mission. Trying to be united as Christians “so that the world might believe!

In an age when the Gospel message is often muted because of our divisions, within churches and between churches, I believe it is important to build bridges and mend the tears in our fabric so that our witness is clearer, more united, and therefore more compelling. I often get frustrated with the slow pace of Church unity. But then I have to think back over my lifetime, even to World War II, to see how far we’ve come.

Sixty years ago, Roman Catholics and Protestants barely entered one another’s churches, and there was much misunderstanding and even animosity between us. Even Protestant churches were content to live largely within themselves, and often characterized other churches as heretical or at least misguided.

But after WWII, in the great move toward international cooperation that led to the founding of the United Nations and the World Health Organization and the World Bank, The Episcopal Church became a founding member, along with others, of the World Council of Churches based in Geneva Switzerland, and the National Council of Churches based in New York City.

Those organizations – through something called the Faith and Order Movement – fostered, first, cooperation and then dialogue between the churches which have today led to many full communion relationships such as we have with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Old Catholic Churches in Europe, the Churches of North and South India and a number of others.

With the advent of Vatican II in the 1960s the Roman Catholic Church ended its long opposition to the ecumenical movement, entered into the dialogue with gusto, and has changed the face of the search for Christian unity. Our Anglican – Roman Catholic dialogues, both on the international and national levels, are some of our oldest and have led to amazing convergences in our understanding of baptism, the Eucharist, ordained ministry, and many – if not all – social issues as well.

“Whoever welcomes you welcomes me,” Jesus said, and that welcome even extends beyond the churches to other great world religions. The purpose of interfaith, or inter-religious, dialogue is, of course, different from ecumenical dialogue. We are not seeking to create one world religion or to blur the distinctions between, say Judaism, Christianity and Islam. What we are seeking is deeper understanding, moving even beyond tolerance to appreciation of each other, and cooperation, when we can, for the sake of the common good.

The amazing interfaith project your diocese is engaged in, seeking a common campus to be shared with a Jewish synagogue, an Episcopal Church, and an Islamic Center is a model for the country! And I hope to be involved in whatever way is helpful and certainly to share your story with the wider Church as well. I think interfaith dialogue is best done ecumenically – with other Christians — and I have discovered that our Jewish and Muslim sisters and brothers respect us more when we are as deeply committed to our Christian faith as they are to their faiths…and yet find a way to seek common purpose under the One, True God.

“Whoever welcomes you welcomes me,” Jesus said but he did not stop there. He went on to add, “…and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.” I have found that welcome in dialogue and mutual ministry with fellow Christians, and even at interfaith tables with other believers in the One God who are people of good will. I hope to share some of that journey with you as time goes on.

I hope this will not be the last time I have the privilege of being invited into this pulpit and I pledge to you the support, the encouragement, and the cooperation of The Presiding Bishop, her whole staff, and of your brother and sister Episcopalians here in the United States and abroad. Let me close by offering once again our Collect for this Sunday. It is my constant prayer for my work…the work I hope increasingly to share with you. Let us pray…

“Almighty God, you have built your Church upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone: Grant us so to be joined together in unity of spirit by their teaching, that we may be made a holy temple acceptable to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.”

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Jewish – Christian Dialogue

May 20, 2008

Over the next couple of days, I will be participating in a Jewish – Christian dialogue at the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This conversation has been underway for several years now and is made up of Christians from various member communions of the National Council of Churches and Jewish leaders from such major organizations as the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee, B’nai Brith and others.

The attempt is to once again strengthen Jewish – Christian relations which has become strained in recent years because of disagreements over the Middle East. Clear in our support of Israel’s right to exist and flourish within secure borders, Christians are also concerned about the plight of the Palestinians and particularly Palestinian Christians who are leaving the Holy Land in record numbers because of the ongoing conflict there and despair over any apparent solution.

Christians and Jews share so much in common and have stood together for so many years in the country around fighting anti-Semitism, the civil rights struggle, and often issues of war and peace as well. It is sad to experience estrangement over differing perspectives on some aspects of the peace process in the Middle East.

Our group has made good progress even including a joint trip to the Holy Land where Jews could show Christians what they wanted us to see and we could show our Jewish colleagues what we wanted them to see. We have discussed such volatile issues as Christian Zionism, Palestinian Liberation theology, and just what a “two state” solution might look like.

We have wrestled together with how to understand the Old and New Covenants and just what it might mean to say — as Vatican II (and St. Paul!) did clearly — that God’s Covenant with the Jewish people is “irrevocable.” One thing we know: Christians are “branches grafted on to the root of Israel” and we are bound together in adoration and service of the One True God.

May that which binds us together keep us faithful to God and to one another.

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Thinking on Pentecost

May 11, 2008

The preacher made a couple of interesting points in his Pentecost sermon: One was that, while we often hear that the “Parthians, Medes, Elamites, residents of Mesopotamia, etc.” who were in the crowd and recipients of the Holy Spirit were representative of the universal salvation proclaimed by the Gospel message, actually they were in town for the Jewish festival of Pentecost, most of them would have been Jews!

And his second point was that that — contrary to the message of corporate identity the Jewish people had always majored in — one of the messages that Jesus brought was that God was interested in the individual as well…in establishing a relationship with humankind as individuals, not merely as a race or nation of people.

Well, of course, like all such observations, these are too simplistic. There were surely Gentile “believers”, God-fearers in the Pentecost crowd who also received the gift of the Holy Spirit. And, in any case, even if the “Parthians, Medes, etc” were representatives of the Jewish Diaspora, there is still a universal message sent by that pentecostal Gift.

And, while Jesus certainly was interested in individuals, his message of the Kingdom of God surely had something to do with nations and peoples as well. And, even though St. Paul does talk about the Holy Spirit’s gifts being “inspired by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills” (I Cor. 12:11), isn’t the whole point of this chapter and section of First Corinthians that “the body does not consist of one member but many” (I Cor. 12:14)?

So…I might want to enter into conversation with the preacher about all this. Because…I’ve been thinking about what he said.

And isn’t that what good preaching is supposed to make us do?

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The Root Supports You

April 23, 2008

Surprising as it may be to you, the Church has never been free of controversy! Our First Lesson today from the Acts of the Apostles (15:1-6) sets up the first big hurdle the early Church had to overcome. It was, of course, the question of admitting Gentiles into the Christian fellowship without their having to become Jews first!

Peter was a bit slow in coming to that conviction. It took a vision from heaven to get his attention on the matter. St. Paul, on the other hand, had always believed (or rather, since his own conversion had believed) that Gentiles had been made fellow heirs with the Jews in relation to God. In fact, he “adapts” the branch and vine image that Jesus uses in today’s Gospel (John 15) to make his position clear to the Church in Rome:

“Now I am speaking to you Gentiles,” he writes in his Letter to the Romans, “Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I glorify my ministry in order to make my own people jealous, and thus save some of them. For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead…if the root is holy then the branches also are holy.”

“But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in their place to share the rich root of the olive tree, do not boast over the branches. If you do boast, remember that it is not you that support the root, but the root than supports you.” (Romans 11)

When I was in the Holy Land in March with the Presiding Bishop, we prayed – with representatives of the diocese – on the Mount of Olives on Maundy Thursday evening. The tradition is that the roots of some of the olive trees there go back to the time of Jesus. Certainly, they are very ancient. And some of them look almost misshapen because the trunk and roots are so large and the upper branches are quite small because some of them have been grafted on to replace old branches perhaps damaged by cold weather over the years.

…Remember, Paul says to the boastful Roman Gentiles, it is not you that support the root, but the root that supports you! You see, by the time Paul wrote to the Romans, Gentiles had come full circle. After being marginalized in the first decade of the Church’s life and then accepted, now they were on the verge of marginalizing their Jewish forebears. But Paul won’t let them get away with that!

It’s a sad part of human nature that too often the oppressed become the oppressor. Some of us think that’s part of what’s going on in the Holy Land right now! When the world turns and those on the bottom find themselves on top, it takes a Christ-like attitude to avoid retaliation and vengeance. Let us pray that such persons may always be guided by Jesus’ words in our Gospel today:

“Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing…My Father in glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples,” (John 15:4-5,8).

May we always bear such Christ-like fruit in our lives – and be neither the oppressed nor the oppressor!

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Praying “in Jesus’ Name”

April 19, 2008

Too long off “the blog” but a week at the National Workshop on Christian Unity in Chicago and a hasty return to New York for the Pope’s visit hasn’t left much “blogging time!”

The National Workshop on Christian Unity brings together between three and four hundred ecumenical officers and other ecumenists for an annual continuing education event where updates on the various dialogues and ecumenical activities are shared. The three largest groups of attendees are Roman Catholics, Episcopalians and Lutherans in that order, followed by Methodists, Presbyterians, Disciples, UCC and others.

This year we participated in seminars on everything from the new Anglican – Orthodox agreed statement “Church of the Triune God” to a presentation on “the Emerging Church.” Worship included an ecumenical vespers with a sermon by a Franciscan nun to a joint Lutheran – Episcopal – Methodist Eucharist presided over by the Episcopal Bishop of Chicago and a fine sermon by the United Methodist bishop who is a convert from Buddhism. I preached at a Churches Uniting in Christ Eucharist in a Baptist-UCC church in downtown Chicago which has hosted Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, and Dr Martin Luther King.

Our Bible studies were led by an archaeologist who has worked at Tantur Biblical Institute in the Holy Land, taught at Hebrew University, and now runs a study center in Georgia which recreates excavated biblical sites. He was fascinating as he explored the conference theme “Pray Without Ceasing” and pointed out that “praying in Jesus’ name” means more than tagging “in Jesus’ name” as a formula at the end of our prayers.

For example: “Strike them dead, O God, for I ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen” is NOT praying in the name of Jesus.

“Nevertheless not my will but thine be done. Amen” IS praying in Jesus name — with or without the formula!

An ecumenical insight worth remembering!

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Come…Let’s Have Breakfast!

March 31, 2008

John tells us that the story in our Gospel reading was “the third time that Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.” (John 21:14). We know that there were a number of such experiences after the initial ones on Easter Day. Writing only some twenty years after the Resurrection, St. Paul says:

“For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.” (I Corinthians 15:3-8)

How did Jesus reveal himself to them in these experiences? In what contexts did he appear? Well, to the Eleven once on a mountaintop, to two of them walking along the road to Emmaus, to some while they were in conversation, to Mary Magdalene in the garden, to Thomas in the upper room, and today – to Peter and the others – while they were fishing!

It’s always been striking to me that, with the possible exception of Thomas and the others in the upper room, it was not in “church” that he appeared to them. He appeared to them in the context of their everyday lives!

I’ve always loved the abrupt way, in this story, that Peter says, “I’m going fishing!” Enough of the confusion and grief and joy and challenge of these last days! I’m going to find some normality in all of this! I’m going to do what I’ve done all my life! I’m going to do something I know how to do! “I’m going fishing!”

But even here he cannot escape the presence of their Risen Lord! And does Jesus spend a lot of time shaming them for deserting him at the last, or upbraiding them for their lack of faith, or even theologizing about the Resurrection itself? Not in this story.

“Children, you have no fish, have you? Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some…Bring some of the fish you have caught…Come and have breakfast.”

For you see, those are the things our God cares about most. That we are his children…That each of us has needs…that he can take care of those needs…

All he asks of us, is that we share with others what we have received from him.

“Bring some of the fish you have caught.”

Come…let’s have breakfast!”

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In The Breaking of the Bread

March 26, 2008

Some of you know that I was privileged to spend Holy Week and Easter Day in Israel and Palestine with the Presiding Bishop and a small delegation. Our visit was, in part, pilgrimage and, in part, a statement of our solidarity with the Palestinian Christians in the Holy Land and to assure them of our friendship, prayers, and support.

This is my fourth trip to the Middle East and I am always amazed at how my reading of the Bible takes on a different quality after each visit. For example, little things jump out at me that I would have overlooked before. Today’s Gospel begins, “Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem…”

Normally, as soon as I read the word “Emmaus” I know what the story is going to be and I launch immediately into theologizing about the two followers of Jesus and who they were and how they were joined by the Risen Lord and how he’s sort of playful with them before drawing the story out of them, discussing scripture with them, and finally being “made known to them in the breaking of the bread.” (Luke 24:35).

But today I couldn’t get past the first line –“a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem!” We drove by that site (actually several sites – because there’s some dispute as to which one is exactly the location of this resurrection appearance) just a few days ago! And it really isn’t very far from Jerusalem! An easy walk – especially for people who were accustomed to getting everywhere on foot.

Everything is close over there! We walked up the hill on Maundy Thursday from the Old City to the Garden of Gethsemane and it didn’t take more than 20 minutes! We walked the Way of the Cross along the Via Dolorosa and were home for a late breakfast! You can throw a rock from the traditional site of Golgotha to the burial place of Jesus – all contained within the walls of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher! It’s all right there!

And, of course, that’s the point. It is all right there! The Christian faith is not some philosophical system of belief or even code of ethics. The Christian faith is a relationship of trust in One who was really born in Bethlehem…grew up in Nazareth…moved to Capernaum…preached and taught and healed mostly in the farm country of the Galilee…made one or more trips to Jerusalem where he was arrested, tried, convicted and executed.

The Christian faith is trusting, along with those two disciples in today’s Gospel, that “…some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, and when they did not find his body, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive.” (Luke 24:22-23).

You can visit the site of that tomb today…and all those places where our Lord lived and ministered. It’s important to know that. But it’s also important to know that you can experience that same Risen Lord right here…today…in exactly the same way as did the disciples on the road to Emmaus.

For “when he was at table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him…They said to each other,

‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?’ That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. They were saying, ‘The Lord has risen indeed and he has appeared to Simon!’

“Then they told what had happened to them on the road and how he had been known to them in the breaking of the bread.”

Risen Lord, be known to us too this day…in the Breaking of the Bread!

Posted in Blogroll, Church Life, Ecumenical, Emergent Church, Religion, Scripture, The Episcopal Church, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

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