Friday, November 6, 2009

One Body…

I grew up Episcopal, as you may know. It’s a neat church, which, if you’ve never been, Robin Williams famously described as, “Catholic Light.” My Episcopal priest buddies, Revs. Callahan and Haverkamp, would laugh at that, and then say, “Shane, there’s a lot more to it.” And they’d be right, but it’s still funny.

I’ve been thinking of them recently, ever since the October 20th developments between Episcopals (aka- the American branch of “The Worldwide Anglican Communion”) and Roman Catholics. The Catholic Church announced it will now allow Anglicans to become Catholic (“enter into full communion”), but keep their churches, Anglican worship elements, even married priests. Also, Rome will appoint permanent leadership for these Anglican-Catholic churches and priests, allowing them to self-perpetuate as Anglicans within the Catholic Church. It’s a stunning change. Some Anglicans claim they’ve waited decades for this; many others feel offended, like another church is ‘fishing in their pond.

As an ex-Episcopal, this interests me more than most. And one part of me dismisses it as a family tussle between estranged siblings. But I’m a Disciple of Christ; my church’s fundamental claim and identity is Christian Unity. We care about other things, of course, but we’d cease being Disciples if we stopped worrying about a unified Body of Christ. So I can’t just ignore this news, which feels like a step away from real Unity.

The background, as the Vatican press release states, is a 16th Century split between Rome and the Anglican Church. Over intervening centuries, there’ve been reconciliation attempts, but no re-merger has occurred. Indeed, many Anglicans/Episcopals enjoy worshipping as they do- outside Rome’s authority and tradition, but grateful recipients of its ancient ecclesiastical wisdom. However, in recent decades, an(other) internal fight has bubbled up within the Anglican Communion, threatening to split the church. I don’t know how Rome responded to such divisions before, but this time it weighed in. It created this ‘Anglican Ordinance,’ purportedly in response to Anglicans who’ve asked, “To return home.”

News reports claim, about the Anglican Communion’s strife, that the warring factions only care about women’s and gay ordination, gay marriage, and abortion. I.e. it’s American Culture Wars, fought globally. And the Vatican’s recent Press Release plays into this narrative by singling out these issues as legitimate grounds for their new behavior.

I find that story incomplete, however, for at least two reasons: 1) Internal dissent and debate have always characterized Christian life together, i.e. these so-called ‘culture wars’ are nothing new or newsworthy; just read 2 Corinthians. 2) These fights are always deeper than one social issue or another, however simple or politically advantageous it is to pretend otherwise. What’s really at stake, I think, is how much freedom people have to follow Jesus in unique ways, and the pressure we all feel from changing cultural dynamics that embolden or threaten our faith and worship. That’s deep stuff! How churches respond to this stuff matters in deep places! So as churches explore evolving strategies for reaching this contemporary world with God’s message of eternal love, it’s no wonder battles lines get drawn, and proxy wars arise. Even Christians, of all ideological persuasions, get tempted to elevate power and control over love and understanding.

But again, I’m a Disciple of Christ. My fundamental conviction is- a) Jesus is Lord, and b) see above. With that baseline, I think Unity is possible, despite ongoing fights, because (Disciples insist) neither you nor I define whose claim of “Jesus is Lord” really counts. Jesus has the final say; we’re simply called to love God and neighbor. So, with all due respect to my Catholic sisters and brothers in Christ, I worry their recent changes harm Christian Unity, by encouraging rivals in another church to abandon each other during difficult times, rather than work for deeper understanding and relationship.

So, given this context, what would it look like for Disciples to work for Christian Unity? No answers today; just questions I find vexing and important. I look forward to your thoughts, whether they agree with mine or not. In all things,


Grace and Peace,
Shane

P.S.- Check out Adult SS for the next few weeks; DVD-series of America’s leading “Historical Jesus” scholars!
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Sunday, November 1, 2009

Like a blanket…

The other morning, I woke up to a sheet of snow covering the ground. Unexpectedly, I got real excited. It was the first snow of the year, and it wasn’t much. Just a dusting, which by the day’s end had become ground water. But its abrupt appearance made me smile. Not because I love coldness; the snow brought to mind wonderful memories of snowy seasons past (especially on ski slopes!).

All Saints Day is this month, and the Holiday season begins. So ‘memories’ will be a reoccurring theme- in our personal and religious lives together. I wish these memories were all as good as those that recently bounced through my mind. At least in Hollywood’s version of life, Holidays should bring only joy and peace, not heartache and longing. I like that version. But we know that too many Thanksgiving tables will be one person less full this year. Too many parents will see Christmas shopping ads that remind them of a job lost. And the whole idea of All Saints Day is to ‘celebrate’ beloved champions of the faith who’ve gone to their final rest. It’s a joyous service, for many churches, filled with memories of profound legacies left behind. But it’s never just that simple. Sometimes happiness and pain are two sides of the same emotion.



Do you remember the Greek myth of Persephone? The story goes that Persephone was a beautiful young woman, who attracted even the attention of Hades, the reclusive God of the Underworld. Hades, known for neither charm nor gentlemanly behavior, found Persephone wandering in a flower patch alone. So he stole her away to be Queen of the Underworld. But Persephone was, shall we say, well connected. Her mother was Demeter, Goddess of the Harvest, and Demeter wasn’t pleased with Hades’ actions. She persuaded Zeus, King of the Gods, to secure Persephone’s release, but Hades’ tricks weren’t finished. He gave Persephone Pomegranate seeds, which, when ingested, linked her to the Underworld forever. She had no choice now but to return to Hades’ side four moths every year, during which time, in protest of her daughter’s fate, Demeter would refuse to let anything grow. Thus, we have winter, and annually Earth enters a cycle of death and rebirth, ‘enacting’ Persephone’s journey into the Underworld and back again.

So please don’t give me pomegranate juice for Christmas. And perhaps take some time, as winter approaches, to ponder the cycles of this life that God still sustains. As leaves fall and snow builds up, it’s obvious how, yearly, Nature moves back around on itself. The church also uses winter’s onset to conclude and reinitiate our yearly cycle, of remembrance and praise. Officially, the Church Calendar ends around Thanksgiving, and our ‘New Year’ begins the last Sunday of November, with the advent of Advent. During this yearly cycle, the same stories are retold, memories of ages past are re-membered.

But here’s the key- Even as we participate in this yearly circle of life and story, it’s NOT the same ritual being enacted year after year. For each year, we proclaim, is one year closer to that glorious time when God’s Reign on Earth will be whole and complete, when all family tables and coffers will be full enough, when “Life” and “Love” replace “Self” as primary values of human society. So while we commemorate stories of God’s faithfulness through time, these stories aren’t told solely to give hope for Spring. Unlike Persephone’s tale, we contend that they way things are are NOT the way things will always be. God remains faithful as the seasons. And that faithfulness helps Christians understand that God won’t be satisfied until all life is valued, redeemed and covered with joy. Christ was born for this.

So as one church year ends, and another begins, recall the stories of saints who’ve come and gone, and of God’s faithful presence through the ages. May that empower us, then, to step forward into the New Year recommitted to God’s Reign and God’s work, so that next year will look a bit more like God’s heaven in our midst.

And don’t forget a coat. In all things,


Grace and Peace,
Shane
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