“Religious faith is not a question of shutting your eyes and gritting your teeth. You don’t have to check your brain at the door to the church before entering.”
May I speak only the truth, and may only the truth be heard by you. In the name of God our Creator, our Redeemer, and our Sanctifier. Amen.
Imagine a world in which there was no more poverty, no more sadness and weeping. Imagine a world in which no one went hungry, everyone tried to do the right thing. Imagine a world in which those who are unassertive ran everything. Imagine a world in which there was no no war, no conflict of any kind, no arguing, no divisions, a world in which everyone just got along, and really could see themselves in the faces of others. Imagine a world in which people really listened to one another, I mean really listened.
Jesus did imagine such a world. He said it’s available. He said it’s available here and now. All we have to do is follow. It should be easy. But it doesn’t seem to be.
An Anglican Covenent: A good thing?
There’s a conference scheduled to be held in New York City in April. It’ll be held at the General Theological Seminary.
It will be dealing with this thing called “The Anglican Covenant.” As you may recall, this Anglican Covenant was proposed as a way to resolve conflicts among Anglican churches and clarify procedures among those churches. It was supposed to be a document that would solidify the connection among the 38 churches of the Communion.
The idea was that each of the independent “churches” within the Communion would ratify the Covenant, would promise never to make a major decision without consulting the wider Communion.
It was in February last year at that big meeting of all of the Anglican primates, the leaders of the 38 Anglican churches around the world, it was at that meeting that they invited “commentary” on a proposed covenant, in preparation for the Lambeth Conference, their next big meeting coming up in July.
The New York Conference
The April conference in New York will focus on whether such a covenant is a good idea, whether it’s consistent with who we are as Episcopalians, and who we are as members of the greater Communion. Will the covenant clarify Anglican identity and strengthen mutual interdependence? Or will it be a tool of exclusion…
a tool of dominance? Is the covenant a biblical way forward, or would it impose a uniformity that’s foreign to Anglicanism? Would a covenant assist or impede reconciliation among Anglicans?
You probably know my answer to that question.
Upheaval within the Church
It’s not just the churches in the Anglican Communion that aren’t getting along these days. Right here in the United States, within The Episcopal Church, there’s trouble in paradise, as well. Several congregations have disaffiliated with the Episcopal Church. At least one whole diocese has left the Episcopal Church, leaving behind its legal right to its property, and, I have to add, leaving behind a remnant of loyal Episcopalians who remain.
The remaining Diocese of San Joaquin is in the process of reorganizing. In spite of widely publicized disagreements, most Episcopalians are not going anywhere, but at the same time, many conservatives are unhappy, maintaining that the church has gone too far regarding interpretation of scripture. Many progressive Episcopalians are unhappy, too, maintaining that the church has not gone far enough, maintaining that it has failed to live up to its promise to affirm the civil and human rights of every single individual…
everywhere.
Interplay between unity and diversity
The interplay of unity and diversity is actually apparent in most mainstream churches, the United Church of Christ, the United Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church, the Disciples of Christ, and of course, in The Episcopal Church. Factions sometimes wonder if they have anything in common, including Christ.
The diversity we find within our denomination is, in my eyes, a cause for celebration. The alienation we find within our own denomination, at the same time, causes me to mourn.
Living in the midst of diversity
I think it just might be a test of spiritual stature to see something good in those who don’t think what we think, those on “the other side.” It’s possible to acknowledge the value of contrary positions without embracing those positions.
If God is really “our light and our salvation”, as we chanted in the first verse of the psalm this morning, the strength of our lives, of whom then shall we be afraid?”
There’s no need to be fearful of the success of other religious paths. No one, including progressive Christians, can fully claim God’s truth.
Paul said, “Play nice.”
The reading from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians this morning is right on the button. He addresses three issues: Christian unity, the varieties of Christian experience, and the power of God to change lives.
Paul did not deny the value of alternative Christian paths. Paul recognized divine inspiration in each path. These facts guided Paul’s quest for christian unity. The facts serve as the inspiration for our own openness to the diversity of Christian experiences, as well as the gifts of other religious traditions. Paul seems to assume that the Corinthians will always have their differences, but he wants them to see that it’s only the unity found in God that really matters.
Tension between faith and reason
One of the most serious challenges a person of faith confronts is the classic tension between faith and reason, religion vs. science, scripture vs. reason, church tradition on the one hand, vs. our own experience on the other.
Some people live thoroughly and comfortably in one realm or the other. Some travel back and forth, in one realm during the week, in another on Sunday mornings, living comfortably in both worlds. John Polkinghorne has figured out how to do just that, live comfortably in both worlds. He’s an Anglican priest. He’s also one of the world’s most distinguished physicists. He points out that there are lots of scientifically literate people in our congregations. He also points out that our job is to show them that “religious faith is not a question of shutting your eyes and gritting your teeth.” You don’t have to check your brain at the door to the church before entering. Our job is to search for truth in a different realm. That’s all.
Writing on the topic, “Why Believe in God?,” poet Sydney Lea described the response of a Native American who was asked buy a judge if he promised to tell the court “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.” The translator struggled and finally rendered the man’s reply. It was this: “I don’t know what the whole truth is. I only know what I know.”
What Jesus said, “Follow me.”
Imagine a world in which there was no more poverty, no more sadness and weeping. Imagine a world in which no one went hungry, everyone tried to do the right thing. Imagine a world in which those who are unassertive ran everything. Imagine a world in which there was no no war, no conflict of any kind, no arguing, no divisions, no divorce, a world in which everyone just got along, and really could see themselves in the faces of others. Imagine a world in which people really listened to one another, I mean really listened.
Jesus did imagine such a world. He said it’s available. He said it’s here and now. All we have to do is follow.
As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, Jesus saw Simon Peter and Andrew, and then James and John. He said to them, “Come, follow me.” Immediately they left and followed him. Sounds simple? It is.
Prayer
Let us pray.
Eternal God, the Great Mystery that is outside everything and yet at the same time inside, keep alive in each one of us the search for a faith that is real, a faith that helps us to live happier lives, a faith that gives us a fuller meaning to life and the events of life. Bring us to know the goodness that flows from the heart of the universe and may we be expanded in heart and soul by that goodness.
This is our prayer. Amen.
Jerry Brooks
Creed from the United Church of Canada
My daughter, Jennifer, called me last week.
She’s one of those people who refuses to shut her eyes and grit her teeth in church.
She’s one of those people who is unwilling to check her brain at the door as she enters church.
(Takes after her father.)
On the phone this week…
one of the things she wanted to talk about was church!
Who knew that could ever happen!
Anyway, she was excited to tell me that at Christ Church in Alameda last Sunday, they replaced the usual Nicene Creed with a creed from the United Church of Canada.
She said that it was a creed that she could recite, all the way through, and mean every word of it.
It’s coming up next here this morning.
Let me know what you think of it.
—Jerry Brooks
We are not alone,
we live in God's world.
We believe in God
who has created and is creating,
who has come in Jesus,
the Word made flesh,
to reconcile and make new,
who works in us and others
by the Spirit.
We trust in God.
We are called to be the Church
to celebrate God's presence,
to live with respect in Creation,
to love and serve others,
to seek justice and resist evil,
to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen,
our judge and our hope.
In life, in death, in life beyond death,
God is with us.
We are not alone.
Thanks be to God.
