What is this Church thing anyway?

 There is some conversation going on in the Episcopal Church interwebs right now about the structure of the church (see here).  Mostly what’s driving this discussion, and frankly, most of the discussions about the “future of the church” isn’t a serious rethinking of our ecclesial theology, but rather a serious rethinking of our checkbook and what it can support.  And as much as I can appreciate coming to terms with financial realities, it still doesn’t seem that economics should drive our reflection on the church, what it is and what it does. 

A bigger question for all of us is, what exactly do we mean we say something like “the church?”  Avery Dulles wrote a neat little book called Models of the Church which has been very helpful to me in thinking this through.  Basically, he describes several models; the church as…

                 ·         An institution
                 ·         The mystical body of Christ
                 ·         A sacrament
                 ·         A herald
                 ·         A servant
The correct answer is C, a sacrament.  No, just kidding, the correct answer is all of the above.  But in thinking about how the church goes about doing these things it is helpful to make distinctions because to my mind there can be a helpful distinction between the church as an institution and the others.  And in our current discussion it is the institutional aspect of church that is the cause of so much handwringing.  If all of our structure fell away tomorrow, the gathered people of God would still be the mystical body of Christ, a sacrament, a herald and a servant.  And, to be honest, in short order it would reconstitute itself as an institution. 

 So let’s just set aside some idea that we’re ever going to NOT be an institution.  Any movement that desires to maintain the integrity of its founding impulse will erect an institution to do so.  And as for me, protecting the integrity of the message of hope in Christ’s life, death and resurrection is important, so I’m willing to accept an institution as the cost of doing so.  And more importantly, I am willing to pledge myself to that institution and hold it accountable to the integral message it exists to serve.

 So, the question before us is, how do we structure our institution so that it can best serve its role of maintaining the integrity of the gospel as it empowers and equips the baptized to be the body of Christ, a sacrament, a herald and a servant?  When we say we want to be “missional” or whatever the latest buzzword is; isn’t that what we’re talking about?

In other words, how best can we support one another to be Christ in the world?  We need the structure that best serves that purpose in our culture at this time.  The church of 50, 500, or 1500 hundred years ago isn’t the model (though there are things to learn from them) and the church in Tanzania, or Vanuata, or anywhere else isn’t the answer either (though there is much to learn there too).  With any luck, I’m hoping to address some aspects of this question over the next few days; thinking about what kind of institution might best fit our theology and ecclesiology and maybe even thinking about where our checkbooks (does anyone still use checks?) might fit into all this.

Do not Fear those who kill the body

I apologize for being neglectful.  Classes have begun again and I am settling into a new, and very full, routine.  I have several ideas for entries backed up, but other things are a priority, though I will get to them as soon as I can.  Below is my sermon from last Tuesday nights's community eucharist preached at the seminary.  The occassion was the commemoration of Sts Boris and Gleb, saints in the Orthodox tradition.  Sadly they aren't included in the Episcopal Church's calendar of saints, but as assistant Sacristan I successfully lobbied to include them this year.

The sermon

Boris and Gleb were princes of the Kievan Rus, sons of Vladimir the Great.  The chronicles blame their brother, Sviatopolk the Accursed  for plotting their assassination. Boris learned of his father’s death after he returned from battling eastern invaders.

Boris had been the heir-apparent  And when he learned that his brother had taken the throne, many urged him to replace Sviatopolk, but Boris said, "Be it not for me to raise my hand against my brother.  Now that my father has passed away, let him take the place of my father in my heart." Regardless of having stepped aside though, Sviatopolk insisted on having Boris executed and plotted to kill him.

Gleb, who didn’t know yet that his father had died, was sent for by Sviatopolk who pretended that their father was gravely ill and asking for Gleb.  Gleb rushed to his father's death bed.  On the way, their other brother Yaroslav learned of Sviatopolk's treachery and urged Gleb not to meet him. But that night, while praying, Gleb too was murdered.

In the gospel reading from Luke tonight we hear Jesus say; “do not fear those who kill the body.”  

But if you’ve ever read any Russian history,  you will know that killing your brothers/uncles/cousins/fathers was the, more or less, standard methodology for determining leaders.  I suspect then, that fearing those who might kill you was, generally, a key survival strategy, along with its corollary – kill those who might kill you before they get the chance. 

So, it is not their murders,  but Boris and Gleb’s rejection of this accepted reality that really stands out and marks their martyrdom. 

Boris and Gleb were most likely pagans at birth and into their early childhood at least.  Their father Vladimir had ordered the conversion of his kingdom a couple of decades earlier as part of marriage treaty with the Byzantine emperor. 

And that two princes would have taken their new faith seriously enough to make such consequential decisions in the face of a powerfully conflicting social paradigm is, to me, remarkable.  Over and over again in the story from Luke,  throughout the gospels overall really, is the message to not worry. 

“Do not be afraid”  that could almost be Jesus’ catchphrase. 

(Often followed, of course, by “you of little faith.”) 

But the reason Jesus keeps telling us this  isn’t because belief in God is a magical formula to prevent bad things from happening,  but because this life is full of bad things happening all around us.  

Jesus is reminding us though, that fear is a perversion of the abundance which God gives us, because what mostly drives our fear is loss-loss of perceived security or safety, loss of our illusion of control

I’m pretty sure when Jesus says that the poor and mourners are blessed it isn’t because they’re in the midst of joyous abundance but because in their vulnerability and deprivation their illusions of control are ripped away and they are closest to the realization that in the final analysis all we have is God.  There is nowhere else to place our trust and our hope.

And what we begin to sow here, in this life, is the plant that will be our existence in the next. 
"Nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known.” 
What we do and how we live, here in this life creates the path whose trajectory will carry us, or not, into the new kingdom. 

Boris and Gleb, at least in this one moment as told in their hagiographies, knew this.  To believe in Christ demands that we do as Christ, otherwise we’re just hypocrites.

Do not fear those who kill the body.

We may not believe ourselves to be as bloodthirsty or savage as 11^th century Russian nobles, but at the heart of our society and our culture lies the very same fear. 

Generally, I would say that the fear of being killed is a kind of national obsession.  Polls continue to show large majorities of Americans believe that violent crime is out of control even though crime rates have gone down significantly and steadily for three decades;  and fear of terrorism has been a demon goading the national psyche for nearly ten years now, marshalling a massive response that has fundamentally altered our way of life.  I don’t wish to detract from the terrible tragedy of the events of 9/11 or minimize the very real possibility of terrorism, but in truth the potential danger of terrorism isn’t very high – more people will die in automobile accidents this month than were killed on 9/11. 

But we too seem to believe, like those Russians that the best strategy to vanquish our fear is to kill or eliminate our potential enemies before they have a chance to harm us.  Conservative estimates suggest that hundreds of thousands of deaths have resulted from our retaliatory wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

What is the cost of our fear?  

How far are we willing to go to vanquish our fears?

Much like Sviatopolk the Accursed, America maintains a posture of aggressive defense that is psychically unhealthy and spiritually deadening.  And not just as a nation on the international stage, but as individuals as well.   At most school bus stops, parents outnumber kids because of fear.  At the airport, we must tolerate high levels of personal invasiveness because of fear.  Even much of what passes for Christianity in America is fear based.  Drive out of Columbus on any interstate you come across billboards shrilly telling you to REPENT.  Accept Jesus!  Not because Love is the only way, but because if you don’t you’ll be punished!

We are a hard-hearted people.

Do not fear those who kill the body.

I don’t think that God really desires anyone to be a martyr, but martyrdom can be the consequence of the Christian confrontation with Evil.  And our willingness to engage in this conflict, truly understanding what the consequences could be, is at the heart of our calling as Christians, and especially as Christian leaders. 

Now I don’t think too many of us will ever be called upon to lay down our lives for our faith.  But of course one never knows.  Last week we remembered the Martyrs of New Guineau, and one among those missionaries who died was Harry Dott, a student who walked the same halls, sat in the same classrooms and even worshipped in this very chapel – like us.  His memorial plaque is right over there.

Nevertheless, I do think that we are being called at this time to be martyr-like missionaries of God’s love to a fearful people.  What are we willing to give up to take Christ’s message of hope to a fearful people? 

What price are we willing to pay?  Not to set aside our fear, but to embrace hope in the face of fear.

How much of ourselves are we really prepared to give to this calling? 

Martyrs almost always have a chance to escape their martyrdom, if they choose.   They only need abandon their faith and seek the false security the world offers.  Most of us here have discerned a call to priesthood.  And according to the prayer book the ministry of a priest is to represent Christ and his Church. 

To represent Christ and his Church. 

Pondering such a responsibility should give us all pause.  It is easy to forget in the midst of discernment processes and diocesan beauracracy, that we are taking on the staggering responsibilities of being pastors to God’s people.  And that means a great deal more than the ins and outs of daily parish administration.

This calling that we claim is something marvelous and noble.  We are called to make of our lives a sacrament, to be a visible sign of God’s grace.  We are called, like Boris and Gleb, to hold up the norms and expectations of our culture to the light of Christian Truth.

Like Boris and Gleb, it is up to us to take our faith seriously enough to make decisions and take actions in the face of a powerfully conflicting social paradigm.

What we do matters!  What we do and say has consequences.  And those consequences are of cosmic importance, souls literally hang in the balance. 

We must be apostles of hope, of healing, and of peace to a hard-hearted people gripped by fear.  We must grab the hands of any who will offer, bend the ear of any who will listen,  stand firm with any who are oppressed or intimidated and everywhere and in every way proclaim good news.

 Ministry is hard, standing with people in the most emotional moments of their lives is hard, teaching the faith in a doubtful world is hard.  Preaching is hard.  This is no easy task we’ve signed on for.  The best priests I know have a kind of gentleness but also a durable toughness about them that undoubtedly was cultivated in some rough ground.  We too must be willing to work the rough ground.  We must be willing to sacrifice status and standing to do what is right.  We must be willing to choose love and reconciliation when every fiber of our being calls for hatred and revenge.  We must be those people willing to stand before the self righteous crowd and ask “who amongst you will throw the first stone?”

We must not be afraid.

To be a citizen

The riots in London by now are old news.  Hordes of people, mostly young people, pillaging stores and destroying neighborhoods apparently for the mere sport of it.  The Archbishop of Canterbury (the head of the Church of England) spoke in Parliament in response to the riots and said something that I too have been thinking for a while, but he said it much more eloquently than I would have.

"Are we prepared to think not only about discipline in classrooms, but also about the content and ethos of our educational institutions – asking can we once again build a society which takes seriously the task of educating citizens, not consumers, not cogs in an economic system, but citizens."

Educating citizens and not consumers.  I worry about an educational system seemingly single-mindedly focused on economic utility.  I often hear and read about efforts to make our students more competitive and more useful to employers.  And I will concede that students who are illiterate and innumerate can be a drain on society as complex as ours is, but economic utility as the primary criterion of our education system creates only people who will fit into the system we've created.  It doesn't foster the imaginativeness and creativity to create new and better systems or to respond to unanticipated crises.

I'm pretty sure that my purpose on this Earth is not just to use up as much stuff as I can before I do.  Consumption is a result of my life, not its purpose.  I am a consumer - I need to eat, I like to wear clothes and live within 4 walls and a roof - but I am not just a consumer.  Greed isn't just a sin on a list, it's an unhealthy and ultimately destructive way of life.  The financial crisis that began in 2008, the recent American debt crisis, outr lack of political civility, and these riots all seem to me to be of a piece.  They are the fruits of an excessive focus on ourselves and our personal desires divorced from the needs of community and the capabilities of our world to provide.

Consumers grasp to fulfill for themselves.  Citizens seek the greatest good for the civitas, for the community, in which they live and work.  How do we go about building a society that values citizenship over consumerism?

Vacation stuff

We were away for the past week, visiting family in upstate New York.  My in-laws have a very beautiful home and they are gracious hosts so it felt like a week in the best BnB imaginable, even the dogs get pampered there.  I really like my in-laws, they are truly wonderful and loving people.  I especially admire my father-in-law, who started out on the second shift in a factory and through perseverance and hard work, has managed to move into the highest circles of executives at the large multinational corporation where he has worked for nearly 40 years.  Despite their success, they remain in essence the people they were and have not been drawn into a life of lavish consumption. 

While we were there, we met their neighbors.  They have two small children around the same age as my daughter and the kids loved playing together.  My daughter called their house the "park" because they had every imaginable plaything available.  they had a bouncy house, a water slide, a big play structure, bikes, scooters, electric cars, a basement playroom and I'm sure more.  Talking to the mother, I learned they were planning for an in-ground pool soon.  And though they were perfectly nice people and friendly and welcoming to us, I couldn't help but be bothered by the abundance of stuff.

Maybe it was envy.  It would be nice to have those kinds of resources.  Who hasn't imagined winning the lottery and what you would do with your new found millions?  We ourselves used to have a bigger income.  Right now, our income is about a third of what it used to be before seminary, and I do hope this is a temporary period and that I can find gainful employment on the other side of this.

But in lots of ways our lives are much richer now than they used to be.  Things are tight, but we aren't really wanting for anything.  I wish we could save more and put some away for retirement, but our day to day needs are met.  I think I am probably more contented now than I have ever been.  Partly that's the simplicity of our lives that allows us to focus on the really important stuff, partly its directing my life towards fulfilling my calling.  If I could wish for anything for my daughter, it wouldn't be a bouncy house or pool (thought they are fun!) but to know she is loved, that she has a part and a role in life, and that real happiness comes as a gift to be received and cannot be bought.

Killings in Norway

Reading about the killings in Norway was heartbreaking.  My sympathies and prayers, admittedly insufficient, go out to all who died and to those whose loved ones and children were killed.  It saddens me even more to learn that the killer based his actions, at least in part, on his Christian faith.  A police spokesman Deputy Police Chief Roger Andresen would not speculate on the man's motives but told a news conference: "He describes himself as a Christian, leaning toward right-wing Christianity." 

In reading the story of Jesus it's hard to find justification for ever intentionally causing another person harm.  I also know that there's plenty of counter-examples in the Bible, but the trajectory of the overall story, culminating in Jesus, is about coming to accept that the ways of humanity, ways that are broken and destructive,  are ultimately self-destructive and counter to the divine will of wholeness and healing.

This young Norwegian man, who visited so much destruction upon his neighbors, is sadly mistaken about how people should settle their differences and live together with integrity.  Sadly he is also likely suffering from some form of mental illness.  Mental illness is also a part of the broken-ness of our world.  If we, as Christians, seek to follow Jesus and to live as he lived then we should seek reconciliation and not retribution, empathy and not judgement.  As hard as it might seem to us,we need to find a way that holds him accountable that isn't just our desire to wreak our vengeance upon him.  We must treat him with sympathy even though every part of us calls out for hatred, and find a way to include treatment to restore him to wholeness rather than a way to diminish his humanity even further.

Brain science & baptism

I read this article in the Atlantic magazine recently about the latest research into the brain and how it works.  The article asks some interesting questions about the intersection of the criminal justice system and our evolving understanding of how the brain works and suggests that rather than a punitive, backwards looking approach, we would do bettert to adapt a forward-looking, therapeutic approach to crime.  Fascinating stuff, but where my mind went was to ponder what all this had to do with baptism.

That's right, baptism.  Something I have long struggled with is trying to come to an understanding of what occurs in baptism.  Baptism is the central rite of Christian life.  I feel lucky to have been baptized as an adult so that I can remember what it was like to experience it and I could go on and on about how it changed my life.  And as a hospital chaplain, I've been privileged to baptize a handful of people.  In my gut I could sense that something was happening, but I struggled to name what that something was.

but this article gave me something that has proven very helpful.  A centerpiece of the article is research that suggests, very little, if any, of the choices we make are truly free.  Rather they are driven by unconscious motivations formed through of web of genetics, family systems, and cultural conditioning.  Reading this, I immediately thought of Paul, writing in his letter to the Romans about not being able to do the things he desires to do, but doing instead that which he abhors.  who hasn't had the experience of getting in their own way and choosing to do things we know are wrong or, at least, questionable?

All of which led me to the thought that maybe in baptism, we introduce the Holy Spirit into the mix of unconscious drivers of our actions.  This article reinforces for me that how and where we grow up matters.  Baptism alone isn't enough to make us "good" Christians.  Like DNA, it gives us potential but for potential to turn into talent, it must be honed and exercised.  This is one of the reasons that we cannot be Christians all by our selves, we must hone our Spirit in community and practice our faith so that it becomes a strong driver in our psychic mix.

Obviously this isn't a well drawn out theory, but its a start and feels like something I can work with and it fits with our modern understanding fo how our bodies and minds work.

Sermon July 10

St Paul is a man on a mission.

He is determined to spread the news of Jesus Christ to every corner of his world. 
By the time he is writing his letter to the churches in Rome,
he and others had travelled all around the eastern half of the Roman Empire and planted churches in every major city throughout all the provinces,

Now, Paul has set his eyes on the wild west, on Spain.  We may think of Paul as a lone traveler working to spread the good news of Christ

but in fact he worked with a team and had the support of a network of friends and supporters. 

So if he is to go west, he needs the help of people,

like the people in Rome
who can support him.
But the Church in Rome is beset with divisions and rancorous disputes,

primarily between those Christians who were Jewish and those who were gentiles. 

So before Paul can go west, he must first find a way to unite these fractious groups so that they can devote their energies to mission.

In the excerpt from his letter that we heard today, Paul says

 that “those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh…[and] the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God.” 

What he’s talking about is the ways in which we seek to be right and to assert ourselves over others

And to always get our own way,
goes against what God wants for us.

To set our minds on the way of the flesh, is to be worried about ourselves above and beyond all other concerns, and to think our needs and desires are the most important.

But one of Paul’s key insights is that to a large extent, we are not able to do what God wants on our own.  I think it was only last Sunday when we heard Paul talking about not being able to do the things he wants, but instead doing things he abhors.

I don’t know about you, but this certainly is something I’ve experienced.  I rarely lack for things to confess to God.  I often seem to get in my own way.

And recent research into the brain confirms Paul’s insights and suggests that our capacity to rationally choose our behavior is, actually, pretty limited, if it exists at all.  Instead we are driven by unconscious desires and impulses, our motivations deeply enmeshed in a web of genetics, family dynamics and cultural conditioning.

The beliefs and values we see around us, the expectations of family, friends and society matter.  Not just our genes, but our surroundings and our caretakers begin to set the patterns of our lives from the minute we’re born.  How and where we grow up matters.  And it matters because we are not isolated individuals but members of society. Humans are inherently social beings.

And as a father, this worries me because America today seems a much meaner, angrier and harder place than it has been in a long time.  The powers and principalities of the world, what we might call evil seems to be running rampant.  Too many in this country have turned their backs on their fellow citizens to look only after themselves. 

We have placed the individual and the individual’s rights in a place of prominence which too often seems to lead to boorish behavior at best, and violent hatefulness at worst. 

Too often, public discourse, in the larger society but also in the church, is beset with personal attacks and the denigration of those who disagree with us.

Our appeals to morality and to ideal, just like the ancient Romans appeals to Mosaic Law or Greek Philosophy, are clubs we use to force submission or separation of those who disagree.

Getting your way by shouting louder than everyone else isn’t what I want my daughter learn.  I don’t want her to look at the people around her and be thinking of ways to manipulate them to her own advantage.  I want her to look at the people around her and see her neighbors and be thinking of ways to show her love and respect.

Abraham Lincoln said that a house divided against itself cannot stand, and in saying so he was echoing the wisdom of Paul and the gospels that speak of the need for recognition of the common humanity of all our brothers and sisters who walk this earth with us.

Paul writes; “But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you.” 

Think about that for a second, because it is as true for us it was for the ancient Christians – the Spirit of God dwells within us.

Paul is reminding the Roman Christians that they are more and better than the divisions that were consuming them,

that they are immersed in Christ and filled with the Spirit. 

God has come amongst them in Christ and has promised to stay. 

To stay and take on all their fears unto himself so that they may be freed of the burden of carrying them around. 

Rather than living in a culture of fear and privation, they are to live in a culture of hope and abundance.

And that promise is the same promise that has been given to us. 

God’s Spirit is alive within us.  Along with our genetics and our psychic conditioning, the Hoy Spirit is also at work driving our actions and reactions. 

Inside of us as baptized Christian, alongside our DNA, our family systems, our cultural conditioning, there is God.  The spirit of God dwells within us, in our innermost being, so that God also becomes part of the unconscious underpinnings of our daily lives.

If there is hope for our society and our nation then, it lies with God, and with us.  We are called to live in the hope and abundance of God’s promise to us – that we are to share in Christ’s resurrection.

We must invite and allow to grow that spirit which dwells within us.  It is not enough to be believers in Christ, we must become doers of Christ, humble and tireless laborers in the vineyards of the Lord.

Amen