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Two big questions arise for me out of today’s Scripture readings. The first is, how do we make sense of the contradictions in Scripture about who will be saved? The second question is, what do Jesus’ words about the unity of believers, mean for us today in the Anglican Communion? I am sorry to say that these questions and answers are deeply intertwined with each other. One of the central themes of the Bible is the distinction between the righteous and the sinners. For example, in Psalm 97, it is clear that God loves, protects, and preserves the righteous, the saints, who are truehearted and hate evil. A firm dividing line separates them from people who are wicked, and worship carved images. In the New Testament, this theme continues with variations, because some of the scribes and pharisees, who by the standards of the Old Covenant were righteous, are considered by Jesus to be sinners. And some of the sinners whom Jesus encountered, such as the Samaritan woman at the well, and the paralyzed man, are treated as righteous. This theme is further complicated by Jesus’ proclamation of the forgiveness of sins, on the one hand, and by the telling of parables in which sinners, such as the Rich Man, and the foolish virgins, go to hell. Then in the Gospel of John, and in some of the letters of Paul, the first distinction shifts from righteous or sinner, to believer or unbeliever. An adequate explanation of these contradictions would require probably months of sermons. What causes me to raise this issue at all, is that our reading from Revelation begins with a reference to judgment: that Jesus will “repay according to everyone’s work”. In other words, good people will be rewarded and bad people will be punished. But a few verses later, the Risen Christ said, “let everyone who is thirsty, come. Let anyone who wishes, take the water of life as a gift”. In other words, salvation is free to those who want it. This idea of the free availability of salvation for all is a secondary theme, which the church has preferred to ignore. Instead, we have emphasized the division of humanity into those two groups: those who are saved (because they are baptized, or because they belong to the true church, or because of the good works they do), and those who are lost. The idea that sinful people could be saved simply by taking the water of life as a gift, seems unfair, and subversive. One reason this is such a difficult theological issue, is that we human beings really like to be better than someone else. Not only do I want God to approve of me, to save me, but I really want to feel that my acceptance is due to my good behavior, and my faith. And then most of us would prefer that the really bad people are punished as they deserve. So the whole issue of whether any particular individual is saved, whether it be me or my neighbor, is complicated by our feelings and judgments. In our Gospel reading, Jesus prayed for the unity of believers: “that they all may be one”. This verse is part of the “high priestly prayer” which was given by Jesus at the Last Supper, and takes up 3 chapters in the Gospel of John. Whether Jesus said this prayer at the Last Supper, or during the 40 days days of his resurrection appearances, it makes sense that he would be concerned about the unity of the disciples. And, his concern extends beyond the disciples He knows, to all the new disciples “who will believe through their word”. All of us are among those new disciples who have believed through the witness of the first disciples. Every year in Easter season, we read from the Acts of the Apostles instead of the Hebrew Scripture. Acts tells the story of how this little band of believers began to spread the Word. One of the earliest Christian communities outside Jerusalem, was established in Antioch, Syria, where the disciples persuaded some Gentiles to put their faith in the Risen Christ. In chapter 15 of Acts, we also read about the first division in the church, when the believers in Jerusalem, discovered that the believers in Antioch, were not observing the Jewish Law. Now the believers in Jerusalem were all Jews, while many of the believers in Antioch were Gentiles, so the issue was, how to lead a Christian life. They found a compromise, but it is one which gradually became irrelevant. Then, in the 11th century, the church in the east, and the church in the west, broke apart over a series of issues, from the use of unleavened bread, to the statement in the Nicene creed that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. 500 years later, Martin Luther disagreed with the Roman doctrine of salvation and the theology of the Mass. The western church fractured into 3, then 4, then many separate Christian denominations. Since the Reformation, each church has tended to identify itself as the true church, over against the others, who are mistaken, and possibly even false. So it appears that the prayer of Jesus for the unity of Christians, has not been answered. Some Christians believe that the true church is invisible, that it includes all those of any church, and no church, who put their faith in Jesus. Another view is that the church is only visible when we gather to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus in the Eucharist. Perhaps our denominations, our buildings, our differing styles of worship, and all our controversies over Christian ethics, are irrelevant in the eyes of God. I don’t know. The whole question of the unity of Christians makes me sad, and I am especially sad about the present controversy in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. It seems so unnecessary to me, because our Anglican heritage for almost 500 years has been to include a wide range of theology, practice, and worship. Never until the 21st century has anyone insisted that some statement of faith other than the Nicene Creed should be required. For this reason, I was heartened to read an article from our national church office, which appeared in the New York Times on May 12th. The headline was, “The Episcopal Church: Marking a Milestone, Moving Forward”. It said in part: “Somewhere near you, there’s a blue and white sign bearing the familiar slogan: The Episcopal Church Welcomes You. It represents some 7,400 congregations that trace their beginnings in North America to a small but hopeful group of English Christians who arrived May 14th, 1607 at a place they called Jamestown--the first permanent English settlement in the New World. Wherever you find us, you’ll find the Book of Common Prayer and a Christian faith that honors and engages the Bible, the tradition of the Church, and God=given human reason. Joined in prayer, you’ll find people with many points of view -- Christians who are progressive, moderate, and conservative -- yet who value the diversity of their faith community. That’s a heritage drawn from our deep roots in nearly 2000 years of English Christianity, and shared by a worldwide Anglican Communion that unites nearly 80 million people in 164 countries through prayer and ministries committed to caring for “the least of these”, as Jesus commanded, by reducing poverty, disease, and oppression. Episcopalians struggle with the same issues that trouble all people of faith: how to interpret an ancient faith for today . . . how to maintain the integrity of tradition while reading out to a hurting world . . . how to disagree and yet love and respect one another. Occasionally those struggles make the news. People find they can no longer walk with us on their journey, and may be called to a different spiritual home. Some later make their way back, and find they are welcomed with open arms Despite the headlines, the Episcopal Church keeps moving forward in mission: in all 50 states . . . as well as congregations in Belgium, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Germany, Guam, Haiti, Honduras, Italy, Micronesia, Puerto Rico, Switzerland, Taiwan, Venezuela, and the Virgin Islands. We’re committed to a transformed world, as Jesus taught: a world of justice, peace, wholeness and holy living. We’ve grown a lot in 400 years, since that 1607 worship service from the Book of Common Prayer was held in Jamestown--inside and out. Come and see for yourself.” I have a very positive response to this statement: Yes, the life of the church goes on despite the controversies; we worship together at the Lord’s table, we welcome everyone who wants to share in that worship, we work together to feed the hungry and to comfort the broken-hearted. And then I re-read today’s passage from the Gospel, and I heard something different. The Father is IN Jesus, and Jesus is IN the Father -- that is clear -- they are united. Then, Jesus said, “may they be in us” in the same way that Jesus is in the Father. Well, HOW is Jesus in the Father, and the Father in Jesus? We only have a general idea of how that might be. What we do know, is that it wasn’t obvious to human eyes. Many of the people who met Jesus did not see that the Father was in him. It took something extra for people to see the Father in Jesus. I have an idea what that something extra might be, then and now. It is partly an awareness that there is a spiritual dimension to reality -- an awareness and a longing to know, to touch, to feel the presence of the Holy. Then it is also, the experience that the Almighty God knows me, accepts me, and wants to bless me. The effect of God’s love for me, as our friend Mary-Elizabeth Pratt-Horsley points out, is that I in turn am able “to accept and value each persons unique gifts and point of view”. This is a love “that allows us to be undivided without having to be uniform”. I propose that when you and I receive God’s love, and are enabled to love in this way, we are in the Father, and in Jesus, in the same way that they are in each other. Most of us who have had a direct experience of being known and loved by God, are astonished, overwhelmed and forever changed. If you haven’t had that experience yet, you can ask for it, you can draw near to God, and God will draw near to you. As a small help in that process, I have brought back a prayer from my Credo conference, which I commend to you: Drop down, O God, through the splendor of the darkness that hideth Thee, |