This week’s Article for the Week
which appears in your weekly E-pistle is entitled “The Missing
Theologians.” A simple question is
posed, “Society knows what politicians think, and what columnists, movie stars,
bloggers and dinner party guests think.
So why don’t they know what theologians think?”
You might say that society is
distracted by many things. Like Martha
in today’s gospel lesson, we as a society aren’t sitting at the feet of Jesus
hanging on his every word. Instead, we
are consumed by many things that distract us from the eternal truth of God’s
Word. Like St. Paul warns in his letter
to the Ephesians, we are like children who get tossed to and fro and blown
about by every wind of doctrine.
We get distracted by a cacophony of
sound bites from politicians and movie stars and athletes and journalists and
experts on social media who seem to be speaking with some kind of authority on
the subject of truth. And things start
to get really interesting when the people making these truth claims start
talking about God.
It seems that our country is
experiencing a deep spiritual poverty.
Not only has society tuned out the voices of theologians but society is
hearing claims about God and Christianity from people who really have no business
making these claims - especially not in the public eye.
And let me be clear - this isn’t
simply of problem of fewer people attending church. In fact, the staggering statistics of fewer
people in church is due in large part because the church in the United States
is, in many ways, responsible for this spiritual poverty. Like society, the church in the United
States, is distracted by many tasks and has neglected to sit at the feet of
Jesus.
I can’t speak for other churches,
but I feel that Episcopalians have become a little too cozy with a quotation
attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, “preach the gospel at all times and use
words when necessary.” I am certainly
one of those Episcopalians, but I realized pretty quickly in seminary that I
needed to spend some time at the feet of Jesus if I really wanted to be a
preacher and a pastor.
In essence, this popular posture in
the Episcopal Church has left the door open for others to talk about the good
news of Jesus. Think about that. A faith tradition that is rich with words
about life with God (just look at our prayer book alone), a faith tradition
that is built on the work of theological giants, a faith tradition that has the
capacity to synthesize a wide variety of theological doctrine and philosophical
thought has, in large part, remained silent in an increasingly pluralistic
society.
I went to a church planters
conference a few years back in Minnesota and listened mostly to stories about
how groups planted churches with little or no denominational loyalty. And you know what I learned? A lot of the stuff they were using came
straight from the Episcopal/Anglican playbook - our prayers, our polity, our
theology.
Of course, a part of me is thankful
that others have found our faith tradition to provide valuable tools to start
news churches that proclaim the good news of Jesus. But another part of me wonders, are we going
to use the gifts that God has given the Episcopal Church? As one theologian suggested (paraphrase),
“This is the Episcopal hour, but will they ever stop getting distracted by many
things and return to the feet of Jesus?”
I know I am a bit biased but it is
becoming more and more obvious to me that society needs our voice. Even more, I believe God is itching to use
our voice if we would just open our mouths.
As I am sure I have said before, the when necessary is upon
us. It is time to use our words
again. It is time to sit at the feet of
Jesus again.
I will share some good news
now. There is a movement in the
Episcopal Church and other mainline denominations to come back to the table and
sit with Jesus. Like Presiding-Bishop
Curry often says, this is the Jesus Movement and we are the Episcopal branch of
the Jesus Movement.
I hear more and more voices coming
out of the Episcopal Church and the Church in general that are shaping our
national conversations. And if you
haven’t noticed, we desperately need to shape many of our national
conversations in a different direction.
On a local level, this is a lot of thinking that led to the decision of
One Selma: Unity and Faith hosting a Mayoral Debate later this month.
And the really cool thing about
Jesus is that his words speak to people in all times and places. I posted an article recently on social media
that spoke to the core of the gospel.
Guess what? The people who liked
the article came from every political and social camp I know.
In recent days, it is becoming
abundantly clear that Jesus is the answer.
It is becoming abundantly clear that the core truths of the gospel - repentance,
compassion, forgiveness, reconciliation, restoration, redemption, and justice
for all - offer the only way forward in a polarized society that is accentuated
and even exaggerated by national media.
In the fall, the congregation is
invited to sit at the feet of Jesus using a resource called The Story. The Story takes the 31 most important stories
in scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, and ties a string that shows how the
narrative of scripture is pointing to the good news of Jesus’ life, death, and
resurrection.
I know this might sound like a novel
idea but it is one that is a part of our Anglican tradition. In fact, it is an idea that is a part of one
of our core doctrine’s that says, “scripture contains all things necessary to
salvation.” In other words, scripture
tells a story about how God is saving humanity from evil and death.
And once The Story comes alive in
our lives and in our communities, the conversations begin to change, lives
begin to change, communities are restored.
I’ve seen it happen. I see it
happening in the Episcopal Church. I see
it happening in Selma. I see it
happening at St. Paul’s.
Friends, join Mary and do the better
part. Move all those distractions to the
background and sit at the feet of Jesus and be fed by his every word. And may God’s eternal truth quiet all the
background noise so we can focus on one thing: loving and serving the Lord with
our actions and through our speech.
Amen.
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