An Old Thought for the New Year

This is a "meditation" that I posted originally with Brad Drell back in October. I plan on having a new one posted by the first of the new year. Blessings to all.

On Tension

While browsing Titus One Nine recently, I came across a letter from the Bishop of Texas which contained a troubling bit of conventional wisdom that has been repeated ad nauseam by numerous fence sitters in recent memory. I quote from the Bishop’s letter:

"I have promised to remain a member of the Episcopal Church and to be a constituent member of the Anglican Communion. To some, that looks like sitting on the fence, and I must admit, sometimes it feels darned uncomfortable balancing here. But that is our call as Anglicans, to remain in this place of tension, reconciling ourselves to some discomfort for the good of the whole and not just part of the whole." [emphasis added]
The Rt. Rev. Don A. Wimberly, Bishop of Texas
http://titusonenine.classicalanglican.net/?p=15743

First of all, the idea that we are somehow ‘called’ to be in a state of tension is incorrect. We are called to preach, teach and baptize in the name of Christ. We are called to take The Word to the corners of the earth. We are called into a right relationship with God in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit who is acting in the world today. We are definitely not ‘called’ to ‘remain in this place of tension’. Quite the contrary, we are called to stand and be counted with Christ. Even a cursory reading of the Gospels will reveal that Christ never prevaricated or waffled or referred a question from his opponents to a committee for further consideration. I would like to ask the Rich Young Ruler, for one, whether he thought that Christ was anything other that decisive. (Matt 19: 16-30; Mark 10: 17-31; Luke 18: 18-30)

I was a Deputy at GC ’06, and I can speak from personal experience that what transpired in Columbus caused a great number of people far more than ‘some discomfort’. It was gut wrenching to sit and watch the Church that is supposed to the Body of Christ turn its back on four millennia of tradition, the Anglican Communion, the Gospel and on Christ, Himself. Those ten days were some of the most painful I have ever experienced. But, just as my Faith has been strengthened in the aftermath of GC ’06, I believe that the Church will also find a new strength and a renewed mission in this country.

Finally, we must remember that ECUSA is a part of the “One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church”. The whole, meaning the Worldwide Anglican Communion, is certainly experiencing discomfort because of the actions in our part of the Communion, which we must remember is a very, very, very small part of that Communion. The crisis over fundamental doctrines of the Church is something that we in ECUSA have introduced, against the advice of our fellow Anglicans around the world. Our actions have put people’s lives in danger. Our actions have caused a crisis that has pitted brother against brother. Our actions have endangered our ecumenical relationships with other denominations. Our actions have led people to question their faith. Our actions have rent the fabric of our relationship to the Anglican Communion as well as severing our connection to over 4,000 years of Tradition and Faith. Does anyone remember something that Jesus said about a millstone around one’s neck? (Matt 18: 6-7; Mark 9: 42; Luke 17: 1-2)

Just as Paul was unwilling to put up with false teachings or misguided teachers; and just as the Early Church Fathers were unwilling to tolerate heretical beliefs that threatened to redefine the divinity of Christ; we must not tolerate a perpetual state of ‘tension’ and ‘discomfort’ which does nothing but foster ill-will and discord rather that further the advancement of God’s Kingdom on Earth. Rather, we must recognize that part of the whole has chosen by its actions to walk apart from the whole. This is a painful and unfortunate state of affairs, but the healing and growth of the Anglican Church in the United States is dependent on our recognition that Christ is in charge. In Him is our peace and relief from this discomfort and tension.

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.” John 14: 27 (RSV)

Your brother in Christ,

Michael W. Millard
Nashotah House ‘08