A Little Insight on Faith from Hebrews

This morning, I was saying the Daily Office before Mass when I was struck by one of the readings. Now, I try very hard not to turn every passage of Scripture into a commentary on the Current Unpleasantness in the Church, but the Word says what the Word says.

The passage is from the Epistle to the Hebrews, Chapter 11, verses 8 - 16. The author praises the faith of Abraham and Sarah. He extols their willingness to trust God and to follow Him into a wilderness unknown to them based solely on what had to sound like a far-fetched promise. And because they ventured forth into the wilderness, without a thought for what they had left behind, they, and all their offspring, were blessed by God.

"If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city." (Hebrews 11: 15-16 RSV)

We must be prepared to step out in faith and trust God. He has called us to follow His Word. He has called us to reach out into the darkness of this troubled and broken world and bring His light to those who wait in fear. He has made in His Church an instrument for bringing the Good News to every corner of Creation.

We must have the faith of Abraham and Sarah and walk into the wilderness and trust that God does indeed have a "better country" waiting for us. This means that we might have to make some very difficult decisions in the coming year. It might mean that a Parish might in good conscience choose to affiliate with a foreign bishop. It might mean that a Diocese might seek Alternative Primatial Oversight. It might mean that a Parish or even a Diocese might have to walk away from property. This is a hard thing to do, but if God is calling us to walk with Him in the light, then that is what we must do.

The time is at hand when the Church must reconcile itself to God. I believe that ECUSA has fallen away from the true Faith. I believe the only way that ECUSA can reconcile itself to the Worldwide Anglican Communion is through a sincere act of penance that would include the resignation of Katherine Schori and many of the revisionist Bishops that have lead us to the brink of schism. Unfortunately, I do not see this happening, but I do believe that God could make this happen, if those involved are open to his Word.

At the end of the day, God will still be victorious, and His Church will prevail. In the interim, we, in our broken states, must find the best way forward to live into the kind of life to which Christ has called us. We must not shrink from our responsibilities to Him or to our neighbors. We must, as Paul tells us in Ephesians, take up the Shield of Faith so we can be protected from the "flaming darts of the evil one". We must wield the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, and, most importantly, we must pray at all times. By faith we can, with God's help, persevere in these difficult times; and we, by the Grace of God, will be the better for it.