Last week my husband and I attended a meeting at
Christ Church, Winchester which was an open forum for the discussion
of the events of General Convention – most specifically the ratification
of Gene Robinson as Bishop and the recognition (not approval)
of same sex blessings. The sanctuary was literally packed, standing
room only – some were young and others were older, there were
straights and there were gays, a few expressed anger and a few
expressed acceptance and still others expressed confusion and
some deep happiness. It was a room filled with Episcopalians,
diverse and broad – it is who we are. As one after another got
up to speak, we heard the bible used to defend every position
and every belief. And still, we sang “The Church’s One Foundation”,
said Compline together and lived to tell the story – miracles
do still happen, it seems.
The issue before the church regarding homosexuality
and leadership in our common life has caused a great deal of pain,
division and fear, alongside the smaller voice of relief and joy.
The more conservative side of the argument often invoke the primacy
of Scripture when talking about that ‘three-legged stool’ the
church has claimed to rely on in difficult times of heresy and
schism. The three-legged stool of scripture, tradition and reason
has, in my opinion, at least two legs through which our loving
and patient God works to speak to us through the persistent voice
of the Holy Spirit - tradition and reason. Scripture alone has
never been sufficient and, as far as I can tell, it has always
been abused.
As I read the gospel stories I cannot
escape the fact that Jesus had a very difficult time abiding by
the narrow interpretation of scripture his elders believed and
taught. In fact, he didn’t abide by them and in the end it cost
him his life. Jesus lived a radical life in order to perfectly
fulfill scripture – fulfilling scripture meant living into the
whole of God’s intention for humanity. In doing so, Jesus became
the Christ and our Savior.
His life, his death and his resurrection are the
means by which God corrected the abuses of scripture. How painful
a tragedy this truly was and is – that it requires the death of
one who does not deserve to die to make the truth known. The truth
that God loves, includes, wants and forgives all people. That
there is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female.
I believe this radical message of Jesus is still so completely
difficult to swallow that most of the time, we don’t.
However, God suspected we would have a tough time
of it, that the fullness of becoming fully ourselves would shake
some to the core, would frighten others into angry behavior, would
create factions and dark rumors of altered truth. We would need,
God knew, an Advocate, a clear voice of the Holy One to remain
cheek by jowl with us. God sent the Holy Spirit. The coming at
Pentecost of the Holy Spirit is the way God continues to inform
and form all of humanity. It is the working of the Holy Spirit
through tradition and reason where God urges us towards a living
incarnation of the Divine logos. All things necessary for our
salvation, the becoming of the person God imagined us to be, is
found in scripture – to prevent our human tendency for abusing
scripture, God sent an Advocate, the Holy Spirit.
It is that Holiest of Spirit that now directs Christ’s
church – I give thanks that we have been willing to step into
a place of radical understanding, that we have been able to face
the onslaught of anger and prejudice, that we are embracing God’s
truth regardless of the cultural demand that we do the opposite.
One man put it eloquently when he said, “The church has throughout
history erred, but I have not ever known it to err by being too
loving or inclusive.”
If I call myself a Christian and have only a tiny
understanding of the totality of Jesus’ good news for the whole
of creation, I find myself face to face with a difficult set of
choices: do I believe the gospel message? Do I accept the presence
of the Holy Spirit? Because if I do, I will be called to live
life very, very differently than my culture and my society might
want me to – I will be asked to forgive where I do not want to
forgive, not judge when I want to judge, love my enemy and my
neighbor, and love the Lord my God with my whole self…which will
mean being willing to go where God, through the work of the Holy
Spirit, leads.
If claiming to be a Christian means that I have
to deny the fullness of some of God’s children, then I cannot
claim that label – Jesus himself did not claim such a label– so
I will continue to stand firm in the steps of Jesus, my Christ.
I will struggle to love the Lord my God with all my heart, soul
and mind and love my neighbor and my enemy as myself – however
much more I may feel tempted to do in the name of God, I pray
I will not do those things. Following where the Spirit leads is
not now, nor has it ever been easy. I give thanks that my church
has the courage to listen and to follow that Spirit by accepting
with open arms gays and lesbians, my brothers and sisters, and
surely God’s own children.
The Rev. Vinnie V. Lainson
Trinity Episcopal Church
Manassas, Va.
Trinity Episcopal Church