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Amos 6:1-7, I Timothy 6:11-19, Luke 16:19-31
St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, West Valley City, UT
The Rev'd W. Lee Shaw
There is a richness and breadth of our readings today that lend themselves to seeing again for the first time that we cannot put our religion in compartments that separate us from the concerns and confusions of the world about us. From the Hebrew prophets to Jesus to St. Paul, the issue of how to live rightly and justly in the world was continually before them and us.
Amos' cry for justice comes to us loud and clear over 27 centuries since
they were written. He calls Israel to account for its sin and lack
of justice. Later he writes, But let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
Less than a generation
later, the prophet Micah will write: ...and what does the LORD require
of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with
your God.
Biblical justice was not an early form of a liberal social agenda.
Rather it was a radical call for just dealings with all, regardless of
status of slave or free, foreigner, widow or orphan. The cry for justice
echoes through the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures. The cry for justice
has echoed in our own generation in the prophetic voice of Martin Luther
King, Jr.: Justice delayed is justice denied.
We see the effects of justice delayed played out in parable form in
our Gospel. This parable is not about what heaven is like. It is
about our responsibilities to heed the word of God through prophets,
sages and Jesus Christ in our dealings with one another. The rich man
dressed in purple is seeing the consequences of dealing unjustly
with poor Lazarus. Jesus in his very dry ironic humor notes that those
who are not interested in hearing will not even pay attention to one who
rises from the dead.
What are the requirements and limits of justice in society and in the church? Such was part of the debate with our own men and women dressed in purple, the House of Bishops meeting in New Orleans. I know you will be reading and hearing a lot about what happened and did not happen and what it may mean, so here is one reflection, amid many opinions. I commend the bishops' statement to you available from the St. Stephen's website: go to links and then Episcopal Life. I will also be available during Coffee Hour if you wish to discuss any of this further.
As I noted at WOW, one council of the church does not make the church. Our Nicene Creed was formulated over 125 years of councils and conversations just as strained as those being held today. The church takes counsel with one another to discern the will of God and move forward and sometimes backward. This is a process of discernment of the spirit not a product cast in stone.
This statement is a compromise reached amidst considerable and various pressures. It will not solve anything. It will rightly move the conversation forward to Lambeth Conference in 2008 and General Convention in 2009.
So what does it say? The bishops say unequivocally they will not consent
to the election of any bishop-elect who is gay or lesbian, hardening the
awkwardness of the 2006 General Convention's last day deal making. They
also pledge as a body not to authorize public rites for the blessing of
same-sex unions.
The Diocese of Utah has authorized and used such
liturgies in the past. It is unclear how this will be played out in our
Diocese until Bishop Irish returns.
They also note their frustration with foreign incursions of bishops in
this country, support efforts for wider communion-wide consultation, ask
the Archbishop of Canterbury to explore ways
to invite Bishop Gene
Robinson to the Lambeth Conference, and call for unequivocal and active
commitment to the civil rights, safety and dignity of gay and lesbian
persons.
Their document, however, has some internal inconsistencies.
They state, quoting from their March statement, We proclaim the Gospel
that in Christ all God's children, including gay and lesbian persons,
are full and equal participants in the life of Christ's church.
Well,
not quite. Not if you are gay and honest and are nominated to be a
bishop or you seek the blessing of your church on your relationship.
We will bless our animal companions but not your relationships.
The bishops may call for civil rights, but not full church rights.
In all of this, I am more disappointed than frustrated because as sincere and devoted as our bishops have been in crafting this document, it will do no good. Those parts of the Anglican Communion and Episcopal Church that are seeking schism have continued their efforts. For me, that is one of the most heartbreaking aspects of all of this. Appeasement never works.
I invite you to continue to pray for our church and her bishops as we all
continue our commitment to proclaim by word and example the Good News of
God in Christ.
As Paul writes to Timothy, we work to store up for
ourselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that we may
take hold of the life that really is life.
The life found in Jesus
Christ our Lord.