By The Rev. Bernard W. Poppe, RectorFrom the Gospel we just read, "...(T)hey woke him up and said to him, 'Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?'"
The disciples found themselves along with Jesus in a boat far away from shore when a storm kicked up. Jesus was asleep and they were afraid that they would perish. Quite understandably they woke Jesus up hoping that he would be able to do something about this and sure enough he rebuked the wind and stilled the water. He turned to the disciples and asked them why they were afraid, if they still had no faith.
The action Jesus took was astounding, and the question he asked intriguing. Calming a storm at sea is amazing any way you look at it. What is even more amazing is to imply that the disciples could have done it themselves, if they had believed. The power of faith can make wonderful things happen. The presence of fear impedes those very wonders.
The General Convention of the Episcopal Church held in Columbus, Ohio ended this past week and evidenced both wonders achieved in faith and wonders denied through fear. In your bulletin is a flier about our new presiding Bishop. Please take a moment to find it. Please take time to read it, but NOT NOW!
Her name is Katharine Jefferts Schori and currently she is the Bishop of Nevada. By all accounts she was placed on the ballet of four nominees as the token women candidate. After all, she was ordained a priest only twelve years ago and a bishop only five years ago, and some in the country and many outside the country are uncomfortable with women's ordination even though the issue was decided 30 years ago. Besides, at 52 years of age, she's too young for such a role. But there she is, unlikely and yet elected. Her title is "Presiding Bishop-elect." She will be officially installed and her nine year term commences on November 1 of this year at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC.
There are times in the church when the presence of the Holy Spirit is felt more strongly than others. It was by faith that she was elected, and by faith she will exercise her office. At this point the buzz of her election is still going strong. Those who were at convention have come home now and are telling the details in person instead of emails and phone conversations. One story is of the session where all the candidates are given time to make statements and her strong faith and vision, conviction and presence awed and won the House of Bishops which elected her on the fifth ballot.
Regardless of her statements, however, it was a bold move to elect her. I have to believe the house of Bishops, hardly a radical group, voted for her based on her abilities. She has worked within the framework of the international Anglican Communion is smart and sensitive to the issues and spoke boldly. They elected her based on her statement and not to make one. They had to know this would cause a stir and be prepared for it. They stepped out in faith.
The worldwide Anglican Communion who always watches closely, watched even closer at the decisions this time when tensions are running so high. The idea of a woman in the conference room sitting at the table of Anglican Primates, rather than in the gallery, makes many of the old boys uncomfortable. Well, that's just too bad.
Since when has being a Christian been comfortable? It has been a storm since the beginning. The Apostles were visited on the Pentecost day so long ago by rushing winds, their ministries fraught with persecutions and oppression. Generations following them found the same and worse. Christians throughout history responded to calls from God that took them out of comfortable situations and threw them headlong into discomfort. Storms of conscience and conviction have long raged in the spirits and minds of Christians. Comfort has not been promised to anyone. Now if we follow this reasoning of storms raged through convictions, people on both sides of any controversy will claim the rightness of their cause by the faith that motivates them. Those who are saddened by the election of Bishop Jefferts Schori will claim the validity of their objections just as quickly as her supporters will claim the rightness of the election. It wouldn't be a storm if both sides agreed!
"Lord do you not care that we are perishing?" The church appears to be in a mess. The ocean is so big and our boat is so small. Like the disciples we turn to Jesus to sort this out. And Jesus will calm the storm and call to the waves, "Peace." I imagine the disciples still had to bail out some of the water after Jesus calmed the storm, there was still work to be done in the aftermath, and there will be for us. In the calm after this particular storm of convention faith will win out.
Though some do not agree, the overwhelming vote for her in both houses of convention must reflect the stance of the national church whom they represent. The jubilation felt across the church speaks for itself. It was not a statement of defiance to other provinces in the church. The statement made by this election is to move forward in faith where God leads the way. It was a proud moment in the life of the church, an affirmation of God’s love and call to everyone. Convention did a good thing.
However, convention ended on a different tone. The other controversial issue facing convention was the response to the Windsor Report which called for a moratorium on the election of any other openly gay Bishop and the blessing of same sex unions. Many, myself included, hoped this convention would not back away from the bold stance it took three years ago in affirming the election of The Rev. Gene Robinson, an openly gay man in a monogamous relationship, to be a Bishop in New Hampshire. Much like the action it took this year, both houses affirmed his election knowing it would cause a stir. And it did. The storm unleashed by that decision is still felt today very strongly. Perhaps it was stronger than many expected at the time, and they are afraid that we might perish.
The resolution responding to the call from our international brothers and sisters to refrain from electing openly gay and lesbian bishops was introduced in the final day of convention. It took the form of a statement urging all standing committees and Bishops, (those who approve Bishop elections) to refrain from consenting to the election of a Bishop whose "manner of life" is considered objectionable by the international church. It's carefully worded and one can see loop holes a mile wide, but it's still a step backwards in what had been a bold move three years ago. I believe it was a fearful step, and not a faithful step. Our Bishop was one of several who signed a letter of dissent after the resolution was passed, as it backs away from the faith statement three years ago, that gay and lesbian people are equal in the church. Maybe we’re not, at least now.
The storm continues and as such we must still look to Jesus to calm the waters, since like the disciples, we seem to be unable to do it ourselves. All of us have something in the General Convention to find disappointing and yet we all have something to celebrate. In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul said "...if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; everything old has passed away, see, everything has become new! All this is from God..." Our lives as Christians calls us into community and prayer. Communities squabble from time to time and so will the Episcopal Church over these and other important issues. But ultimately the God who died and rose again for us, the God who loves us and calls us into covenant is with us. That love will ultimately calm the storm until such time as we discover the faith to confront and make peace of our own storms.
I'll close with a quote from the sermon delivered by Bishop Jefferts Schori the day after her election. "When we know ourselves beloved of God, we can begin to respond in less fearful ways. When we know ourselves beloved, we can begin to recognize the beloved in a homeless man, or rhetorical opponents, or a child with AIDS. When we know ourselves beloved, we can even begin to see and reach beyond the defense of others... We children can continue to squabble over our inheritance. Or we can claim our name and heritage as God's beloveds and share that name, beloved with the whole world." Amen.
© 2006 St. George's Episcopal Church, Maplewood, NJ
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