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| www.savagechickens.com |
It
is always a source of great irony to me that working towards a truly inclusive
Church seems to produce so much conflict. Sometimes that conflict is subtle and well
mannered, sometimes not.
Just before Christmas I received a Facebook friend
request from someone I hadn’t seen sinceI was a curate. He was a member of the congregation where I
served, and I remember assisting at his
wedding.When I looked at my Facebook page, I also noticed that he had commented on one of my blog posts– he said,
‘I
don’t understand this – the word of God is explicit about sexual immorality
including homosexuality… on judgment day,
those who promote homosexuality and encourage others whilst claiming to
be“Christian” will find out the truth of things when God rejects them saying,
“I never knew you” and then sent to
Hell.’
I
guess that is me done for then! As I
accepted his ‘friend request’ I couldn’t help thinking ‘with friends like these ...!’But reading the Epiphany Bible readings today, I am reminded that whenever God has spoken into the world it seems to have produced conflict.
It was true for Moses and the people of Israel enslaved in Egypt. It was true as God led Israel into the promised land. It was true in the ministries of the prophets, from Samuel through Elijah, to Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Amos.
At
Epiphany, it was true in the birth of Jesus, as Herod’s reaction to the Wise Men
shows us. It was true in the ministry of
John the Baptist as he upset the political rulers by his straight talking, and in
the ministry of Jesus as he challenged the religious
leaders.
It
was true in the early church, upsetting Jews and Gentiles alike, provoking persecution, imprisonment and even death for a faith which claims to bring
peace.It was true for the leaders of the Protestant Reformation, as they challenged the status quo, and for Roman Catholics like Archbishop Oscar Romero, murdered at the altar for speaking up for the poor in El Salvador. It is true today in many countries around the world where Christians and those of other minority religions are often persecuted for their faith.
And it is true in the Church’s struggle with sexuality.
It seems that whenever God is at work - there is conflict. If this was the result when Jesus appeared ‘full of grace and truth’, how can it be any different now?
So perhaps it is my expectations which need to change. To be involved in God’s work involves us embracing conflict, living with conflict, working with conflict.
But that does not mean we should look for conflict
or arm ourselves to win by force. The
Christian way is not one of powerful victory, but of faithful witness, prayer and
love - even in the face of visceral
confrontation.
When faced with conflict, we must hold out arms of
love rather than point fingers of condemnation; we must challenge the anger and
fear of closed hearts and minds while planting the seeds of reconciliation and
forgiveness; we must seek to see Christ
in those with whom we disagree rather than seek to simply rebrand them with our
version of God’s image.
So
my prayer for 2012 will be the one from Celtic Daily Prayer, based on the Breastplate
of St Patrick. It recognises both the
inevitable conflict that seeking to follow Christ brings, while looking for
Christ in all those we meet along the
way.
Christ as a light illumine and guide
me.
Christ as a shield overshadow
me.
Christ under me;
Christ over me;
Christ beside me
on my left and my
right.
This day be within and without
me,
lowly and meek, yet all
powerful.
Be in the heart of each to whom I
speak;
in the mouth of each who speaks unto
me.
This day be within and without
me,
lowly and meek, yet all
powerful.
Christ as a light;
Christ as a shield;
Christ beside me
on my left and on my
right.
(Cartoon from http://www.savagechickens.com/)
