This is a mediocre post, so if you want to stop now, it would be a good time. I'll wait while some of you are leaving......(imagine crappy music playing)........
Ok, for all you other brave souls, here's life:
So it is that life on the knoll seems to be slowly drawing to a close. For over four years now we have lived among the St. James community, loved them, served them, worked among them, and tried with varying effectiveness to lead them. But theological differences and their related consequences have torn the very fabric of our congregation and the pastoral relationship.
With deep conviction and sincerity, it seems that the majority of the congregation wants to disaffiliate with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and join the North American Lutheran Church. The NALC is the newly formed denomination within the greater Lutheran tradition that expresses its understanding of Christian teaching in a singularistic interpretation of Scripture and the Confessional writings of Luther and the Lutheran movement. The ELCA has historically been more open in its understanding of Scripture, which has been seen by some to be antithetical to the Gospel. Yet, seeking meaning from God's Word in Scripture is an on-going task. In my humble opinion, it is not, nor can it be, a once and for all kind of interpretive exercise if Jesus is indeed the living Word of God. As we open the pages of the Bible, do we observe a two-thousand year old document, or do we experience the power of God revealed within its pages? Were the writers of the biblical witness, addressing specific situations or were they speaking universal truths? How does the church decide which passages get interpreted one way or the other? Certainly there must be boundaries, but the question becomes, "Who gets to set them?" That, it seems to me, to be an issue of power within the church catholic. Roman Catholics draw the interpretive line in one place, while Methodists another, Presbyterians yet another, Lutherans (all 30+ denominations of them) each draw the line a bit differently. There are indeed many things that separate us. But what is it that unites us, if it is not the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ? Is Christ not enough to bind us together in love? When Jesus prayed the high priestly prayer recorded in John's Gospel that the church may be one as he and the Father are one, was it simply a wish, a dream, or was it the power of God to break our wills and conform them to his? Faith, it seems to me, is the power to live in the promise of unity even when it doesn't seem to exist. That is, faith allows me, calls me, empowers me to live among those with whom I may disagree about certain things, while claiming the unity that we share in Christ. It is the power of God to be the people of God. Faith calls me to set aside my will, my fears, my anxieties and to trust God to lead and guide me. So be it.
As the congregation enters into it next chapter in its faith journey, we too will follow God's call to "ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out in good courage, not know where we go, but only that you hand is leading us and your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen" (LBW, Vespers pg 153)
No comments:
Post a Comment