Beatitude

A Broad Place of Welcome

  As the Presbyterian Church (USA) changes, making it possible for gay and lesbian people to be ordained, some may feel that the rest of the world cannot accept this new position. In October, Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa wrote an open letter to the PCUSA affirming its decision. He suggested that the PCUSA had accomplished an act of justice through its decision to accept gay and lesbian people. In the letter, he said: “Salvation means being called out of our narrow bonds into a broad place of welcome to all.”

Tutu pointed out that in many places around the world Christians have been complicit while lesbians and gays have been legally persecuted. And, he said, “By making it possible for those in same-gender relationships to be ordained as pastors, preachers, elders, and deacons, you are being a witness to your ecumenical partners that you believe in the wideness of God’s merciful love.

Acceptance and solidarity toward those who have been unjustly excluded is at the core of what it means to be of faith. I’m grateful that the PCUSA has begun to take a stand and thankful for Desmond Tutu’s kind words.

The PCUSA Changes Its Ordination Standards

The Presbyterian Church USA has ratified an overture to become more inclusive toward people of gay and lesbian orientation. In essence, the vote to change ordination standards allows the possibility for people to be evaluated not so much on their sexual orientation but for their suitability to “submit joyfully to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all aspects of life;” a courageous and admirable shift in my opinion. 

You can check more information about this decision at: http://oga.pcusa.org/

I’ve found that through any major change my own spiritual discipline must be alive and well. Even now I seek depth in my own spiritual practices, like The Examination of Consciousness I mentioned in the previous post. I even find a true spiritual connection with people in my regional body of Presbyterians who disagree with my more inclusive approach to the church. We can remain open to a God whose grace is bigger than all our decisions and schisms and even our successes. Perhaps, then, the best thing to remember is that our efforts to be the church are not about us. They are instead about a God of surprising grace.

Standing in the River of Grace

In Acts 11:1-18 Peter is called upon to explain to the Jerusalem council why he ate with and baptized Gentiles. Peter had been through a great deal to get to the point of doing so. It came to him even through great perplexity and his own resistance. Two independent visions and a series of miraculous coincidences combined with some authentic religious experience and a deep reflection on scripture; these and about 80 miles of travel helped transform Peter, and through him the church into a multi-racial, multi-cultural movement. 

To me it is as though Peter was standing in the middle of the spring runoff where tributaries had overflowed their banks and come together. Peter could look and see the waters of grace flowing for the Gentiles and he could also recognize the waters of grace flowing for his fellow Jews. He simply responded by baptizing his new Gentile friends in those same waters. Those in the Jerusalem council could not see the other half of the flowing waters until Peter showed them. Then “they praised God.” 

We stand in the same spring runoff. A multitude of people experience such grace flowing. The church needs to find a way to welcome them. They are of many races and many persuasions. They are young and old, popular and friendless, rich and poor, sick and strong. God loves and embraces people. All people. And I just think the church can get to be too much like the Jerusalem council before Peter tells them about the grace he witnessed. Do you think we could more effectively reach out and welcome a larger variety of people?

Did Jesus Change His Mind?

In the passage of scripture from Mark 7:24-37 Jesus encounters a Greek or “Syrophoenician” woman. At first he does not want to talk to her or heal her daughter. Some racial slurs seem to get thrown around. But the woman persists and Jesus finds himself agreeing with her and healing her daughter. Jesus seems at a pivotal juncture in his ministry.

The story reverses roles. It allows us to see that a foreigner could teach something to Jesus, helping him change his mind. What might it be like for your congregation to expand racially? I’m thinking that people’s best imaginations would be informed by a mutual learning—Jesus seems even to model the possibility of learning from someone else, someone of a very different background than his. When we welcome all kinds of different people what really expands is the gospel… in all of us. Could others teach us the same way this woman taught Jesus?

Love and Neighbors

When Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan he told it in response to the question “Who is my Neighbor?” Jesus was never one to tell a story that was without surprise. So the kicker was that the person who finally did the right thing was a kind of person that we would despise: a Samaritan. Further, those other two—the “priest” and the “Levite”—were people who should have done the right thing but didn’t. Every time the story is told, I can’t keep my face from turning red for the times I should have loved my neighbor more. Jesus’ stories can really work on you! This story is designed to help us love our neighbor as ourselves. Both corporately and individually our mission is one of love for all people… and, as Jesus would have it, to do the compassionate thing that may pose a temporary inconvenience for us.

Many congregations do a multitude of compassionate acts in cooperation with other local organizations. Our commitment must flow from the love of God through our hearts with a love for others. If we lose that love, then the good we are called to do begins to erode. The better we accept God’s love then act on that same love, the better we can be neighbors in the way Jesus wanted us to be.