Honoring Different Beliefs & Practices
Tuesday, July 25, 2006 -- Week of Proper 11 (St. James the Apostle)
"Morning Reflections" is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.
Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117
An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this link -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html
Today's Readings for the Daily Office (p. 977)
Psalm 45 (morning) // 47, 48 (evening)
Joshua 8:1-22
Romans 14:1-12
Matthew 26:47-56
According to Paul, faithful Christians may hold very different beliefs and observe very different practices while living together as a community of faith.
"Let all be fully convinced in their own minds." Not, let all think exactly alike.
Verse 4 is fascinating. "Who are you to pass judgment on servants of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord (or God) is able to make them stand." What does Paul mean when he says of those who are different that "it is before their own lord that they stand or fall"? The most likely interpretation is that they stand or fall according to the principle that their conscience holds or that they stand or fall according to the way they understand God's requirements.
(It seems to me that it would be a stretch of Paul's theology to interpret this outside the Christian community as an endorsement of non-Christian religions, i.e. "servants of another god". But these words isolated from Paul's other writing might be read that way.)
Paul is addressing important conflicts in the early Christian community. Some members were convinced that to eat public market meat which has been ritually dedicated to the gods (including the divine Emperor) is an act of disloyalty to the One God. Others were convinced that since those gods don't exist, meat is meat -- eat. Some members observed the sabbath; it is one of the ten commandments. Other members "judge all days to be alike." These are important and potentially divisive differences.
Paul did not require uniformity or conformity of belief or practice on these matters. He tells them to follow their religious conscience, and whatever conclusion they come to, practice their convictions "in honor of the Lord," even if those convictions are opposite from another member's. "Let all be fully convinced in their own minds."
Paul expects those of different beliefs and practices to live together in Christ, to welcome one another, and not to pass judgment on each other.
Paul's practice seems consistent with Bishop Maze's recent announcement that was covered in some newspapers. He has authorized some congregations who have appropriately prepared to offer blessings to their committed same-gender couples as part of that congregation's pastoral response to their gay and lesbian members. He does not expect every congregation to do so. "Let all be fully convinced in their own minds."
We are one of those congregations that has done that preparation and our Vestry has become convinced that this is a good thing. Not all of our members at St. Paul's agree with that interpretation. Fine. No problem. We are welcome to have different opinions and judgments about these things while remaining in communion and welcoming one another.
"Who are you to pass judgment on servants of another? It is before their own lord (their own principles) that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make them stand... Let all be fully convinced in their own minds. Those who observe the day, observe it in honor of the Lord. Also those who eat, eat in honor of the Lord, since they give thanks to God; while those who abstain, abstain in honor of the Lord and give thanks to God. We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord."
Lowell
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The Rev. Lowell Grisham
posted by Lowell @ 7:54 AM
5 comments
5 Comments:
"Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions". Christian dialogue should never be for the purpose of coercing agreement. How we agree to disagree says volumes about the kind of community we are.
I would not hold too high the discussion about blessing same-gender couples as an example of this passage being fulfilled in spirit at St Paul's. I answered the poll by checking my box "I don't think we should do this, but I am open to changing my mind". It tasted bitter that the same poll made clear that agreement goes only one way. There was no "I think we should do this, but I am open to changing my mind". Fine. No problem.
Boo,
You've got a good point, Boo. My recollection of the question we used to survey the congregation was something like these words:
St. Paul's is ready to discuss the possibility of starting a conversation about the possibility of offering same-sex blessings for our members...
Then we had a a five-point response from strongly agree to strongly disagree.
Lowell
I understand and agree with the idea of not judging other and leaving that to God. I'm just not convinced that it is God's wish for men and men to couple or women to couple with women. In fact, I feel that the scripture states God's will for couples to be heterosexual in nature. I know that homosexuality has been around since the beginning of time, but so has murder, war, greed and so on. That doesn't mean that we bless and condone those who engage in those acts. I have to say as a member of St. Pauls that I don't think that we are sending the right message. I think in our attempt to love everyone and not judge that we are supporting and endorsing a lifestyle that is not God's will.
Anonymous --
I can sympathize with your struggle. I have the same problem every week when we pray for the members of the military. I have difficulty that God wishes the People of God to condone or endorse killing as a profession.
If you look at the history of the word "bless", though, it doesn't mean "endorse" -- it ultimately comes from a root to mean "to set apart [as holy] by blood." All of us are symbolically washed with Blood to mark us as God's people. We believe that Blood does something real and profound to change us from what we were, to something more like what God wishes us to be.
It helps me a lot to view "problematic" blessings as a way of saying, "Here. We mark you with the Blood of Christ. May God thereby transform you into the person you were meant to be!" -- and leave it up to God to decide who that person is.
-- Lesley K
Leslie, that was a thoughtful comment. Let God redeem.
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