Conflicts

Monday, June 11 -- Week of Proper 5
Feast of St. Barnabas

"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 location -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html

Today's Readings for the Daily Office (p. 970)
Psalms 56, 57, [58] (morning) 8, 84 (evening)
Deuteronomy 30:1-10
2 Corinthians 10:1-18
Luke 18:31-43

OR the readings for St. Barnabas Day
Morning Prayer: Psalms 15, 67 // Ecclesiasticus 31:3-11 // Acts 4:32-37
Evening Prayer: Psalms 19, 146 // Job 29:1-16 // Acts 9:26-31

(I used the reading for Monday of the week of proper five)


Today we begin the section of 2 Corinthians that most scholars identify as the painful or severe letter alluded to in 2:4. (Scholars believe 2 Corinthians includes fragments of more than one letter; estimates range from two to five different letters.) This letter is probably from a time prior to the beginning of 2 Corinthians when Paul rejoices in the message that Timothy brings him that the congregation had taken his strong warnings to heart.

What was the conflict about? It's hard to say for sure. Part of it was a turf battle. Other apostles had come to the church in Corinth which Paul had founded. They challenged his authority. Maybe they accepted payment for their work and compromised Paul's project of collecting funds for the Jerusalem church.

Several fundamental conflicts characterized the early church. The first was the relationship of the followers of Jesus as the Jewish Messiah and their relationship with Judaism and the observance of the Law. Some early Christians believed that Jesus was the fulfillment of the Jewish law and that continued observance was necessary for anyone who was to be a Christian. If Gentiles converted to the faith, they would be circumcised and would be taught the Torah and statues and ordinances of Jewish observance. Some early Christians saw salvation as escape from this material life and its bodily existence. They believed that God had lived in Jesus, the Spirit's coming into him at his baptism, to teach humanity how to live the spiritual life. But Jesus and his message was rejected. So, they taught, the Spirit left Jesus' body on the cross and returned to the heavenly realms where true life is. Early Christian belief and practice was widely varied and diverse.

Several of these conflicts and questions were part of the dynamics of the Greek church in Corinth. Thanks to their energy and disputes, we have many of the letters of Paul that eventually became part of our foundational documents of the New Testament and which shed light on the earliest interpretations of the person and work of Jesus.

Disputes and conflicts continue in the Church to this day. As in Paul's day, they seem to include disputes about authority, turf and property as well as challenges to interpretation of right belief and practice. Each generation faces its own version of these debates. Each generation works to resolve its conflicts as best it can -- the creeds represent attempts at such resolution. But new interpretations, questions and disputes arise.

I thought Bishop Steven Charleston did a wonderful job of tracing this heritage of conflict and inviting us to a willingness to recognize that full resolution of problems and differences is an unrealistic goal. Neither Paul nor the creeds completely resolved the conflicts of the Christian Church. Charleston invited us to embrace the spirit of reconciliation rather than resolution. We can be reconciled to one another even within our differences. We can respect the dignity of every human being as we struggle to follow our consciences and enlarge our understanding.

As his severe letter will show, there are some things that Paul is unwilling to be reconciled about. Yet after this particular conflict is over and his position has been solidified, Paul asked for the restoration of those whom he had punished.

What can we live with in Christ, and what can't we live with in Christ? It has been a perpetual question for the Church.

Lowell
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The Rev. Lowell Grisham
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, AR

The Mission of St. Paul's Episcopal Church is to explore and celebrate
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