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Grace Notes from Father David October 2008 It has been noted that golf was invented by the same people who think music comes out of bagpipes! I have learned that golfers always carry an extra set of trousers because they might get a hole in one. And so it goes. Golf is it’s own world with its own humor, folklore, skills, fashions, practices and history. In other words, it has it’s very own culture and so it is with many human endeavors including Church. The Church has much in common with golf in that the culture arises out of a single, fundamental, experience. For the uninitiated chasing a little ball around seems silly and frivolous. At best a luxury. The Church seems that way as well to many… people chasing a myth around. But in golf, something magical happens the first time you strike the ball accurately and successfully. You experience joy, awe and wonder in a place you didn’t even know you had. It’s a first-hand experience of the existence of ‘the soul’. That’s what keeps people coming back to chase the little white ball. That’s what keeps people tuning in to watch the silly, frivolous game. I was out with our Senior Warden yesterday and she chipped the ball from about 45 feet off in the rough onto the green and into the cup! The joy on her face was angelic and the amazing thing is that anytime in the future she can reach into her memory banks and feel the same joy once again. She can relive the moment time and time again but especially when she needs a ‘boost’. That is the common experience of all golfers and while it is beyond the limits of language to explain, golfers universally know it. Centuries ago few people played the game but today, in the U.S., the real estate dedicated to golf courses is greater than the land area of Rhode Island and Delaware combined. Why? Because of that shared experience. So it is for the Christian. If all we were doing was chasing a myth it would have been over before it started. Beginning with but a 120 people on the day of Pentecost there are now untold millions of followers of the Nazarene. Why? Because of an experience each and everyone has had of the Risen Lord. Millions know the truth of ‘once I was blind but now I see.’ James Michener in his book The Source deals with the advent of the Christian Era, not by it’s doctrines or practices but by this experience of amazing grace, the forgiveness of sin that we each experience. That is what keeps us coming back. That’s what keeps us together. That’s what creates our hymnody, our liturgical practices, our fellowship one with another. That’s what causes us to declare, “We are born again!” and, “Christ is risen! The Lord is risen indeed! That is why the Lord God Jehovah issues that most gracious invitation, “Taste and see that I am good!” for you can, and if you do, you will never be the same again. For if any man be in Christ he is a new creature, the old has passed away and all things become new! You become a citizen of the kingdom of God… the culture of The Church. ~ Father David November 2008 Bury a seed and watch it grow. Not so with talents. In the parable of the Talents, servants are entrusted with the master's funds, which were called 'talents.' Two are praised for handling the money well and one is condemned for doing little or nothing with the funds. He buried it in a hole, thinking he was doing a good thing by keeping the money safe for when the master returned. He couldn't risk the humiliation of failure. In English, we would use the word 'money,' for in our language, 'talent' means something entirely different. Yet, with the English usage we find the meaning of the parable even more astounding. What is it to invest money but to nurture it and give it growth? To each has been given certain talents, or gifts, of various abilities that we are expected to nurture and develop by investing them. For the musician, he invests what little love of music and manual dexterity he has with an instructor in order to give them growth. With careful attention to detail, that talent can grow. The very finest musician did not start out as a maestro. He needed to invest what little he had in a course of instruction. It is not without risk, either, for the point of any talent, but particularly that one, is to use it... give it away... and the possibility of great humiliation, embarassment and chastisement is ever present when you finally play before others. You might forget half the music or hit sour notes or interpret it poorly. At the end of the day, if you buried your money, you would still have the money, but if you buried your talent, you've got nothing. You've missed the whole point of your existence and your part in God's plan. How excruciatingly terrible. In that light it is not hard to understand the master's anger at the wicked servant who buried his share of the money. The Bible says there is one unforgivable sin. I can't help but wonder if burying your talent doesn't qualify. It's never too late to dig up your talent, invest it, and use it for the glory of God. The Rector of my first church loved music. When he retired at 65 he took up the piano, invested what little talent he had in lessons, and enjoyed creating music for another 30 years! In World War II there were posters everywhere that said, "Uncle Sam needs you?" For those of you who have been faithful servants in investing your talents, Jesus Christ needs you. Whatever your talent is, don't hide it, offer it to the Church for the glory of God. Can't you just see His finger pointing at you? ~ Father David December 2008/January 2009 Once again the Episcopal Church finds itself in the news in an article appearing in the local Daily Gazette. This over the creation of a supposedly new "province" of the Anglican Communion in North America in competition with the Church of Canada and The Episcopal Church. Since the very inception of Christianity there have been various "parties" within the family of God each trying to make their particular ideas doctrine for everyone else. The Church, however, provides orderly ways and means for this to occur, yet when one of these "parties" ultimately fails to get their own way they pick up their toys and leave. In times past such groups amd their ideas have been called heretical. Frequently they have been called Schismatic which is almost as bad but accurate. Such language is harsh and most Christians find it contrary to the Spirit of Jesus Christ's teachings and example. The Episcopal Church has not been exempt from this phenomena. Since it's inception numbers of groups have gone down this road, mostly for the same reasons. The first occurred with the establishment of The Reformed Episcopal Church in 1873 which saw the Episcopal Church as having lost its "evangelical and protestant witness." In other words, it was a rebellion against the high church movement. But the common thread among all these groups has to do with the position of the Bible. The Reformers in general and the Church of England in particular held that while the Church had the ultimate authority in deciding any controversies it could not ordain anything contrary to the most certain warrants of Holy Scripture. The splinter groups insist on a rather modern view that the Bible is the only authority. Since that time there have been three rallying points, or "test cases" if you will, in support of the Bible being the only authority. First was a defense of the Biblical institution of slavery which also includes South Africa's apartheid efforts. The next battle was to confine women to the biblical place of subservience as they began to acquire various rights including the vote and ending with the consecration of women as Bishops and the last straw being the election of a woman as Presiding Bishop. The final battle which is still raging is an effort to continue to treat gay people as an abomination. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that the common thread in these issues is injustice and oppression and the raw exercise of power. What is not so obvious but is fundamental truth is that it's not about scripture but about the interpretation of scripture. Anglican's have traditionally interpreted scripture in the light of the Lordship of Jesus Christ and with reference to the Creeds, reason, tradition and experience. A blind reliance on one verse to the exclusion of all else is simply not how we've ever done business. Keep in mind also that Christianity flourished for 400 years without a bible at all. The newspapers claim this new 'province' already has 100,000 adherents. One must keep in mind that the group behind this has gathered together most every other rgoup that has left over the last hundred years which is not a bad thing at all. But the truth is that less than one percent of current communicants have left to support this effort. The activities, pronouncements, and behavior of this group is so far removed from Anglican tradition and biblical orthodoxy that they are unlikely to cause much further disruption to life as we know it in The Church. I put the word 'province' in quotes because it is against Anglican Tradition, Policy and Biblical Orthodoxy to have overlapping jurisdictions. ~ Father David
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