Last Sunday, Fr. David started us off in this season of Advent by reminding us of the preparatory nature of these four weeks. He briefly alluded to the annual preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; but, he spent most of the time on the other type of preparation, which unlike the temporal nature of our Christmas celebration each year, is something about which all Christians should be in a permanent state of preparation: the return of Jesus and all that means at the end of time as we understand it.
His sermon could also have served very well indeed for today, as the Gospel passage from St. Luke includes Jesus telling His disciples what sort of signs will accompany His return “with power and great glory.”
Aside from that theme, this Second Sunday in Advent, based on the Collect and the Epistle reading is also known as Bible Sunday. “Blessed Lord, who hast caused all holy Scripture to be written for our learning … Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning; that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” This second quotation is from S. Paul in his letter to the Church in Rome, and, as mentioned in years gone by, Paul’s reference to Scriptures, acknowledging that his letter to the Romans was one of the first books in terms of date of authorship, of what were to become the books of the New Testament, his reference to the Scriptures, at that time, was to the Old Testament.
As we believe that the early Christian Church was no less under the guidance of the Holy Spirit than were our Jewish forebears who accumulated those books of the Old Testament, S. Paul’s statement when read today can be understood to encompass the books of the New Testament as well. Most certainly the Collect implies the entire Bible as Christians know it - both Old and New Testaments.
And of course, all Christians agree about every jot and tittle included in the Bible, correct? Some may recall that, on this Sunday some years ago, I related an anecdote that someone had sent to Nicky Gumble for the Alpha Course. I won’t repeat the whole thing; it is one of those stories that builds and builds. It begins with two men standing on the Golden Gate bridge admiring the view, and when one overhears the other utter something about the wonders of God, a conversation begins, “Are you a Christian?” “Yes, I am.” So, am I.” And they shook hands. Then a long list of just what sort of Christian, based on their respective interpretations and extrapolations of Biblical revelation, “Are you a liberal or a fundamental Christian?” “I’m a fundamental Christian.” ‘So am I.” They smiled and nodded at each other. After a growing list of full agreement, during which they reach a point where they are going to exchange kids at Christmas, we come to the crunch, “Are you a 12-in or 12-out, pre-tribulation, Acts 9, mid Acts, dispensational, fundamental Christian?” “I’m a 12-in, pre-tribulation, Acts 9, mid Acts, dispensational, fundamental Christian.” At which point the first one shouts, “You heretic!”, and pushes the other off the bridge.
This is quite germane to the current situation as regards the ongoing fragmentation of the Anglican communion, especially here in the west. For those who read the local newspapers, you may have noticed a number of articles recently about various groups of Anglican individuals and even some parishes who are threatening to leave the Canterbury communion over the issue of same-sex marriages. In the various articles, they are quoted as using such phrases as “orthodox Anglicanism, faithful to Prayer Book tradition,” and as regards today being Bible Sunday, “biblically faithful … we will speak clearly (about) the other doctrines found clearly in Scripture, regardless of the world’s disdain.”
At face value, to us already-separate-from-Canterbury Anglicans, this appears to be very encouraging indeed, and a number of our faithful have approached me wondering why this group, with their claims, apparently so consistent with ours, is intending to set up a jurisdiction separate from us.
In response, both to the articles and the queries from our faithful, I have been laboriously preparing an article that I hope might be carried in the local newspapers. Laboriously, as I am wont to write everything as a sermon; many thanks to Deborah Gyapong for her wonderfully critical, take no prisoners review of my text.
So what of this group? Do we in fact share the same understanding? Is not their claim of adherence to clear biblical doctrines and the Prayer Book the same as ours? We should all hope and pray that this is the case. Unfortunately and sadly, based on discussions with some of them, such would not appear to be the case; thus the perceived need on my part for the newspaper article, and my references here today.
Encouragingly, they are most certainly orthodox when it comes to the understanding of the nature of marriage being between one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others. However, and this is where the Golden Gate Bridge anecdote comes in, they have, over time, accepted some doctrinally suspect positions, especially when such are put under the scrutiny of biblically founded doctrine and Prayer Book - yea, Christian - tradition. Like our Golden Gate fellows, it is so very easy to extrapolate beyond Scripture, usually by adopting a position, and then working out how to justify innovations; or, in the case of our Anglican brothers and sisters, to reduce or alter clear biblical doctrine as it did not, or does not, accord with their presumptive, sociologically influenced positions that they subsequently claimed to have justified by very interesting biblical gymnastics indeed, and thus attempted to quiet their consciences. Indeed, with some of those positions being now 30 years old, their consciences have ceased to be pricked by the possibility that they are doing things contrary to God’s will as clearly contained in the pages of Holy Scripture.
It is important here to recognize that we Anglican Catholics most certainly cannot claim to be pure and without fault ourselves. There is a very real possibility indeed that, on an individual basis, any one of us may be burdened with far more besetting sins than any one of those in the Anglican Church of Canada at whom we might be tempted to look down our noses. Thus, just as we should be honest enough at all times to pray that all strange and erroneous doctrines contrary to God’s will may be driven away from us, so too should we pray the same, not just for these our Anglican brothers and sisters, but for all who call themselves Christians.
While I suspect that most of us here know what are those things that would sadly ensure our continued separation, not only from the Canterbury communion, but also for this about-to-be newly separated group, perhaps there are those who are not aware; further, we should clear up the confusion as regards their statements re: orthodoxy and tradition. On some of these, we can be certain; on others, there is perhaps the hope that this group truly have returned to an orthodox position. Of that which we can be certain is the cause célèbre of our existence: on our part (and that of all other churches catholic/orthodox it should be mentioned) that the Church has no authority to alter biblical revelation, and the tradition based on the same, when it comes to the issue of the nature of Holy Orders. As mentioned, the novel position created 30 years ago here in Canada, and then subsequently in many other parts of the Canterbury communion, has become a constant part of the landscape, so much so that it would be truly momentous, in the most wonderful way, for this group to be so objectively self-critical that they would actually return to the biblical and Prayer Book traditions that they claim to desire.
Among the other points of which I cannot be certain, but pray that there is a return are:
· not just that marriage is a Sacrament involving one man and one woman, but that it is a lifelong bond, not to be broken for convenience’ sake, nor therefore to be repeated. Our Lord is very clear when it comes to this; and,
· that all human life from conception to natural death, as a gift from God, is therefore sacred;
Although the local group here in Ottawa seems inclined to return to Prayer Book worship, and we give thanks for that, the same may be a stretch in other parts of the country and the world. Among those who are lining up are the handful of parishes who separated themselves nearly ten years ago from the Diocese of New Westminster in greater Vancouver subsequent to Lambeth 1998 when their bishop returned with his highly innovative opinions on same-sex marriage. Our people on the west coast met with them, and while there was certainly a sharing of many commonalities, one of the more glaring obstacles to their joining us then, and we daresay now also, is that they have left Prayer Book worship so far behind that their forms of service bear virtually no resemblance to traditional Anglican worship as we might understand it. No longer, as was the case 30 years ago, are we separate just doctrinally, but now also liturgically, and, it should be noted, in a rapidly growing number of areas, morally, the subtle influences of the “world view”, as opposed to “God’s view” as contained in Scripture, having widened the separation.
On this Bible Sunday, let us pray that this group will be guided by God the Holy Spirit, and thus forsaking worldly influence they may truly turn away from those things that are contrary to God’s will as revealed in Scripture. Let us pray that the remainder of the Canterbury communion, and all other parts of the fragmented Body of Christ which is His Church, will do the same. Let us pray that the Traditional Anglican Communion, of which we are part, likewise will seek always to be guided, and where necessary, convicted by God the Holy Spirit, holding steadfast to those things that are pleasing to God, and forsaking those things that are contrary to His will.
“Most gracious God, we humbly beseech Thee for Thy holy Catholic Church. Fill it with all truth; in all truth with all peace. Where it is corrupt, purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where anything is amiss, reform it; where it is right, strengthen and confirm it; where it is in want, furnish it; where it is divided and rent asunder, make it whole again; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP p. 39)
ANNUNCIATION OTTAWA 2007 +CR