C029, A049, 5:08

Anglicanism stands on Scripture, Tradition and Reason?? Anything else??

Jesus was constantly confronted by people who were obsessed with Tradition, with keeping and enforcing their religious laws, views, opinions and certainties. He was appalled that their Tradition was more sacred to them than love.

The obsession is still with us in the Church. Sometimes we are thick and oblivious unto inconsistency and blindness. Sometimes we are a blessing, sometimes we miss a WWJD opportunity to be a blessing. Sometimes we seem incomprehensibly simple.

It is becoming increasingly common across the Episcopal Church to invite and welcome everyone who seeks a deeper understanding of Christ to receive Holy Communion, notwithstanding the explicit provisions of Canon I.17.7 (No unbaptized person shall be eligible to receive Holy Communion in this Church.). The Church is divided on this, and it has been a subject at several General Conventions, including resolutions (never approved) to delete Canon I.17.7 and open Communion to everyone. As a parish priest, I always had Open Communion, a practice of hospitality by which I have seen many people feel welcomed and loved and come to Christ and eventually to baptism. I also have experienced the feeling of the door slammed in my face by Roman Catholic priests announcing that Communion is open to all members of the Catholic community and all others please remain seated. And seen notes in Episcopal parish Sunday bulletins saying that all baptized Christians are welcome to receive Communion. One slams the door negatively, one slams the door positively; but as to slamming doors, a door slammed is a door slammed.

Open Communion is consistent with Scripture and WWJD: when Jesus “Took, Blessed, Broke and Gave” the bread, he fed everyone present. Jesus never made baptism the price of being fed a bite of bread. Neither should his Church which loves the Summary of the Law at least liturgically.

Nevertheless, last week, General Convention of the Episcopal Church approved resolution C029: “Resolved, the House of Bishops concurring, that The Episcopal Church reaffirms that baptism is the ancient and normative entry point to receiving Holy Communion and that our Lord Jesus Christ calls us to go into the world and baptize all peoples.” The rationale: -- Tradition.

Sin is whatever is more important to us than love. For Jesus, that was Tradition.

The same General Convention passed resolution A049 approving liturgy for blessing same-sex unions even though one third of the Episcopal Church and most of the Anglican Communion oppose this as being against -- Tradition.

Our inconsistency with Tradition renders ludicrous our claim to stand on Reason. We are -- circle one:

Simply oblivious
Obliviously simple
All of the above

Sin is whatever is important to us that is not important to God.

We humans get upset with the damnedest things. We don’t realize the shallow depth of our worldly obsessions until someone we love is dying and dies; and then concerns of this world are exposed for -- the New Testament word is σκύβαλον -- that they were all along; and we realize that nothing is important but people. God is Love, but we make our obsessions and traditions our god. Thursday evening a week ago I asked a hospice nurse to come into the room and check heartbeat. She did so: there was none, and she gently removed the oxygen tube. As I walked out of the room with her, she glanced around for a clock. I looked at the time on my iPhone and showed her. It was 5:08.

C029 and A049 have come and gone and I could not possibly care less, because I will do what I believe is right regardless. 5:08 stirs my hurt, anger, outrage twice a day, and there is nothing in this world that I can do.

TW+