As a little girl I received a children's Bible that had been passed to me by my mother. The book had both colour and black and white plates depicting various scripture stories. These pictures are not the colourful, charming pictures we are accustomed to seeing in children's books today. Instead they represent another time, another world view, and another theology. The women are mostly demure and decorative. The men - bearded and authoritative.
One plate stands out in my mind... a picture of Satan... part man, part beast with his pointy tail and horns. When we would come to that page I would always ask Mom to skip it – my active imagination could not cope with this depiction of the ultimate evil. The devil was the stuff that bad dreams were made of.
I am happy to report that such images no longer hold sway over my mind. The image of the menacing man/beast has been replaced by one that at least on the surface appears less threatening but in reality poses a greater threat.
When I prepare a family and sponsors for the baptism of a child I spend a good deal of time going over the baptismal liturgy. Early in the liturgy the parents and sponsors are asked a series of questions:
Do you renounce Satan and all the spiritual forces of wickedness that rebel against God?
Do you renounce the evil powers of this world which corrupt and destroy the creatures of God?
Do you renounce all sinful desires that draw you from the love of God?
This portion of the liturgy raises many questions including:
Who is Satan? How does any of this relate to this innocent infant?
Why does the Church focus so much on sin?
I usually respond to such questions by saying that the questions from the liturgy are meant to challenge us to consider what we want for our children's life and what kind of example we will set for them. Whether we believe in evil personified in Satan or we understand Satan as the personification of human beings' propensity for evil - the need to recognise its existence and our response to it is central to how we live our Christian faith. The process that is revealed in the baptismal liturgy is not simply a turning away from evil but a turning toward Christ. The questions that follow mirror this.
Do you turn to Jesus Christ and accept him as your Saviour ?
Do you put your whole trust in his grace and love?
Do you promise to obey him as your Lord?
The baptismal liturgy teaches us that the Christian life is a consciousness - a way of understanding ourselves, our actions and a way of seeing the world around us. Simplified it all boils down to making choices that are grounded in the Gospel message of justice, love, compassion and hope.
This morning we heard the story of Jesus being tempted by Satan . Led by the Spirit, Jesus spends 40 days fasting in the wilderness. In his weakened state he encounters the devil. Jesus is offered the opportunity to exploit his power to his own benefit. It is interesting that the misuse of power is at the centre of the scenario. It reveals the very core of what we we know as sin. Misuse of personal power can lead us into the abuse of others and ourselves. It mires us in dishonesty and separates us from God. On a corporal level, abuse of power - whether it be economical, political, or ecclesiastical power - has far-reaching effects. From the exploitation of global resources, to the denial of human rights, to the war in Iraq there is no shortage of examples of how the misuse of power has impacted on all our lives and especially on those who inhabit the margins of society.
The recent meeting of the Primates of the Anglican Communion in Tanzania provided us with some disturbing examples of the misuse of ecclesiastical power. The Primates appeared to be operating with an authority that we, as the Church have never given them. On February 19th they issued a communiqué in which demands were made upon the American Church that would inhibit ECUSA and undermine the authority of the new Presiding Bishop, Katherine Jefferts Schori. In the communiqué a request was made for the appointment of a "Primatial Vicar". This person would offer alternative primatial oversight to Episcopalians who would not accept Bishop Schori’s leadership. Does this sound like an move for unity? It sounds like fostering division to me. The Primates also issued an ultimatum to ECUSA . They have given the Episcopal Church of the United States until September 30th to(and I quote)
"make an unequivocal common covenant that its bishops will not authorise any Rite of Blessing for same-sex unions in their dioceses or through General Convention" and "that a candidate for episcopal orders living in a same-sex union shall not receive the necessary consent unless some new consensus on these matters emerges across the Communion."
"If the reassurances requested of the House of Bishops cannot in good conscience be given, the relationship between The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion as a whole remains damaged at best, and this has consequences for the full participation of the Church in the life of the Communion."
(end quote)
The Primates also produced a draft of an Anglican Covenant - a document that has been created to preserve and define the unity of the Anglican Communion. First of all we are starting from a very faulty premise - the Anglican Communion has never been united never mind uniform. We have lived with our differences and when necessary we have struggled with them, even agreed to disagree and been stronger for it. Secondly, how can we take direction on issues of unity from the Primates when they are unable to model unity themselves. Initially conservative primates refused to come to the table with Presiding Bishop of ECUSA later some refused to take communion with her at the Eucharist. While the covenant proclaims that it is the Church’s mission "to respond to human need by loving service." and "to seek to transform unjust structures of society" - it loses all credibility given the context in which it was produced. Finally we return to the issue of abuse of power. The Primates do not have the right to make these demands. They can advise, they can recommend...but they are not the Anglican Magesterium - we have no such body....they cannot impose their will on ECUSA or the Anglican Church of Canada for that matter....that is unless we allow it.
My brothers and sisters in Christ. Today we find ourselves wandering in the wilderness and there is no doubt it is a frightening place to be. The temptation may be to align ourselves with the powerful.... to preserve the familiar, to maintain the status quo... to survive. But we can do better than survive. We can refuse to submit to the temptation to conform and turn our faces to Christ and find liberation in the Gospel way, the way of justice, love, compassion and hope. I don’t know about you but I am not here to prop up an institution. I am here to live the Good News in Christ.
The Rev Joyce Sanchez, Associate Priest, Christ Church Cathedral, Montreal