Ask The Rector...
Click the letter to e-mail Fr. Matt 
Question
Hello, Rev. Dr. Lawrence,
Is there any reason why, apart from the attempt to make the Holy Bible more intelligible to 'modern' readers, that the Episcopal Church stopped using the King James version in its' church services?
The history book of the Episcopal church relates that around 1960 or so, that version was discarded in favor of an updated English language version.The richness of meaning was lost, in my opinion.
How can it be that a church whose virtue [ at least for me ] lies in it's faithful adherence to the highest and truest historical authority for its' standards of sacraments, rites, and rituals would do such a thing, when it is universally acknowledged that the King James/ Tyndale/ bible is superlative in it's power of expression and spiritual beauty?
After all, publishers don't 'update' the language of Shakespeares' plays or sonnets to suit the present day vernacular.
Answer
Hmm. Well, this can be a style vs substance debate - or form vs content. The first goal of Scripture is to communicate the original content accurately - and the original text was in Hebrew, Greek, or spoken Aramaic, not 16th C English. To read the KJV, the modern reader has to often put the text thru 2 translations: Greek into 16th C English and then, in our heads, 16th C English into contemporary English. That's twice the number of opportunities for misunderstanding. It's hard enough understanding the text with only 1 translation. There are many words and expressions in the KJV that simply don't mean the same thing anymore (Holy Ghost, for example).
Modern versions are generally more accurate translations, also, due to better and more recent scholarship.
This is also about how church traditions and scriptures take on a more hallowed aspect as they become more archaic - but we have to remember that when they were in their original state, their spiritual power had nothing to do with being archaic. "Thee" is just an old way of saying "You" - in the usual informal sense. Only over time did it take on this dimension of formal, sacred speech. People who cling to that form sometimes forget that the special, sacred nature of that language is just the effect of how we regard the passing of time - and yet our God is alive and well and living in the present, not just in the past. Church can be in danger of feeling like a museum, preserving these lovely, musty objects, but forgetting that we don't have to travel back in time to encounter the divine.
This isn't to say that the KJV isn't a magnificent piece of literature - its just that we don't need to drive a 1928 Rolls Royce all the time, when we've got a brand new Lexus out back!
Question
Hi, Rev. Dr. ML,
How does the Episcopal Church treat "confession" ?
I believe from what I've learned so far that the Anglican/ Episcopal church is close in many basic ways to the Roman Catholic church, which I assume still offers personal private confession.{?} I have no direct experience of religious confession, but have seen a million movies where the Roman Catholic priest goes into a little phone booth-like place, and the person wishing to confess goes into a partitioned section of that booth, apart from where the priest sits, and starts out with something like, "Father, I have sinned..."
This may be out of date....but I am curious, since in the Episcopal church services there is in different places a confession in the responsive reading , which the whole congregation recites. So....? Mrs. C
Answer
Thanks, J:
During the Reformation, there was strong push-back from Protestants concerning individual confession in the confession booth, due to abuses of priestly authority when they were selling absolution, basically, through the sale of indulgences. So the church of England developed, instead, a General Confession said by the whole congregation, and eventually removed the expectation that people need to have individual confession before receiving communion. We encourage individual confession, especially on Good Friday, and whenever one might feel moved to seek out a "discreet and understanding priest". People these days usually make their confessions in the context of a personal conversation or counseling session, as opposed to a formal booth and screen. Make sense? ML+
Question
Hi, Rev. Father Matt,
What is 'confirmation' in the Episcopal church? And, how does it lead to formal membership in the church?
Answer
Hi J
This is from p 860 in the prayer book:
"Confirmation is the rite in which we express a mature commitment to Christ, and receive strength from the Holy Spirit through prayer and the laying on of hands by a bishop."
In other words, it's a way of publicly affirming your faith as an adult, which can be a bracing and important experience. Kind of like the vows people make at their wedding, there's something about a sacred vow that serves as a touchstone and turning point.
Question
Hello, Fr. Matt, another question:
What does it mean to an Episcopalian priest when he/she makes the sign of the cross upon him/her self? Is the visible action a ritual or rite? Is it a symbol of something? Thanks Mrs. C
Answer
My answer might be criticized by others who know more about this custom - or who went to a snooty Episcopal seminary and count that as knowledge... But this is what makes the most sense to me:
First, here's a little "secret handshake" thing among those "in the know" in the Episcopal Church: "Episcopalian" is a noun, not an adjective. Some dictionaries are starting to slip on this because they are lowering their standards but most Episcopalians think it's important to keep this distinction. "Episcopalian" means only one thing: a person who belongs to the Episcopal Church. All other things having to do with the Episcopal church are modified by "Episcopal" not "Episcopalian": Episcopal church, tradition, bishop, priest, etc. Use that little bit of insider information and you will fit-in at any Episcopal cocktail party!
There are several moments at which an Episcopal priest makes the sign of the cross as a blessing action. First, there's the blessing associated with a particular sacrament. For example, during the Eucharistic Prayer, when we call upon the Holy Spirit to "bless and sanctify this bread and wine". Some people think this is the "moment" when the bread turns into flesh and the wine into blood. We tend to discourage that line of thinking, in favor of a less mechanistic interepretation that gives complete freedom of agency to the Holy Spirit. Whatever happens during the Eucharist, we believe, is happening thruout the prayer of consecration and is not dependent on any particular manual acts of the priest.
We also make that gesture in the sacrament of confession, when we pronounce absolution of sins. There are a lot of perfectly acceptable ways of interpreting this.
Some old-school Roman Catholic types get attached to the idea that there is an actual power of forgiveness that the priest has access to, which brings about some kind of change or transformation with that waving of the hands, but Episcopalians generally understand this in more complicated terms. The priest is set apart by the congregation to be a symbolic communicator or medium of the Holy Spirit - but there is no power involved that isn't the power of the Holy Spirit working thru the congregation or the penitent and the priest together. It's a real thing, in the sense that the Holy Spirit actually becomes present or manifest in a real way, but the "mechanics" of that are completely in the realm of the mysterious actions of the Holy Spirit and we don't pretend to understand it or control it.
These are the blessings we traditionally reserve for priests and bishops. They put the priest/bishop in the role of being a vehicle for the Holy Spirit. One can understand that literally or symbolically or just in terms of a kind of choreography of the body and soul in a dance together - however one wants to think of it is fine with Episcopalians.
Then there is the general blessing of the congregation or individuals within it, which involves either a waving of the hand in the sign of the cross or an inscribing of the sign of the cross on the forehead, for example what we do when we celebrate birthdays/anniversaries. This isn't a sacrament but it is also understood more or less as a real communication of the Spirit.
I also make the sign of the cross, using holy oil, while someone is actively dying. This is known as "extreme unction" and as I understand it there is some debate as to whether it's a sacrament accepted by the Episcopal Church or not. The catechism in the back of the prayer book is a good reference on that one. At any rate we do this as a way of blessing the person on their way toward the next place, and again this is reserved for the priest.
There are two other blessings using holy oil: the healing blessing, and at the blessing at baptism when we make the sign of the cross on the person's forehead and say something like "You are sealed as Christ's own forever." (I don't have my prayer book with me.)
Then there's the signs of the cross that many people make during worship - but you didn't ask about that so I'll stop here!
Questions:
Hello again, Rev. Dr. Lawrence,
Since you made such a beautiful connection in your sermon between the demands of Lent and its culmination in the resurrection on the Easter day, I find a need for more clarity about Lent. What did Lent stand for originally and historically?
And what is the definition of Lent in Episcopalianism? (This would include an explanation of fasting and penitence.) Last but not least, is there a book defining and describing the spiritual seasons of the Episcopal church, such as Epiphany and Lent? I appreciate your answers so greatly. Mrs. JC
Answer:
There are a couple books that introduce the basic themes of the Episcopal Church that you ask about here. You might want to check out the bookstore at the church and ask them about "Introduction to the Episcopal Church"-type books if you haven't already. There's one little one by John Westerhoff that we use in our Inquirer's class so if you are planning on attending them, you could get a jump-start by getting that book. If you have inquired at the bookstore already, and only gotten blank stares, lemme know! Its been awhile since I leafed thru these introductory books, so I'm not 100% sure they would answer your questions, but a quick glance at the Table of Contents would tell you.
Lent is traditionally a time of prayer and fasting lasting 40 days (not counting Sundays, which are "days off" from Lent) imitating Jesus' 40 days in the desert being tempted by the devil. That length of time is considered significant not only by Jews and Christians but other religions - when I stayed with the Sikhs during my seeker days they also encouraged me to stay for 40 days at least.
Prayer and fasting also have an interfaith significance, of course. In our church, it is handled lightly when at all. Most Episcopalians "give up something for Lent" and it's usually a token gesture: chocolate, or dessert, or something like that. But some Episco's go into it more deeply - I've usually fasted during the day, with one meal in the evening, though I didn't do that this year. It is a wonderful way to experience the world with more gratitude for one thing - those evening meals taste so good! There are lots of claims about fasting as a spiritual discipline but to be honest I think people attribute some of the physiological effects of fasting to spiritual experience, and that feeds our delusional tendencies a little bit, imho. But it does focus the mind and it also gives us a little more empathy for hungry people, and also that we can live and be happy without having to get whatever we want whenever we want.
The penitence aspect is a longer discussion but basically most Episcopalians lean toward the Anglican embrace of the creation, and do not see their bodies or the physical world as things to feel bad about. The Roman church ended up embracing a more dualistic spirituality that holds the body and the physical world in suspicion. There's no mortification of the flesh in our tradition. But Lent is a time to reflect on our limits, our sins, our attachments, our mortality, and to face the many ways in which we separate ourselves from God.
A wonderful book about this whole topic is Matthew Fox's "Original Blessing" - maybe you've read it. I don't go as far as he does in terms of practice and I think he overstates his case but I like his theory very much.
Anyway Lent is a time to focus on spiritual practice in whatever way you feel the spirit might be leading you. One of the things I like about it is how it's for a limited period of time so it doesn't feel so intimidating. You can decide to take on a new meditation practice, or do some kind of devotional work, or volunteer at a shelter, or do some other form of "good works" that might lead you to a closer walk with God - many Episcopalians "take something on" for Lent rather than "give something up." I think that's healthy and productive too - though it might also feed our notions that we can "have it all" and that God doesn't require sacrifice. As a privileged white male, I think it's good to give something up for a period of time to experience deprivation and absence. But poor people might benefit more from a different approach. Fasting opens us up in new ways to our attachments. Sometimes things we're attached to effectively block us from deeper relationship with God - for example, I often give up listening to the radio in my car during Lent - just so I can get used to silence again, and to not filling up space with sound and distractions. I find myself automatically reaching for the knob, stopping myself, and saying a little prayer instead. My habit of reaching for the knob thus acts as a prompt for my prayer. I like how that works.
Anyway that's a start to the conversation. Hope it helps! ML+
Questions:
Why does the priest anoint our forehead with oil? (Once again, great questions - this time about our Wed noon healing service. ) Mrs. JC
Answer:
Have you heard the old spiritual "There is a balm in Gilead?". The hymn is an answer to the question posed in Jeremiah Ch 8: "Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has the health of my poor people not been restored?". Gilead was famous as a center for healing, probably the Mayo Clinic of its day, so the question was rhetorical, like, "Are there not antibiotics in Rochester? So why is everyone still sick?". The answer was that God, with a heavy heart, was punishing the people of Israel for their disobedience. Ouch. Not very consoling. We tend to not make that kind of interpretation on suffering these days, of course. Interestingly, it's God who is asking the question here - he wants the people to search out the causes of their own suffering, in the hopes that they will repent.
Anyway, oil as an agent for healing goes back thousands of years, and thus became an important symbol for healing. Oil was also used for washing and for initiating a king into kingship. ("Messiah" literally means "annointed one".). The oil we use has been blessed by the bishop, who, as I like to say, was blessed by bishops who were blessed by bishops who were blessed by bishops etc all the way back to Jesus. Most of us consider that to be kind of a neat way of helping us feel connected to Jesus and his healing powers. While we don't necessarily think there's anything objectively different about that oil than oil that hasn't been blessed, we nonetheless consider the blessing to be important, if for no other reason than that knowing about the blessing of the oil helps us orient our hearts to the presence of God.
Regarding the healing itself, I always say that we don't claim to be like the faith healers, making extravagant claims about any of it, but rather that we humbly present ourselves to God's healing power and let that do whatever God would have it do. There are people who I've seen, drawing their last breaths, cancer ravaging their bodies, who are nonetheless deeply healed; and there are people I've known at the peak of physical health, who are very deeply wounded. The healing we seek is primarily that deep spiritual healing; but we have had amazing testimonies of physical healing also. We just give thanks for that and don't get too carried away with the "IT'S A MIRACLE!!" thing - that just turns a deeply private thing into a weird public thing.
How does this ritual relate to the communion, which follows?
Well, they are both "sacramental rites" (see p. 861-2 of the Prayer Book) - "outward and visible signs of an inward and spiritual grace." Other than that I guess their only relationship is that having the healing happen in the context of a Eucharistic service helps us locate our healing within the everyday action of the Spirit upon us as we open our hearts to God's word and sacraments.
What does the priest doing the
anointing represent?
The priest becomes for us a symbolic reminder of the real presence of Christ in our lives. Thru our imaginations, the priest can communicate something of what it might have been like to be healed by Jesus. It's all a part of the power of ritual to engage our imaginations and our five senses as we bring ourselves in prayer to God.
Question:
Hi Father Matt,
I have a question for you, Do you love God? The reason I ask is I was thinking how can I love something that I don't know who or what he is or even if he exists, Jesus tells us to love God with all our hearts, But these are words passed on by someone I don't know, let alone knowing God or Jesus, So I had the Idea, How do you love God without knowing him? Well I guess you would have to have some kind of experience or feeling his presence or Him showing himself to you somehow, or are we to just take the Bible's word for it? So my question is how do you love what you do not know, many times I have thought that I love someone before I get to know them, and then those feelings change, sometimes because I got to know them I loved them more, but more often lost a lot of love and respect the better I got to know them. So then I thought to love God, you, me or anyone would have to have a personal experience with God or a feeling about him. I don't know what mine is, if it has happened already and I have forgotten because of the pain. So I was wondering If you have had personal experience and if you would be willing to share it with me?
Having a rough time, and looking for some hope in a very dark storm.
Thanks for listening, Michael
Answer:
Hmm. First, I think it’s important to understand the Old Testament idea of love, which is very pragmatic and has a contractual quality to it – that is, if I agree to do this for you, and you agree to do that for me. That was the very first idea of love, in the Old Testament; and then over time it evolved to include more soft and squishy feelings and romantic notions. When God says that we are commanded to love him, it has to do with loyalty and fidelity first of all, and honoring the terms of the covenant, so to speak. Jesus says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” That’s really the highest form of devotion.
We make commitments to God, and God makes commitments to us. When we honor those commitments, the Bible calls that love. What is the nature of God’s commitment to you? That would be a pretty interesting question to work on.
Another aspect of this is like this: when I decided I was going to marry my wife, it was mostly because of how I felt about her, but it also included how I felt about myself when I was with her. How do you feel when you’re in God’s presence?
Also, how do you feel about the person of Jesus? Is he, or what he did, or what he taught, worthy of your love? Your devotion? That’s love.
You're right that God is hard to “know” much less love. But have you ever felt deep peace? Have you ever been inspired to forgive someone? Have you ever been led into deeper wisdom? Have you ever been encouraged to believe in yourself? Have you ever found the strength to carry on, and to overcome your hardship? Have you ever felt someone’s love channeled toward you? Or your love for someone else? These and an infinite number of other experiences are God’s work in the world – you don’t need to be a big mystic saint type person to experience God – God’s influence is so pervasive and complete that it’s in the air we breathe.
Comment:
Hey Father Matt,
Great answer, although I still have many questions that can only be answered by my future life, time, and like you said the God that is in everything and everywhere. Yes!!!, many times Yes!!!, Jesus (the person) who he is and what he did and stood for is enough for me alone to love him. And I can really relate to being loyal and keeping promises or commitments as you say, although I have to admit as this point I don't know what else God expects from me, and what I can expect from him, your heart intuition gets so blurry when you have suffered so long. Now I feel as if I am outside Gods grace and protection and am a prime target for bad things to happen, again bad things may happen, and again I do not know where they are leading me, my only hope is after all this pain God will have an assignment for me that is easier to handle, Again dreams of a wife, and taking in a child that needs me, these would be my ideal dreams, but God may have different plans, So all I can do is let go and let God, seeing as far as I can tell I'm not in control. Somehow against all the voices in my head telling me I am outside God's grace and protection, I have to find the strength to believe that this is not the truth, that God did not bring me this far just to give up on me when I need him the most and when I have completed transformed my entire being into a man that for the first time in me life I am very proud of, a man of love, honer, devotion, and respect.
I have many more questions but only so much emotional energy these days, so I will ask more later, for now thanks for shedding some light on this very (at least for me ) question.
And yes you can definitely post my questions, in fact I encourage you to do so, seeing as many people I think have these same questions but are afraid to ask because they feel like somehow they are questioning God and what right do they have to do that.
I know because I feel this way sometimes, but I have learned with your help that God wants us to ask these questions, so we can know him a little better
Thanks, talk again soon. God Bless, Michael
I forgot to answer your question about how do I feel when I am in Gods presence, If being in Gods presence feels like what it feels when you share love with a friend or lover, or family member, or when your heart goes out to someone who is in pain or suffering, or simply when a stranger is nice to you for no apparent reason catching you totally off guard ( these are just a few examples), then the way I feel about my self in these interaction is for lack of a better word divine, pure love. So then if this is God than God is Love, and I love, love!!! Until next time. Michael
Question:
Hi, Father Lawrence,
I have what may be a dumb question. Since I've never participated in a communion in the church, I am wondering how you administer it to those who approach the alter and kneel down. Do you put the 'bread' [ wafer ] in each ones' hand for them to 'eat'? And does each person actually drink from the 'cup'? Again, I don't want to offend by fumbling around with this seemingly small detail, but I want to be free to participate in the meaningfulness of the rite.
Thanks again, JC
Answer:
Dear J:
Great question again! We should put instructions about communion in the bulletin. That's what we'll do from now on. Here's the skinny:
How To Receive Communion
There are a variety of ways to receive communion, and these are all perfectly fine:
1. Kneeling at the altar rail. Put your hands out to receive the wafer, right hand over left. After the priest has put the wafer into the palm of your hand, consume it as seems natural to you. When the chalice with the wine comes along, use both hands to direct the chalice to your mouth and to control the flow of wine into your mouth. The chalice bearer will then wipe the chalice with a linen cloth and rotate it before the next person drinks from it.
2. Standing at the communion rail. Some people prefer to stand rather than kneel and this is equally in keeping with the traditions of the church. Receive the wafer as you would if kneeling (see above). When the chalice comes around, carefully take possession of the chalice and serve yourself, then hand it back to the server. This is important because there is no way for the server to guess how much wine you're getting - you have to take responsibility for that.
3. Receive a blessing but not communion. If you don't feel ready for communion for any reason, you may still come up to pray and receive a blessing from the priest. Cross your arms over your chest - this signals the servers that you are there for a blessing only.
Q: What if I haven't been baptized or I'm not a member of the church?
A: Our sacrament is open to every person seeking to be in communion with God through Christ. If you're not sure what you think of that statement, come up for a blessing and keep asking the question: how do you experience God through the person of Jesus? Fr. Matt would be happy to explore that question with you in an open and non-challenging manner.
Q: Aren't there a lot of germs in the wine?
A: We've been doing this for a very long time and to our knowledge no has has died by drinking from the common cup. The communion wine is fortified - it's a port - and with the higher alcohol content any germs are effectively killed.
Q: What about dipping the wafer into the wine?
A: We do not encourage this practice, known as intinction, because there are so many germs on everyone's fingers. As people dip their wafer into the cup they end up dipping their fingertips along with the wafer, and the cup becomes a finger bowl. Who wants to drink from a finger bowl? But if this practice is extremely important to you, simply hold the wafer in the palm of your hand and the chalice-bearer will take the wafer, carefully dip it, and place the wafer onto your tongue.
Question:
Hello Father Lawrence,
I'm new to the Episcopalian church, and to your branch church. I was a member of a Christian denomination for 24 years, but left it 10 years ago. I realized recently that I had to have church in my life again and had missed it greatly.
After attending several different denominations of Christian church services in Santa Rosa in the last 3 months, I find so much spiritual meaningfulness and joy in your church that I want to continue coming on Sundays [ I attend the 11:15 service ]. I feel at home in your church. The sermons are excellent in every way that they should be; and the music and hymns are wonderfully inspiring to sing and listen to also.
I did pick up several leaflets and booklets which explain many aspects of the church doctrines which helped me , but I have a couple of questions.
The 20 questions booklet says, "All baptized persons are entitled to receive the eucharist." Does this mean that if you haven't been baptized in any church you cannot receive communion in the church service? I don't want to violate church rules by taking communion with the congregation if I'm not entitled to do so, since I've never been baptized by a church [ and never actually taken communion in a church either].
Also, I've noticed that individuals genuflect before the alter before taking their seats in the pews: is this a gesture of respect or ? I've seen this in Catholic churches, but do not know the meaning of it. As you can see, I'm not very knowledgeable about the order of the service or all the rituals, so I appreciate your answers.
Thank you so much,
JC
Answer:
Very nice to hear from you and I'm happy to answer your questions. We do have a class for newcomers to answer these and any other questions that may come up - I know how odd and complicated some of our practices might seem to a new person. Here's some quick answers:
Different Episcopal churches have different ideas about the importance of baptism and receiving communion. We practice what we call "Open Table" which means we really don't care if you've been baptized or not. The important thing is that you approach the altar with reverence and an open heart toward the notion that Jesus is present somehow (and there are many different ideas as to how) in the ritual. The official policy is that you should be baptized first but most Episcopal churches overlook that. Of course, we would be happy to discuss baptism with you, when or if you want to explore the idea of making a mature commitment to Christ as found in our community. Many people have made that commitment already and baptism is just an after thought, others never do get baptized but are very strong in their commitment to Christ, and we always honor that first.
Regarding genuflection, its a purely personal practice of reverence and is completely optional. Some members of our church come from a Catholic background, and that's what they do to feel connected to the presence of God in the worship. Others don't find it meaningful and that's perfectly fine too. The same goes for crossing yourself, for kneeling vs. standing in the prayers or at the altar rail. Whatever feels right for you is best. Different services develop different tendencies but no one practice is superior to another.
Keep it up! All questions welcome! ML+
Questions:
Hi, Father Lawrence,
In the communion ceremony , what is the Priest actually doing in administering the wafer and wine? By this I mean, are you an intercessor and why does the supplicant need an intercessor ? The communing is between God and man, so what is it the priest brings to the ritual of an individuals' receiving the Christ? It helps me to understand your role, so that I will better know my own role in coming before the alter when I'm ready.
Thanks. Mrs. C
Answer:
There are a variety of answers to your excellent question depending on where one falls on the Catholic-Protestant spectrum. The Episcopal Church includes both traditions so it's not surprising that it's not perfectly clear.
The main thing that both sides agree on is that our modern ideas of the priesthood were formed in the midst of the Protestant Reformation. The idea that we would need a priest to stand between us and God is incompatible with basic Episcopal tradition. We all have direct access to God thru Christ and the Holy Spirit.
So then what does the priest do? The priest symbolically stands-in for Christ at the Eucharist - so that by participating in the communion you have a real flesh and blood person who can help you imagine Jesus in that role, breaking the bread and reminding us as to why we're here. A visual aid, if you will.
For many of us, God comes alive thru imagination, using symbol and poetry and song and metaphor and sacred story and ritual and lots of visuals. We like to involve our bodies with all five senses, which is why we tend to stand, sit, kneel, etc. It gets us into a physical engagement with God. So the visual sight of a priest, wearing vestments and breaking the bread, is intended to engage that imagination on a deep, prayerful level.
Some Episcopalians believe, like the Catholics, that the bread and wine actually turn somehow into the body and blood of Christ, and that there's something special about the priest's status or role that helps make that happen. But most of us take a more symbolic view. The priest is ordained into this role because it is useful to have someone standing in to perform that function, but the "Real Presence" of Christ happens somewhere in our hearts and minds more than in the actual bread and wine.
Still, there's enough mystery in all this that we treat the consecrated elements with great reverence, as if they were the actual body and blood - even though we know that in fact we are projecting our ideas onto the bread and wine. Either way, it's a vehicle for our reverence and as such it becomes a pathway to God.
Hope that makes sense? ML+
Question:
I was on your website yesterday and found the send the rector a question section. I have a question , or my wife and i have a question for you. We read a very interesting article on the Episcopal Cafe website this morning they have a link to the article our question is this, if someone wants to practice another faith or religion in order to gain a better idea of that particular faith or religion or incorporate that faith practice into the Episcopal faith do you think that is going to far in terms of being ecumenical? My wife and i think you can't be both a Muslim and Christian or Buddhist and Christian but we are still discovering our faith and when these things come up they cause us to stop and question. Can you help?
Sincerely...RS
Answer:
I remember your note from a couple months back. Your question is very interesting - thanks for sending it in.
I think it really depends on what religion you're talking about and what exactly you're doing by "practicing" it.
Many kinds of Buddhism, especially the American brands but also my favorite monk, Thich Nhat Hanh, are very open to people creatively blending their wisdom with other religious traditions. There's nothing problematic when an Episcopalian, for example, practices mindfulness or other meditation techniques that have been developed by other religions. Indeed, Christians have learned a great deal, and have a lot more to learn, in my opinion, from other religions with respect to deepening their meditation and prayer lives.
The bigger problem comes with respect to worship. Who or what we identify as "God" and how we come into relationship with that divine force - that's an area where most religions experience incompatibility. A Jew or Muslim considers it blasphemy when a Christian insists that Jesus is divine. No imam or rabbi would allow that kind of proclamation or worship in their temple/mosque, for very good reasons. Episcopalians, on the other hand, have a high tolerance for doubt and ambiguity about what it actually means to proclaim Jesus as God - but nonetheless we do so, unambiguously, in our worship and leave it to the individual to arrive at an understanding of how that's so. So if you were to come to our church, and confess to me that you're still unsure about what it means to say Jesus is God, I would welcome you and encourage you to enter deeply into our worship and prayer life, putting the theoretical question aside in the meantime, and just see what happens. We have a deep respect for how worship shapes understanding, and sometimes a half-second of prayer answers more questions than a shelf full of books.
So while Christians, Jews, and Muslims claim the same God - the God of Abraham, its not that simple in practice, especially for religious communities like Islam that do not have a high tolerance for ambiguity or doubt.
We had a reading from the Qur'an last Sunday in church - it probably made some people uncomfortable, though no one got too upset about it. We did this because it's important in the spirit of our common humanity to try to understand what we do agree on, as well as our differences. But if someone suggested to me that we address God as Allah, I would suggest that it would be too confusing for people, and that it would be covering-up our legitimate and important differences.
The truth is that a lot of people are between faiths, exploring different ones, and I encourage that. But at some point the mature person of faith has to make a choice, and it's only then that the deeper truths of a particular path are revealed, over the course of a lifetime.
I agree with the Dalai Lama, who encourages Western people to fully explore the faith of their own culture and family before trying to become a Buddhist or whatever. When I was a young man I rejected Christianity, thinking I knew what I was rejecting because I grew up in the church. But what I was actually rejecting was the children's version I had been taught in Sunday School. I had no idea what a mature Christian faith even vaguely resembled. Later, after coming to dead ends with the Sikhs, Hindus, Buddhists, and New Agers, I returned to the religion of my origins and discovered, as if for the first time, that it was filled with deep wisdom and spiritual power. Then I was able to make a mature proclamation of my faith and know that, whatever other religions had taught me, which was a lot, I could also be confident that Christianity also had a lifetime of teaching to offer, and I could lean into that.
Hope that answers your question? ML+
From the Rector
Worship Services
We offer 3 Sunday Services:
- 8 am - Traditional
- 9:15 am - More informal and family-oriented
- 11:15 am - More formal with classical chior