Some folks treat the Bible as a sacred object. They imagine that it has stories only of upright moral behavior and presents only exemplars of goodness. For those who actually read it, we find how people struggle with foibles in the face of a God who will not let them go. Its opening book, Genesis, reads like an intergenerational saga of a dysfunctional family, doomed to repeat their mistakes.
Our Presbyterian church (USA) meets in General Assembly, our highest decision-making body, this week in Detroit. You may have heard that it has ruled that pastors may officiate in same-gender weddings where state law sanctions such a union.
Our church has been declining in members for years, for a variety of reasons, mostly as we seem unable to hold our children when they move into adulthood. . We may continue an exodus of disaffected folks as a result of this decision. We speak of the church as family. As a family, we seem to import some of our worst behaviors into our organization. At the same time, we do not mean the image.by and large, families coleasce around the notion that blood is thick, that a family seeks to stick together.
All Presbyterians hold the Bible dearly. The rubber hits the road on matters of interpretation. Obviously, the bible has a few passages against homosexaul activity.It also has passages on change, including the Acts struggle over full inclusion of Gentiles (non-Jews) into what was a developing Jewish sect at the time. The sad truth is that Christians will pick and choose biblical passages to buttress their argument, but we rarely try to allow Scripture to set the terms of ethical decision. Instead, we bring pre-existing ethical positions to the Scripture and read it through that lens.
Somewhere along the line, the church has developed a market orientation. If it does not provide the service I wish, then I exit its orbit. Loyalty to a family does not counteract this preference and choice notion. years ago, the church excommunicated people. Churches find themselves in the position where people excommunicate themselves. I cannot think of any organization with whom i could agree. I also dislike the ease with which we draw a line in the sand and decide that being a member of a group means that I can brook no disagreement on issues where I place some priority. I have struggled with some issues at our gatherings, regional and national, where I have been heartbroken or furious at a decision. To me, leaving means giving up my right to criticize or support, and certainly obviates my capacity to work within its system. Like most people, i resent feeling like an outsider, but I do not grasp making myself one over single issues.
I also admit my tendency to want to crawl into a hole, or lash out, when i lose, or even gloat when i win. I so admire the folks on social media who are quick to pray with and for those disappointed by a decision of the larger body. A spirit of reconciliation can certainly help the center to hold, even when centrifugal force seems so strong. Some years ago, i was a commissioner in Columbus Ohio in a General Assembly that felt the weight of dissolution most painfully. Our response was a small piece, Hope in the lord Jesus Christ. In the end, as Christians, our center relies on Jesus Christ, not shifting tides of opinion or modes of biblical interpretation, but on the lving spirit of the man from Galilee.As Scripture says, in him all the dividing walls of hispotuility are torn down (Ephesians). Unity does not require uniformity.
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