Monday, May 21, 2018
601 - The Whole World is Watching
Spirituality Column #601
May 22, 2018
Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary
The Whole World is
Watching
By Bob Walters
"Set me as a seal upon your heart; as a seal upon your arm;
for love is strong as death, passion fierce as the grave." - Song of Solomon 8:6 (NRSV)
When he was a puppy, our dog Kramer found my old Episcopal Book of Common Prayer (BCP) on a low shelf and chewed it into loose-leaf oblivion.
Though unrepentant, perhaps he liked the taste of Anglican doctrine.
That traditional doctrine - beautiful in its language, unyielding in its theology, and forthright in its witness for Christ for me was the highlight of the Harry and Meghan British royal wedding over the weekend. The TV commentators gushed and gooed and dished and described everything except the ceremony's straightforward message of God and Christ - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. With neither snark nor pomposity, I sincerely and solemnly wonder ow many in the entire Windsor Castle assemblage (including clergy) and worldwide audience truly understood what they were hearing and what was happening: a first-class message of Jesus, the truth - a witness for Christ.
Instead, what the media was covering - and what most folks were watching - was a celebrity event. Oh, how I pray this wonderful and divine message of love from that ancient doctrine would penetrate the worldly and entirely off-point perceptions of so many of those who watched and participated. The very apt and scriptural Episcopal words resonate with meaning for those with ears to hear. Sadly, so many are deaf.
I grew up Episcopalian but no longer am. I lament the church's aggressive secularization of social views and ecclesial understandings since the 1960s. Missing historically for congregants in Catholic, Episcopal, Orthodox and mainline Protestant churches is a deep personal understanding of God's word - the Bible - and relationship with Christ. In those communions - from the ancient days - these understanding and relationships tened to be church clergy things, not layman and congregation things.
But they are beautifully described in the BCP's traditional Anglican wedding vows. The glowing, heartfelt, and Bible-centric homily by Chicago bishop Michael Curry espoused God's and human love, truly, as only a black American preacher can. That the late Princess Diana's sister Lady Jane Fellowes - Harry's aunt - read from Song of Solomon (2:10-13 and 8:6-7, NRSV) spoke deeply to the layerings of this particular royal family, no-joined by a biracial American. We've come a long way, baby.
One commentator afterward breathlessly cited the ceremony's hard-to-describe "deep meaning and romance," and then babbled on about the setting and how cool the celebrity gathering was. God things are hard to describe, as she blindly and entirely missed the true glory and beauty - and mystery - of God's love so eloquently displayed.
I thought of Kramer eating my BCP. The whole world is watching.
Christ's seal of love - strong and fiercely passionate - was on bold display in that ceremony for anyone willing to see it and embrace Him. I pray more than a few did.
Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) rejoices in God's truth, which is there whether we see it or not, hear it or not, heed it or not. The prayer book Kramer ate (in 2011, the remains are in a zip lock bag on the Bible shelf) was a Confirmation gift given to Bob signed by his father John in 1965 at St. Andrew's Church, Kokomo, Ind. This just in: American Episcopal church drops words "husband" and "wife" from its wedding vows. Really. Oy.
"Set me as a seal upon your heart; as a seal upon your arm;
for love is strong as death, passion fierce as the grave." - Song of Solomon 8:6 (NRSV)
When he was a puppy, our dog Kramer found my old Episcopal Book of Common Prayer (BCP) on a low shelf and chewed it into loose-leaf oblivion.
Though unrepentant, perhaps he liked the taste of Anglican doctrine.
That traditional doctrine - beautiful in its language, unyielding in its theology, and forthright in its witness for Christ for me was the highlight of the Harry and Meghan British royal wedding over the weekend. The TV commentators gushed and gooed and dished and described everything except the ceremony's straightforward message of God and Christ - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. With neither snark nor pomposity, I sincerely and solemnly wonder ow many in the entire Windsor Castle assemblage (including clergy) and worldwide audience truly understood what they were hearing and what was happening: a first-class message of Jesus, the truth - a witness for Christ.
Instead, what the media was covering - and what most folks were watching - was a celebrity event. Oh, how I pray this wonderful and divine message of love from that ancient doctrine would penetrate the worldly and entirely off-point perceptions of so many of those who watched and participated. The very apt and scriptural Episcopal words resonate with meaning for those with ears to hear. Sadly, so many are deaf.
I grew up Episcopalian but no longer am. I lament the church's aggressive secularization of social views and ecclesial understandings since the 1960s. Missing historically for congregants in Catholic, Episcopal, Orthodox and mainline Protestant churches is a deep personal understanding of God's word - the Bible - and relationship with Christ. In those communions - from the ancient days - these understanding and relationships tened to be church clergy things, not layman and congregation things.
But they are beautifully described in the BCP's traditional Anglican wedding vows. The glowing, heartfelt, and Bible-centric homily by Chicago bishop Michael Curry espoused God's and human love, truly, as only a black American preacher can. That the late Princess Diana's sister Lady Jane Fellowes - Harry's aunt - read from Song of Solomon (2:10-13 and 8:6-7, NRSV) spoke deeply to the layerings of this particular royal family, no-joined by a biracial American. We've come a long way, baby.
One commentator afterward breathlessly cited the ceremony's hard-to-describe "deep meaning and romance," and then babbled on about the setting and how cool the celebrity gathering was. God things are hard to describe, as she blindly and entirely missed the true glory and beauty - and mystery - of God's love so eloquently displayed.
I thought of Kramer eating my BCP. The whole world is watching.
Christ's seal of love - strong and fiercely passionate - was on bold display in that ceremony for anyone willing to see it and embrace Him. I pray more than a few did.
Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) rejoices in God's truth, which is there whether we see it or not, hear it or not, heed it or not. The prayer book Kramer ate (in 2011, the remains are in a zip lock bag on the Bible shelf) was a Confirmation gift given to Bob signed by his father John in 1965 at St. Andrew's Church, Kokomo, Ind. This just in: American Episcopal church drops words "husband" and "wife" from its wedding vows. Really. Oy.
0 comments:
Post a Comment