2018-9 - A Theological Reflection

To date we have now completed the Holy Cow Survey, the active listening sessions, created a profile of “us”, and reviewed applications to be our new Bishop. We have also held a meeting to decide who should progress onto the online Zoom interviews, completed reference checks and are preparing for the week-long discernment retreat.

One of the objectives of this theological Field Education (TFE) assignment is to “see the theology within diocese wide work, how people with diverse knowledge, skills, experience and views are led by the Holy Spirit when working together for the good of the diocese”

As I moved through these tasks and reflected on the nature of God and religious beliefs revealed in each task, I came to realize I also needed to identify my own theology to be able to relate to the theology in the work and within others.

Theology is a complex subject and it was difficult to know where to start, so I looked back at the key things that shaped my beliefs.

I think in I was mostly influenced by my study of the Gospel of John, and by the year of catechumenate classes I undertook in preparation for Confirmation when I was 11 years old.

In a New Testament session at the School For Ministry (SFM) I was taught all the gospels are written to provide an image of Jesus through historical stories witnessed by the authors, remembered and passed down orally by others, or as metaphorical stories and parables told to make a point.

Each gospel is a portrayal of Jesus, written by an author who may, or may not, have met Jesus in person, for a specific purpose and aimed at a specific audience.

In my studies I recognized that it was the Gospel of John, that shaped my worldview and my religious beliefs.

I recognized the spiritual concepts within this gospel and how they are summarized as beliefs in the Nicene Creed in my Book of Common Prayer (BCP).

Like John’s gospel, the creed identifies and tries to confirm our spiritual beliefs, not because of what was witnessed, or any historical event, but what we believe through faith (John 20:29).

The themes in John’s writings that really resonate with me are the divinity of Jesus as the Word made flesh, being fully human and fully God as he walked the earth (John 1.1).

Jesus reveals an important message to me as the light of the world, the bread of life, the way, and the good shepherd. He reveals the kingdom of God through talking about himself, the messenger is the message.

John’s gospel not only shaped my beliefs but still pronounces the message of “Jesus in all of us” (John 15:4, 17:23, 14:20) which relates directly to my work in pastoral care ministry and chaplaincy at a retirement home.

I see Jesus as being the Word of God actively at work in all of us, in all situations.

It promotes the mysterious and sacramental presence and activity of God in the world and links the saving work of Christ in Baptism and the Eucharist (John 6:52-59).

These are important beliefs I hold onto through faith, just as John says, “These are written that you may believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God and that in believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31).

With these key scriptural beliefs, I moved on to look at how the creed in the BCP encapsulates them and impacts my day to day life.

The Nicene creed provides me with a focused view of what I claim to believe about the trinitarian nature of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, or God as Creator, Word, and Comforter.

It is this structure and content, supported by scripture, which also reassures me in my beliefs and which gives me the structure to understand my own theology.

It is not just something I say several times each week as I attend worship services, but it is also something I believe in deeply.

No matter what I learned about the historical and architectural research into the Hebrew Bible I still believe that God is the creator of the universe and all within it, which also provides an anchor for me to position beliefs about Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

When I read the second and central part of the creed I see the incarnate nature of Jesus in terms of his relationship in the Trinity, his eternal divinity, his essence, and his work as the Word in creation (John 1:1-5).

Each of these natures shape my thinking and are backed by scripture in John’s gospel:

·         “Eternally begotten” and with God at creation (John 20:31),

·         “God from God”, the Creator and the Word share the same qualities and substance or essence of divinity that make one God,

·         “Light from Light,” (John 8:12),

·         “True God from true God”, not a human who only appeared divine,

·         “Begotten, not made, of one Being”. Jesus was with the God the Creator in a permanent relationship before time was created,

·         “All things were made”. the Word of God was used at creation to make the universe and all things in it (John 1:3).

Throughout my reading of all the gospels I believed Jesus is the incarnate Word who actively revealed God to humanity in his miracles, parables, sermons and actions.

The next section introduces the Holy Spirit into my theology through the belief Jesus came from heaven, became incarnate through the Holy Spirit and was born as a person.

I believe that Jesus was a real human being, not simply a spirit or ghost.  By adding in the Holy Spirit at the incarnation we now have all three persons in one God. 

This is my key trinitarian belief in Christianity and without this belief I do not think my view of Christology would be on a firm foundation.

The next section brings me to my belief in salvation when it states Jesus suffered as humans do when dying on the cross. This showed me Jesus was fully human but also being fully God, was resurrected three days later.

Today we can claim Jesus suffered like we do, and therefore can relate and comfort us as we go through our suffering.

Each time I celebrate the Eucharist I believe that through the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist I receive the spiritual body and blood of Jesus and receive eternal life through his sacrifice (John 6:56-58).

The creed then takes me to more detail on the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, sent as the giver of life, and always in relationship with God the Creator and God the Word.

I see the Holy Spirit in everything around me, as the “Breath” God breathed out to give life to the world (Genesis 1:30), was breathed out onto the disciples (John 20:22), and onto the multitude at the birth of the Church at Pentecost (Acts 2:2-4).

It is this same Holy Spirit I received at my Baptism to be my helper, teacher, bearer of truth and witness (John 14:16, 14:26, 15:26).

It is this Holy Spirit which works within me through kenosis (emptying of the self and being receptive to the spirit) and theosis (the process of coming into closer union with God) every day.

The creed not only affirms my belief in historical continuity through apostolic succession and ordination but also reassures me as it addresses my earthly death and promises me eternal life.

Looking at my theology and how it relates to what I was doing on the Nominating Committee was challenging.

When I was reviewing the applicant's documents and online interviews I had to be aware of how an applicants’ theological views may be the same as mine but are communicated differently. For example, maybe the person did believe in the Trinity but preferred to focus on "Creator, Word and Comforter" rather than "Father, Son and Holy Spirit".

I had to be aware that when I was reviewing the essays and responses to interview questions I may be looking for messages which subconsciously reaffirmed my own theological views.

There were times when I was ready to mark down an applicant because I did not see the same theological terms I was used to, but on further review I could see the same religious beliefs just communicated in different terms.

There were a few occasions where the applicant looked good on the essay paper, but during the interview my own theological views made me feel uncomfortable with the answers. In those situations I felt the applicant was treating the discussion as a job interview, and was answering what they thought we wanted to hear rather than what they really believed, and this changed my opinion of them.  

Despite these challenges, my attempt to “see the theology within diocese wide work, how people with diverse knowledge, skills, experience and views are led by the Holy Spirit when working together for the good of the diocese” made me aware of who I am, how and where my beliefs were shaped and how unconsciously I apply them to all I do.

Sources:

The New Oxford Annotated Bible - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) with the Apocrypha (College Edition, 4th Ed, pg. 1860 - 1863)

Book of Common Prayer (BCP), 1979

NT1 Course Notes and Assignment Comments (Dr. David Mosley, SFM, Spring Semester 2018)

2018-8 - What are we looking for?

To date we have now completed the Holy Cow Survey, the active listening sessions, created and distributed a profile of “us” (not a profile of what we are looking for), and invited, received and reviewed applications to be our new Bishop and held a meeting to decide who should progress onto the online Zoom interviews.

This is a reflection on the tasks of the Bishop Nominating Committee and especially how I saw the nature of God and religious beliefs in the online interviews of those called to be our new Bishop.

In preparation for these online interviews I studied what the scriptures and the Book of Common Prayer (BCP) said about Bishops. I had these definitions as I participated in the online interviews and reviewed all the recordings.

First, I found Bishops are ordained as deacons and therefore must have the qualities of both. I studied 1 Timothy 3:1-13 and Titus 1:7-9 which identified the numerous qualities and character needed of Deacons, Priests and Bishops.

The characteristics which jumped out at me were they must first of all actually desire to take on the task and also be gentle, serious, temperate, respectable, hospitable, blameless, without arrogance, patient, ethical, devout, above reproach and self-controlled.

They must be an apt teacher who is well thought of by outsiders, holds fast to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience, shows great boldness in the faith, have a firm grasp of the Word, be able both to preach sound doctrine, and to refute those who contradict it.

On a practical level they must not be married more than once, must not be a recent convert (at least 24 years old and have been ordained a priest for at least a year), and manage their children and their households well.

The people called to be leaders of these early churches in 1 Timothy and Titus were planting, growing, and guiding fledgling communities very different from those in our diocese today. And whilst most these character traits are still applicable today the environment, society, issues and day-to-day functions of a Bishop are very different.

I felt these descriptions in scripture told me what qualities to look for in a Bishop, but I also needed to be able to identify what tasks a Bishop should carry out before I could discern if an applicant had the experience needed to take on the role successfully.

At this point I turned to the BCP and looked at the ordination of a Bishop service which suggested a Bishop is called to be one with the apostles in proclaiming Christ’s resurrection and interpreting the Gospel, and to testify to Christ’s sovereignty. 

The work of the Bishop is identified in a description of the role of the Bishop and in the qualification questions. Some of the tasks reflect the requirements in 1 Timothy and Titus and others build or clarify them.

The BCP states the person taking on the role of Bishop would need to:

·         guard the faith, unity, and discipline of the Church,

·         celebrate and administer of the sacraments of the New Covenant,

·         ordain priests and deacons and to join in ordaining bishops,

·         faithfully pastor and set a wholesome example for the entire flock of Christ,

·         share in the leadership of the Church throughout the world.

Then I looked at the qualification questions which added:

·         faithful in prayer, and in the study of Holy Scripture,

·         boldly proclaim and interpret the Gospel of Christ,

·         encourage and support all baptized people in their gifts and ministries, nourish them   from the riches of God’s grace, and pray for them without ceasing,

·         sustain your fellow presbyters and take counsel with them,

·         be merciful and show compassion to all.

After reviewing the Timothy, Titus and the BCP I felt a little overwhelmed as all of these are a very tall order for anyone to meet all the time!

I felt anyone called to the Episcopate must really be “called” and would not be able to see this as a job or a career move.

I could see the relationship between the scripture character definitions and the questions in the BCP but found it difficult to keep all these things in my mind as I entered the interview process. I needed to see each applicant as a human being, driven and guided by God to aspire to all the qualities and characteristics above but also recognizing not all candidates will demonstrate all of them.

I needed to be aware of the danger of the interview process becoming reduced to a search for what will meet my tastes, my needs, my wants rather than what the church needs in scripture and prayers.

Although there are many “musts” there are also some “must not’s”. I felt the “must not’s” would be identified through detailed background and reference checks, but as the “musts” point to character they can only be identified through face to face meetings or interviews.

As we went into the Zoom interviews we had carefully constructed questions to draw out the characteristics which could not be identified during paper and reference checks.

I noticed all the interviews started off tentatively as the candidates were provided with introductions and then an explanation of logistics.

This anxiousness dropped away in most as they were presented with standard questions about; the Holy Spirit at work within their ministry, working in multi-cultural settings, current issues and public voice, leadership style and decision making, and pastoring others.

Then there was a last question for each applicant specifically designed to draw out information on something they had included in their essays or something the Nominating Committee were concerned about, such as:

·         imagining serving as bishop,

·         being humbled and learning from the situation,

·         factors leading to discernment,

·         transitioning into church ministry and/or The Episcopal Church,

·         challenges in transitioning to the Episcopate.

These questions were all conversation openers which allowed the applicants to describe how they demonstrated the qualities and characteristics needed to be a Bishop.

In the review of the interview recordings I tried to look behind what was said and how it related to the scriptural and BCP characteristics as well as the requirements in the Diocese profile.

In reviewing these interviews, I was conscious each application was opening up and sharing intimate details with us.

I was drawn to Matthew 7:1-3, “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you” and I recognized all these applicants had achieved great things in their ministries.

God was reminding me I was there to identify the required character traits (or not) in each applicant and not to judge or assess the depth or application of each personal and spiritual quality.

Some applicants seemed to treat the interviews as a job application and answered in a factual way, whilst others treated the interview as an extension of their calling. The latter exhibited a lot more joy for their current ministry and a passion to be our next Bishop.

It seemed the ones with more passion did not see this as a career step and often were reluctant to apply when called.

To the extent possible in remote interviews I felt I was able to see the nature of God and religious beliefs in those called to be our new Bishop.

This was a formative task for me personally and resulted in me examining my own qualities and character traits against the requirements in 1 Timothy, Titus and the BCP.

I would encourage all readers to review themselves against these requirements on a regular basis.

2018-7 - The Power of Prayer

To date we have now completed the Holy Cow Survey, the active listening sessions, created and distributed a profile of “us” (not a profile of what we are looking for), and invited, received and reviewed applications to be our new Bishop. We also held a meeting to decide who should progress onto the online Zoom interviews.

Throughout all these tasks I have noticed the power of communicating with, and listening for, God’s voice through prayer. I noticed how each of the applicants referenced their use of this powerful gift from God in their essays.

This is a reflection on how I saw prayer at work within this project and also in my day-to-day life.

In each task in this project we have either started our meetings in prayer, sometimes with Holy communion, or been asked to pray when undertaking tasks remotely. After a while this became second nature in any task I undertook.

Looking back on these tasks to date, I noticed that my prayers were different depending on the task I was undertaking or the situation I found myself in.

If I was undertaking a task that day or even if I was not I was careful to keep up my prayer life with daily prayers of ACTS: Adoration (praise and glory to God), Confession (for things we have done or have not done), Thanksgiving (for all our blessings), Supplication (for others and our own needs).

If I needed to focus and prepare for a task I would add centering prayer for discernment by asking a question, and then sitting and listening for God’s answer.

Throughout the process I have been frequently praying intercessory prayers for the applicants, and for the Nominating Committee team members, especially when the focus was on the tasks their sub-committee was undertaking.

There were times I could not focus and needed to say a short prayer to bring me back into a closer relationship with God, one favorite is the Jesus Prayer “Savior Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner”. By repeating this over and over I was able to clear my mind of other distractions and be drawn into a closer relationship with God.

In my reflection on the theology of prayer in a specific task, or in my day to day life, I was struck by how powerful it is.

I think that prayer is often talked about but not often practiced even though it is one of the greatest gifts God has given us outside of salvation.

In my research on prayer I found a great quote by Frederick B. Meyer, an English Baptist pastor, evangelist and author. He said, "The great tragedy of life is not unanswered prayer, but un-offered prayer."

Instead of it being something we do every day, like breathing, eating and walking and talking, it seems so very often we associate prayer with crises in our life.

So, where else did I look to find out about prayer?

Well, it is throughout the Bible, the story of God’s relationship with the Hebrews and then with the whole of humanity. In this story God’s great commandments are “Love your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself”

I recognize I cannot do this without a right relationship with God and I cannot have that relationship if we do not talk – through prayer!

When I looked deeper for references to prayer I saw many verses that identify the importance and power of prayer, here are some of my favorites:

·         “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14),

·         "Ask and it shall be given to you; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you." (Luke 11:9),

·         "Now He was telling them a parable to show them that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart." (Luke 18:1),

·         “Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise” (James 5:13),

·          “Be anxious for nothing but in everything we should pray, giving thanks as we make our petitions known to God”. (Philippians 4:6).

There are many, many other prayers in scripture and I can often find one that relates directly to something we could be struggling with.

But I also recognize there are times I avoid praying because I just don’t feel like it, but those are the times I need to be exceedingly careful, the times when I really need prayer.

In my recent studies I read a quote from George Muller, a founder member of the Plymouth Brethren, Christian evangelist and planter of orphanages who had this to say about prayer:

"It is a common temptation of Satan to make us give up the reading of the Word and prayer when our enjoyment is gone; as if it were of no use to read the scriptures when we do not enjoy them, and as if it were no use to pray when we have no spirit of prayer.

The truth is that, in order to enjoy the Word, we ought to continue to read it, and the way to obtain a spirit of prayer is to continue praying.

The less we read the Word of God, the less we desire to read it, and the less we pray, the less we desire to pray."

Jesus always prayed constantly, because he knew the power of prayer and that it was not something to take lightly.

So, I thought about what happened to Jesus, and what happens to me when I pray and concluded:

·        As I pray I begin to become aware of how God might use me to answer prayers, and might involve me in ways I had not imagined,

·        Prayer forces me to be patient when God asks us to wait. Instead of getting frustrated we are not on my schedule, prayer forces me to be on God’s time,

·        Prayer opens my spiritual eyes and enables me to get in touch with what God is doing,

·        Prayer enables me to connect with God. In prayer God shows me what I am being guided to do through my feeling, thoughts, day-to-day experiences, visions, and dreams,

·        Prayer aligns my heart with God's heart, it strengthens my relationship with God and makes me ready for what I am guided to do.

So, as I progress through this project and in my day-to-day life I also pray that no matter what I am asked to do I will focus my thoughts and my hearts on “Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:10).

2018-6 - God is Calling

To date we have now completed the Holy Cow Survey, the active listening sessions, created and distributed a profile of “us” (not a profile of what we are looking for), and invited, received and reviewed applications to be our new Bishop.

This is a reflection on how I saw different callings in each of the different applicants but all with the same purpose – “Love your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27).

When I started reviewing the applications I was struck by the varied callings of applicants with different backgrounds into different ministries, at different ages, in different locations, into different cultures. Some had entered the church early on in their lives and others were called after they had successful secular careers in such fields as marketing, the law, academia, medicine.

I was amazed that no matter when, where or how each applicant was called they all ended up in the same place, their applications to be our new Bishop in a file for access by the Nominating Committee team members.  I reviewed and was humbled by their ministries described in their supporting documents.

As I started the reviews I thought about how our God calls us to serve and remembered the time when I was called.

I remember the “mustard seed” planted within me was a desire to learn which led to my attending the School For Ministry (SFM) and started my formation. I recalled no matter how hard I tried to ignore or avoid the calling by providing excuses why it could not be done, God persisted until I surrendered and said “Yes”.

In reviewing the documents, I wondered if the applicants had the same experience and I looked forward to meeting them electronically via Zoom and maybe later in person.

The more I thought about our calling, the more scriptural calls jumped out at me, such as God calling Moses, Abraham, Noah, Samuel, and David.

I looked through the Gospels and noticed how Jesus called the disciples and followers: “Come, follow me and I will send you out to fish for people.” (Matt 14:19), “Jesus withdrew to the sea with His disciples; and a great multitude from Galilee followed; and also, from Judea” (Mark 3:7), “After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said, and Levi got up, left everything and followed” (Luke 5:27-28).

I referenced the Epistles and found examples of how God calls the “Body of Christ”, “You also became imitators of us and Jesus Christ, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 1:6), “To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:2) “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of the one who called you out of darkness the wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9).

When I reflected on my own, and the applicants, formation I wondered about the theology of the calling. Armed with this curiosity I looked back at my SFM notes and undertook a search for papers from other sources.

In SFM last year I learned how my calling involved two concepts, kenosis and theosis.

Kenosis, from the Greek word for emptiness was the "self-emptying" of my personal will to become entirely receptive to the “divine will”.  When called to serve I was emptied, either totally or partially, providing a void that was to be filled by the Holy Spirit. This is not something that happens once, it is happening all the time.

Theosis is the process in which I am constantly being filled with the Holy Spirit which directs my thoughts, words and actions and forms my union with God.

I recognized that my calling, my formation, my self-emptying and filling with grace is an act of God. The inner signs of the grace within me are shown through the outward signs in the prayers, worship, and ministry I undertake.

When I looked for other resources to provide more insight into the theology of how and why we are called to serve God, I found an intriguing paper, “The Meaning of Calling in a Culture of Choice” from the Magazine of Theological and Ethical Inquiry from Yale Divinity School.

When I read this paper, I noticed there was a multi-part question that applied both to my own theology and to the task of reviewing the applications, “What does it mean to feel called to a vocation in a world where our churches seem disconnected, where work can be impersonal, and where our careers change many times?”

When looking at vocation it is seen through the lens of our contemporary cultural and our choices. I agreed with the paper which states choice shapes both our secular and spiritual reality and it can seem we are often trying to create our own faith story rather than God’s.

But looking at the journey of these applicants I noticed no matter how hard they tried to create their own journey, the Holy Spirit had guided them to the same place at this moment in their lives – this calling to the Episcopate in San Diego!

For all except one their journey will not end in being our Bishop, but it may change their calling and change where they are headed. I felt that either way it will be a forming experience for them, just as it is for me as I participate in this search.

This task identified the importance of discernment in decisions, the virtues of choice, but also recognizes our decisions come as a response to God’s will. For me to speak of a calling is to acknowledge God as the caller, and see our individual journeys have a goal.

Martin Luther famously expanded the language of vocation beyond the clerical into the Biblical notion of the “priesthood of all believers.”

He argued it is not just the monk or the minister who is called. Every state of life and any type of work can be considered a calling, a true vocation, and any type of work offers the opportunity to serve God and the “Other”.

I learned this concept of calling passed from Luther talking about vocation as a state of life, through Calvin’s “productive labor”, to the Puritans who changed it from faithfulness within one’s work, to faithfulness through one’s work, to faithfulness to one’s work resulting in the birth of today’s Work Ethic.

In reading this paper I loved the way my reflection turned away from vocation being roles and responsibilities and focused instead on how God meets us where we are, as we are. Each of us is a unique creation placed by God in a particular time, at a particular place, and gifted with particular abilities, experiences, and associations.

In this review task there was a danger the process could become reduced to a search for a person who matched my culture, tradition, tastes, needs, must-haves, and wants.

It was crucially important to have an open and honest sense of myself and what God is calling me to do, before I could review the calling of others.

For me, this task of reviewing the applications and supporting documents was an important part of my formation which allowed me to examine my own calling, research the theology of kenosis, theosis and vocation, and recognize the calling within those aspiring to be our next Bishop.

I would challenge all readers to undertake a frequent self-examination of their calling as part of their discernment on their own journey.

Ref:

https://reflections.yale.edu/article/seize-day-vocation-calling-work/meaning-calling-culture-choice