Bishop's Message
Convention 2011 Eucharist Homily
Thu, Nov 17th 2011, 11:52
The Rt. Rev Dr. Michael L. Vono
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Clovis, NM
How Good It Is When Brethren Live Together in Unity
- Psalm 133, vs.1
I have been looking forward to this Convention of our Diocese for some time now, and what has come to mind recently, among a myriad of thoughts, are the words from Psalm 133 Verse 1: “Oh, how good and pleasant it is, when brethren live together in unity.” Now for us Anglican/Episcopalians unity does not mean sameness, but wholeness – diversity. St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Ignatius of Loyola believed that this view of the universe is the essence of unity.
Yes, I am fully aware after 35 years of ministry that this biblical “ideal” does not always happen at church conventions, and we’ve all been there! And to be completely honest, perhaps like some of you here today – although I can’t imagine it – often in my younger days I literally dreaded and dragged my feet in going to diocesan convention, that is, until I decided I wanted to help design and plan our convention gatherings in Europe. I truly believe that diocesan conventions are important church gatherings in the life of a diocese, because, in fact, it is the one place when the representative family can come together, when we can live in community, pray, plan and strengthen our baptismal bonds of unity. We convene as baptized ministers of the church; lay persons, bishops, priests and deacons charged with carrying out the church’s mission, which is God’s mission carried out through the church. We do this through the ministry of all its members. And the mission of the church, as our catechism teaches, is to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ.
How good and pleasant it is when people live together, called to together to live in Christ – in one body – in an exemplary unity.
Some of you heave heard me say that while I was walking on the beach in Loreto Bay, Mexico, this past August during my vacation, I had been thinking about this convention, and in a prayerful moment I asked the Lord: “What theme, what message, what spiritual image would best fit what our diocese is presently experiencing?” In other words, what biblical image/teaching insight would best serve as a lens through which we could envision/imagine the work of Christ in our age, the future and mission of the DRG.
What immediately came to mind was Jesus’ saying early on in his ministry after his baptism: “The kingdom of God has come near to you!” This is the spiritual paradigm I am asking you to embrace these next few days. In all topics and matters that will come before us for our deliberation and decision-making, I would encourage you to ask yourself: How does this further the Kingdom of God? How does this awaken our souls and the souls of others to recognize the reign and love of God? What heavenly visions can we encourage, created by the loving grace of God – and spirit of God – that will inspire people around us to seek God in their lives and in community? How will we further the Gospel, further the mission of the church, and direct people towards God’s Kingdom?
Now I have told some of you that I find these questions very sobering, and when I study the Scriptures about the Kingdom of God I am always reminded of a story told by Billy Graham. Billy Graham likes to tell a story of something that happened to him early in his ministry. He had just arrived in a small town, having been invited to preach at an evening revival service. Graham had a few letters to mail, so he asked a young boy if he could tell him the way to post office. The boy gave him directions. He thanked him, and turned away. But then, on impulse, he turned back to the boy and said: “If you’ll come to church this evening, you can hear me telling everyone how to get to Heaven.” “I don’t think I’ll be there,” said the boy. “You don’t even know the way to the post office.”
Apart from the Holy Spirit and apart from the Incarnate Jesus Christ, we can’t know the ways of, or to, God’s Kingdom. We (the Church) rely on Holy Scripture, prayer and discernment, tradition, and reason – all necessary and descriptive of our Anglican/Episcopal heritage – in seeking God’s will and the Kingdom. Although this reality is impossible for our human minds to conceive completely, Jesus’ parables teach us that the Kingdom of Heaven is not so much a spiritual reality “beyond this world,” but rather a spiritual reality “breaking into the world,” breaking into our very lives and relationships. We have to seek it, look for it!! The Kingdom of God for the early church fathers and theologians refers to “the realm or sphere in which God’s reign, God’s will, is fully operational.” The line between Heaven and Earth is very thin. This is our Anglican mystery of understanding of incarnation.
Rudolph Bultman puts it this way: “There is within all of us a faint reminiscence of who we really are; that is “the mystical body of Christ living and operating in this world.”
Christ is risen and among us, we believe in the nearness of God in day to day life, and we are, by Baptism, empowered to carry on this divine legacy.
Management and life-planning guru, Stephen Covey, wrote a book several years ago called First Things First (Simon & Schuster, 1994). It’s sort of a handbook for living a joyful and productive life. Perhaps the best line in the book is its subtitle. Covey declares that the purpose of a human spiritual life can be summed up in four essential points, all of them beginning with the letter “L”: “to Live, to Love, to Learn, to Leave a Legacy.”
On Mount Nebo, Moses leaves a legacy, one that has nothing to do with gold and rich herds of livestock. It is a spiritual legacy.
Christian sociologist Tony Campolo tells of a research project once conducted with people over the age of ninety. The interviewers asked these very elderly people: “As you look back on your life, what do you wish you had done differently?” Three answers emerged from a sizeable majority:
They wished they had risked more;
They wished they had spent more time in reflection; and
They wished they had done more to leave a legacy: something to pass on to the next generation.
I read these during one of our conventions years ago, and thought about how church – in convention – works to do this. I pray, and I hope, we can do this at this convention in Clovis! This convention and all church conventions ought to be a time when we labor together for the realization of God’s emerging Kingdom. Here in Far West Texas and New Mexico, even though at this moment in time we may look like we are an aging diocese, not for long! We have something to pass on to the next generation, a spiritual legacy to leave.
Oh, how good and pleasant it is when brethren live together in unity … In the Kingdom of God which daily comes near to us. Amen.
