THREE GREAT REASONS TO BE AN EPISCOPALIAN
There's a long story as to why I'm where I am. I'm not telling it today. Many of my reasons for joining the Episcopal Church would not apply to anyone else in any meaningful way, but there are three that should have a broad appeal to anyone who has thought or will think seriously about the nature and mission of the Church, its place in the plan of God and one's own place within it. Discussion is, as always, welcomed.
1. THE MISSION OF THE (EPISCOPAL) CHURCH
From the Catechism of the Episcopal Church, found on pages 844 and 845 in the Book of Common Prayer:
The Church
Q. What is the Church?
A. The Church is the community of the New Covenant.
Q. How is the Church described in the Bible?
A. The Church is described as the Body of which Jesus
Christ is the Head and of which all baptized persons are
members. It is called the People of God, the New Israel,
a holy nation, a royal priesthood, and the pillar and
ground of truth.
Q. How is the Church described in the creeds?
A. The Church is described as one, holy, catholic, and
apostolic.
Q. Why is the Church described as one?
A. The Church is one, because it is one Body, under one
Head, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Q. Why is the Church described as holy?
A. The Church is holy, because the Holy Spirit dwells in it,
consecrates its members, and guides them to do God’s
work.
Q. Why is the Church described as catholic?
A. The Church is catholic, because it proclaims the whole
Faith to all people, to the end of time.
Q. Why is the Church described as apostolic?
A. The Church is apostolic, because it continues in the
teaching and fellowship of the apostles and is sent
to carry out Christ’s mission to all people.
Q. What is the mission of the Church?
A. The mission of the Church is to restore all people to
unity with God and each other in Christ.
Q. How does the Church pursue its mission?
A. The Church pursues its mission as it prays and
worships, proclaims the Gospel, and promotes justice,
peace, and love.
Q. Through whom does the Church carry out its mission?
A. The Church carries out its mission through the ministry
of all its members.
Why Episcopalian? The mission of the church, as the Body of Christ, can be no different than the mission of the Head. Most Christians will recall Jesus saying that WE were to be the light of the world. In the 9th chapter of John, Jesus said, "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." His Body is continuing His mission in His physical absence. And what was His mission?
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
Luke 4:18-19, NIV
Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
"We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name." Acts 10:34-43, NIV
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.
2 Corinthians 5:18-20, NIV
The mission of the (Episcopal) Church is "to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ." It pursues this mission through prayer, worship, preaching, and promotion of justice, peace and love (a lot like Jesus did, actually). As ambassadors for Christ, we are pursuing His mission, the mission of the Kingdom of Heaven, on earth.
Other churches have their own statements of mission and purpose. None, in my opinion, are so fully aligned with the Head's mission as ours. That is one major reason why I'm an Episcopalian.
2. THE HISTORIC EPISCOPATE IN APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION
Protestations of rebels and reformers to the contrary aside, there is no other form of leadership authorized in scripture and validated by the practice of the early church than bishops, consecrated by apostolic authority, and overseeing the work of the presbytery. Nowhere in scripture do I find Jesus, or any of the apostles, calling or ordaining a pastor. Notwithstanding the Southern Baptist Convention's assertions, there are no scriptural qualifications (gender- or character-based) for the office of pastor, because there is no office of "pastor" in the New Testament. The three offices described in the New Testament are that of overseer or bishop, elder or presbyter, and deacon. "Pastor" is mentioned in the context of church ministry only once, in a functional list, without qualification or description. Though not explicit in the New Testament accounts, it is clear from those accounts and the history of the Church in its first century that Paul consecrated both Timothy and Titus as bishops, and charged them to ordain elders in every town under their respective jurisdictions. From these two examples and the historical results, it can be clearly shown that the Church has, since the apostles' time, been led by bishops in apostolic succession (consecrated by apostolic authority), overseeing and ordaining presbyters (now legitimately called either elders or priests, two biblically authorized terms) and deacons. Churches that are not in rebellion against either the scriptures or apostolic tradition are so governed to this day. There are some bishops, one in particular, who by means of a surplus of temporal authority and a deficit of godly character have grown their offices into something decidedly unscriptural, claiming themselves and their successors to be vicariously exercising the authority of Christ as head of the Church, and feeling free to add to or take away from the teachings and practices of the apostles, particularly with respect to the qualifications and roles of the episcopate and presbytery. The apostles warned of this in both overt and apocalyptic language, and we would do well to stay away from granting any semblance of legitimacy to said bishop's numerous unscriptural claims and pronouncements. However, the misbehavior of one notable bishopric over the course of history does not negate the practice of the apostles and their first- and second-century successors as normative to the life of the Church.
3. COMMON PRAYER AND THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS (ANCIENT AND MODERN WORSHIP)
The liturgical practice of the Episcopal Church (the way we worship) is another element that connects us to the Communion of Saints throughout time and space, at once seated in heavenly places with Christ and standing (or kneeling) in common prayer and common worship throughout the Kingdom's earthly territories. We sing our hymns of praise, joining our voices with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven. We hear the Word of God, and sing the Psalms. We confess our common faith in the ancient creed that at once unites and defines the community of faith. We pray together, and we confess our sins against God and our neighbor, things we have done or left undone. We celebrate the memorial of our redemption as Christ himself commanded, recalling his death, resurrection and ascension, and partaking of Christ's body and blood, the bread of heaven and the cup of salvation. We are sent back into the world to love and serve the Lord. To the objections of the anti-liturgical crowd, I have only one response. My Pentecostal brothers and sisters get very emotional when they sing "When We All Get to Heaven". I choke up every Sunday, when I and hundreds of my brothers and sisters join with millions throughout time and space, and confess our common faith: "For us and for our salvation, He came down from heaven." It's not vain repetition if you mean it.
No comments:
Post a Comment