25 Pentecost 2007 Zion, Washington

One of the things that is very important in talking about Episcopal Christianity to other Christians is to be able to draw parallels between what we do and what they do; even if there are some essential differences in the way we do them or in the things we believe about the things we do.

You're already familiar with some of my usual examples. One doesn't have to be taunting a colleague to point out, with a chirpy voice, that we Episcopalians have a weekly altar call, but for us, everyone comes down and receives Communion or a blessing. So, quite frankly, there's no tension at the end of the service to see if anyone will go down to the front of the church so that the service can come to an end.

Too, when we get to the altar rail, there is no uncertainty as to what we're there for or how long we need to stay there or what we're supposed to do afterward. By coming forward at our "Episcopal altar call", we come forward, have a personal encounter with God at Communion, and return to our pew to give thanks to God for the grace, power, comfort, and serenity of that encounter. (And, God willing, make an earnest resolve to increase our pledge; or at least that's the prayer of the stewardship chairman.)

For us, Holy Week is what other denominations call Revival Week, when we make a special effort to come to church with the intention of reviving our faith. In the Episcopal Church, that means immersing ourselves in the most ancient liturgies of holy Christianity and hearing tons of readings from Holy Scripture, that point our attention to God's love and power and to Jesus' great sacrifice and resurrection. Holy Week really is our Episcopal Revival Week.

And this Sunday, today, is Episcopal Bible Sunday. Notice the collect. There is a tired, old lie that gets hurled at us Episcopalians, that we have thrown out the Bible and replaced it with the Book of Common Prayer. I hear it from my conservative, fundamentalist colleagues; and now I am hearing it from fellow Anglicans who live in other parts of the world. In both cases, it's still a tired, old lie. At every Episcopal ordination of deacons, priests or bishops, the candidate is required to sign an oath that we believe the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the inspired Word of God and to contain all things necessary to salvation. It's an oath. It's not just a casually- taken step in the ritual of ordination.

We do believe that our blessed Lord caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning. We do believe that we should not only hear the Word of God, but also read it, study it, memorize it, and meditate on it as we seek God's direction and inspiration for our lives. (Today's collect says "hear, read, mark, learn, and inward digest"; which is better up-dated as "hear, read, study, memorize, and meditate on".)

So on this annual "Episcopal Bible Sunday", it's worth while for you and me to reaffirm that we really are a Bible reading Church. As you've heard me say, "Forward: Day by Day" will give you an orderly, daily schedule for sequential Bible reading. And when that schedule skips a section, be sure to read that too. It's probably really boring or really controversial or really gory; but it's always well worth reading.

 I have never failed to find some passage of Scripture that engages my interest, either positively or negatively. In today's Eucharistic readings, I got stirred up over St. Paul's admonition to the Thessalonians to not be lazy or idle or a busy-body. I'm still amazed that, in my letter of resignation as the Dean of Pamlico, I listed nine committees and task forces that either I was presently serving on or had served on. I surprised myself at how busy I've been, serving our bishop in these four years

Frankly, today, I didn't need to hear Malachi's prophesy. I know that his "bottom line" is to love God, neighbor, and self. I know that God will mete out the rewards and punishments on Judgment Day, as God pleases and that your and my Christian obligation and responsibility are to never "be weary in well-doing"; which is back to St. Paul's admonition to the Thessalonians. And, for today, Jesus' words in the Gospel were not particularly compelling, because I already know, at a very deep level, that God is in charge. I already know that evil people - whatever their motivation - live with an essential emptiness inside them that cannot be satisfied until they turn away from their evil ways. I know that God protects and inspires people when they are persecuted; sometimes in ways for which we pray and sometimes in ways that we could never have imagined. But St. Paul's words caught my attention and inspires me to keep moving forward, regardless of how tired I am or how doubtful or how burdened; because, in Christ Jesus, I find rest for my soul.

But this is not about me. This is about you. That if you are open to God's inspiration, there will never be a day in which you read holy Scripture that you don't have a moment that will motivate you and inspire you, even more than the Thought for the Day in the Washington Daily News. And, of course, as Erma Bombeck wrote, "The great lie of our age is 'one size fits all'". Today, you have needed to hear Malachi's prophecy. You may have needed to hear Jesus teaching about the destruction of the Temple or about the advent of the false Messiahs or about the signs of the End Times. Perhaps, if nothing else, what you need to hear today is for Jesus to tell you, "By your endurance you will gain your lives." Perhaps you needed to read and hear in the Psalm for today, that " the Lord will judge the world in righteousness and the people with equity."

"One size really doesn't fit all", but on this Episcopal Bible Sunday, it is essentially important for you to know that, in every group of daily Bible readings that the Episcopal Church provides for you, whether as part of the Sunday Eucharists or as part of the Daily Office readings, there will be something there for you, from God, for your well-being.

And the Episcopal Church is much more than a Bible Church. In addition to our basic belief that the Bible is inspired by God and contains all things necessary for salvation, we also officially employ Reason and Tradition to our reading of the Bible and to our determination of the teachings and practices of Anglican Christianity. Although stewardship chairmen wax wistful when they read in the second chapter of the Acts of the Apostles that the first Christian communities liquidated all of their assets, gave them to the Church, and received back what they needed; although it is Scriptural and it really is a Reasonable thing for truly faithful Christians to do, it is not our Tradition; and so we do not expect the faithful to liquidate their assets, except in our religious houses for monks and nuns and the like.

By the same token, we teach that it is inappropriate to comb through the Bible and sift out those lists of sins that we find particularly awful while leaving the rest of the sins on those lists alone, because they touch our own lives in uncomfortable ways. It is not Reasonable and it is not central to our Tradition. We also understand that there are passages in the Bible that are culturally-specific or time-specific, that no longer apply or, really, never should have applied, like slavery, or St. Paul's admonition for women to be quiet in church and not teach in church, and to ask her husband to answer any questions she might have; and if she doesn't have a husband, she's out of luck. Therefore, we understand that the Bible was "inspired" by God, not dictated by God. That's a big distinction with a difference.

Bishop Daniel tells the story of being verbally attacked by a women at a meeting and she said, "I hear you preach a lot about Jesus, but I don't here you say a lot about the Bible. Why is that?" To which the Bishop replied, "Because the Bible didn't die on the cross for my sins." At which point, she turned to her husband and said, "See, I told you he didn't believe in the Bible." It is not Scriptural, Reasonable, nor Traditional that we equate the Bible with God. Sometimes some people forget that. The Bible is God's fullest self-revelation to humanity, but it is not God. It is held in reverence, but it is not worshiped. It is, as the Psalmist wrote, "A lamp unto my feet and a light upon my path", but it is only the means by which we move toward God as Christians, it is not God.

Even so, most Episcopalians are embarrassingly ignorant about what's in the Bible, but we don't seem to be to worried about that. The problem with that attitude is that we are impoverished because there is so much wisdom and strength and motivation and inspiration and peace that we miss because, although we hear more Bible, Sunday by Sunday, than is read in most other churches in the greater Washington area, we don't make a point of reading, studying, memorizing or meditating on the Word of God, and we are the poorer for it.

If someone brings up a passage of Scripture to press a point or to annoy another Christian, most Episcopalians vapor lock and come to a complete halt and turn stone-silent; when, with a little study, you could be confident in supporting the teachings and practices of the Episcopal Church, even in the face of someone who knows more individual verses than you do. You don't have to know that whole Bible to be able to stand up for what you believe, but you do have to know something: (It's why God put those blank "end pages" in the front and back of your Bible. When you stumble upon something useful, write down the subject and the book/chapter/verse on an end-page. You'll be glad you did.)

Some of what we learn from Scripture has to do with our doctrines and other teachings about faith and the practice of that faith. And some of what we learn from Scripture is more subtle.

If there is a phrase that uniquely and subtly touches Anglican Christianity, it is this: "Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness". In one phrase, we have the reason why it's important to us that the Altar Guild do their job well; that acolytes do their job well; that lectors and chalice bearers and clergy do their job well... and also beautifully, because in "beauty", we can also see "holiness".

Aren't you as struck as I am, each Sunday when you come into this building and walk through the Narthex doors, and look up at this sanctuary, with the neat, orderly altar; the frontal, the shining brass candlesticks and the lighted candles; the flowers? I've been here on most Sundays for four years, and this sanctuary still takes my breath away. It is an embodiment of "the beauty of holiness".

It is a subtle statement of our Biblical faith in God, that we understand holiness to be something beautiful for God; because we know that with Skill, we can do a job excellently; but only a job done with Love can be beautiful. So we come to the altar of God with love, so that our lives and our ministries, in this place and in the world, will be done excellently and beautifully; and all this is comes from one line in the Bible that catches our attention and warms our hearts and stirs up our souls.

As the new Church Year begins, in two weeks, on December 2, make one of your Christian New Year's resolutions be to read the Bible daily, with the intention of learning what you read, as well as being inspired to do good, as a child of God; and to be equipped for the work of ministry, for the building up of the Body of Christ, which is the Church. This is a "meet and right" New Year's resolution for each one of us.