As I feared, and referred to in responses to comments on the preceding post, my analogy has been misunderstood.
By "back of the bus" I did not, repeat not, mean to imply returning to a time of repression and injustice. I firmly oppose the suggested moratoria on ordination and same-sex blessings, and will not vote for their adoption. I support full and open inclusion of gays and lesbians in all orders of ministry, and favor the adoption of same-sex blessings. As a practical reality, reflecting the Anglican tradition of reception, and in order to promote broader acceptance over time, I believe such rites should be authorized on a diocese by diocese basis. This is what I meant by "local option" in the essay in Episcopal Life.
So what did I mean by the "back of the bus"?
I meant the situation in which we find ourselves at present: being out of favor with a large portion (about one-third as I reckon) of the Anglican Communion. The consequences of our not adopting the Windsor Report (whatever that means) may lead to our bishops not being invited to Lambeth, for example. So it is the "Anglican bus" as a whole I'm talking about, not the status of gays and lesbians, women, or disadvantaged people. Some have suggested that the whole Episcopal Church is to be placed in the back of the bus, so to speak, if we do not enact the moratoria. (Others have suggested we'll be thrown off the bus entirely, and some have even called for that explicitly, though I think it very unlikely given the super-majority of the Primates that would be needed to accomplish such a division in the Communion).
So it is in this respect that I am willing to "suffer wrong for doing right." I don't think that's "good" -- I wish following the gospel had no negative consequences -- I just think it is a sad fact of where the sorry-assed Anglican Communion is right now. I know it will change, and I will work for that change with every fiber of my being. But I believe the way to do that is the constant patient witness of enduring unmerited punishment.
Hope this clears up the misunderstanding.
— Tobias S Haller BSG
somehow, while i agree with you, i found your language provocative of some thinking on my own, and your post prompted one of my own. which, if you didn't see it, is here.
ReplyDeleteperhaps i took it as well in the way i wasn't supposed to. but, well, what i have said, i have said. :)
Dear Brother,
ReplyDeleteNo, I think you got the "deeper" message 100%. I did see your comments earlier, and neglected to leave a note to that effect. Teh "back of the bus" is precisely where Jesus was. That didn't stop him preaching and ministering. And he was never invited to Lambeth!
Tobias
I appreciated your comments and took them as coming from the world of Hebrews 13 and very in keeping with gospel thought. A couple weeks ago, I made some similar observations about perhaps needing to take a different approach to this issue:
ReplyDeleteDiscipleship, or, How I Got it Wrong Again
Thanks Jared.
ReplyDeleteOne of the points of the armor of God in Ephesians is that it is not used to fight, but to stand. Add to that the Johannine witness to patient endurance, and Jesus' mandate not to judge, and you will understand where I am trying to position myself in all of this.
Blessings,
Tobias