“It's All About Jesus!”

A homily by The Rev. Alice Marcrum

August 26th, 2007

As it is with many new things, this direction, which proclaims to be inclusive, appears to be very good. Yet, the fruit of this new direction has brought bitterness and divisiveness into the Body of Christ, which is just the opposite of what we prayed at the beginning of the service for today. Let’s look at the words from our Book of Common Prayer that we prayed this morning.

“Grant, O merciful God, that your Church, being gathered together in unity by your Holy Spirit, may show forth your power among all peoples, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.”

The reason that I bring this to your attention today is because we are quickly approaching the September 30^th deadline set by the Primates for the Episcopal Church to decide once and for all which direction we are going to take. While most of us would like to believe that this does not affect us here on Fort Myers Beach; I would be negligent as your pastor if I did not give you a ‘heads up’ on what is happening to our beloved Church. In the latest epistle from Nigeria, these words were written as a warning of the potential irreversible split that could occur within the Anglican Communion if the Episcopal Church refuses to comply with the Primates communiqué.

These are the words of warning from Bishop Peter Abuja: “The first road, the one that follows the current path of The Episcopal Church USA and the Anglican Church of Canada, is one that we simply cannot take because the cost is too high.  We dare not sacrifice eternal truth for mere appeasement; we cannot turn away from the source of life and love for a temporary truce.”

While many of us have been led to believe that the new direction of The Episcopal Church is all about sex, Bishop Abuja, states clearly the common ground that we must agree to in order to remain in communion with our Anglican brothers and sisters.  Please note in the following bullet points he gives no where is sexual preferences even mentioned. These doctrines of faith are based upon traditional Biblical doctrine that has been handed down through the ages beginning with the Apostles in their teachings. They are:

a.      The Authority and Supremacy of Scripture.

b.      The Doctrine of the Trinity.

c.       The person, work and resurrection of Jesus the Christ

d.      The acknowledgement of Jesus as Divine and the One and only means of salvation.

e.      The doctrines of sin, forgiveness, reconciliation, and transformation by the Holy Spirit through Christ.

f.        The sanctity of marriage and teaching about morality that is rooted in the Bible.

Of these statements of faith, Abuja writes: “These are not onerous burdens or tiresome restrictions but rather they are God’s gift, designed to set us free from the bondage of sin and give us the assurance of life eternal. 

It is our hope and fervent prayer that in the coming months, all those in leadership will be directed towards the restoration of true unity in the Body of Christ by an unconditional embrace of the One who says to all who will listen, “If you love me, you will obey what I command.”

When we look at Abuja’s faith statements, it is clear that they are not new doctrines, but Christian beliefs held in common among the diverse traditions that make up the Body of Christ. These are beliefs that we share with our ecumenical partners in faith. They are the foundation stones of Christianity itself.

In the Old Testament reading for today from Isaiah, we read these prophetic words, “See, I am laying in Zion a foundation stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation”. The traditional Christian interpretation of this scripture is that the prophet Isaiah is speaking about the Messiah, Jesus the Christ.  Years ago, when I was in Israel, I saw this text at the Dead Sea Scrolls Museum. This verse and others that we Christians have interpreted as being prophecies about Jesus from Isaiah were all marked with crosses.

The Dead Sea scrolls were written by the Essenes, a Jewish religious group that separated themselves from the rest of Jewish society to seek wisdom in the scriptures – particularly concerning the coming of the Messiah. It is believed that the Upper Room in which Jesus held the Last Supper with His disciples was owned by the Essenes and loaned to Jesus, because the Essenes believed Jesus to be the Messiah. An interesting note in history is the disappearance of the Essene community after Jesus’ death and resurrection.

For the Essenes, Jesus was the foundation stone of God’s new covenant with humans. Coincidentally, Jesus has been believed by Christians, since the beginning of the Church to be that same precious cornerstone. It is only those groups that the Church has declared throughout the ages as heretical that have disclaimed this foundational belief. 

Today, those who are following after the New Thing or the New Revelation choose to disbelieve that Jesus is the cornerstone for salvation. This is the direction that the leadership of The Episcopal Church now holds as its core doctrine. Jesus is no longer believed to be the Savior of the world, but one of many saviors. Pluralism is the foundation of this new religion that is being thrust upon Christianity.  Although the New Revelation claims inclusiveness, actions by those who follow this New Way have been non-inclusive of orthodox believers to the point of outright persecution of both clergy and laity.

The theological argument that is being decided will affect generations to come not just the present age. This is why it is so important to uphold the teachings of the New Testament writings such as the one that we read from Hebrews today wherein Jesus is referred to as “the mediator of a new covenant”. No other new covenant is mentioned in the New Testament writings as a means of salvation.

In the gospel reading for today from Luke, Jesus says, “Strive to enter through the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able.” Jesus is that narrow door. He is the Way to salvation. His words are words of warning to those who believe that they can come to the Father God by whatever means that they so choose. The scriptures are clear that Jesus alone is the Way to salvation. Human attempts to widen the door of salvation in order to be more inclusive will not work. In fact, those who do so do at risk of their own salvation and those whom they encourage to follow their false teachings.

The clock is already ticking. The hour of judgment for The Episcopal Church has been set. Of whom The Episcopal Church will decide to follow is coming to clarity. At this time, the Windsor Bishops have remained faithful in their stance to uphold the authority of the Bible and the historical teachings of the Church.  While the followers of the New Thing have shown a deliberate resolve to not repent and to not return to the teachings of the faith upon which The Episcopal Church was built.

In the meantime, we are not without hope,  for Jesus promises all of us in the Book of Revelation, “Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me. To the one who conquers I will give a place with me on my throne, just as I myself conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.” May we hear the voice of our Master calling us and open up the doors of our hearts to the only One from whom salvation comes.