"NO THEM ONLY US"

"No Them Only Us", a double-sided sculpture/painting by Mark Titchner.

Bishop Alan Wilson gets to the heart of the matter on the wisdom of adopting the Anglican Covenant in his post titled Only us, redeemed. General Synod of the Church of England will decide on Wednesday of next week whether to adopt the covenant.

When I become a follower of Jesus Christ in baptism, when I receive the bread and wine, I am swept up personally into a process of reconciliation between heaven and earth in which all principalities and powers are disarmed, all sins forgiven, all and, in the end, every tear wiped away from all eyes. The ordinary business of worship is my point of contact, now, with that glorious reality where Christ will one day be all in all.

I really believe this stuff, and, it has, for me, unmistakable “relational consequences” of its own that are far deeper than any merely human falling out however justified. I exercise saving faith when I allow Jesus to break down barriers that divide people, not when I define them. Any label I slap on others who disgust me (what a comical concept in itself) will be torn off anyway, on the day of unveiling. Any dividing wall has been fatally undermined by the earthquake that came after Jesus died. Any protecting veil for what human beings hold, rightly or wrongly, to be holy, been torn in two.

Therefore, in the end, if we take the cross seriously, there can no longer be “us” and “them.” There is only “us,” at the foot of the cross, even though, confronted with the other people involved, some of us find that distasteful for now. (My emphasis) Defining people by their acts, gathering them into self-validating camps within which they can huddle fantasizing about their own righteousness and the opposition’s faithlessness is childish, unworthy and sub Christian. All we have to do to find healing and grace is stop doing it. And designing hidiing places where anyone can hide from the true implications of the cross is the silliest and most perilous policy for Christians to contemplate. It really is alien to our best tradition.

I really believe this stuff, too. So far as I know, Bishop Alan is the only bishop in the Church of England to publicly question the wisdom of the adoption of the covenant, which I believe to be a heroic stance on his part. A decision to stand alone amongst one's peers is not easy. I've heard, but not firsthand, that other English bishops privately express doubts about the covenant but think that they must go along and vote to adopt because Archbishop Rowan Williams wants the covenant so badly.

The words on the artwork pictured above are taken from Bill Clinton's acceptance speech at the 1992 Democratic Convention:

And so we must say to every American: Look beyond the stereotypes that blind us. We need each other - all of us - we need each other. We don’t have a person to waste, and yet for too long politicians have told the most of us that are doing all right that what’s really wrong with America is the rest of us - them.

Them, the minorities. Them, the liberals. Them, the poor. Them, the homeless. Them, the people with disabilities. Them, the gays.

We’ve gotten to where we’ve nearly them'ed ourselves to death. Them, and them, and them.

Substitute "every member of the Anglican Communion" for "every American" and the words serve us well at the present moment.

When I was in Leeds in England last year, I saw the sculpture pictured above in an exhibit. In my post on the exhibit, I said:

I was intrigued by the sculpture/painting the moment I read the words. It is a large block with all sides painted, taller and wider than it is thick, like a domino. At first, I thought the words were quite satisfying - if only the world was like that - but, as I thought about them more, I realized that more than one meaning was applicable.

The other interpretation of the artwork is that we close ranks and exclude "them", and we are left with only "us". We seem to be at a point of decision as to which way the Anglican Communion will go.

You know what I think: No Anglican Covenant!