Bishop Alan Wilson, of the Anglican Diocese of Birmingham in England, spent last week on retreat at St. Wandrille Abbey in Normandy, pictured above. After Keeping the Hours and being steeped in the Psalms for a week, Bishop Alan writes:
If, quoting Michael Ramsey, “The Church exists that Christ may reign,” our life should be characterised not by weird exceptionalism, but intentional striving for equity and justice. What equity means pragmatically differs from age to age. However the challenge remains constant. God’s justice may transcend that of the world, but it has to be at [l]east as just. And after a week praying the collect, much more elegant in Latin than Engilsh, that Christians may reject those things that do not fit with the name we claim and choose those that do, it just doesn’t make any sense to suggest that basic issues of justice and equity are marginal or secondary, or merely secular impositions. They spring, in fact, from the core of our faith, as reflected in the psalms.
As I responded in the comments at Bishop Alan's blog:
The Psalms speak time and again of equity and justice and have done so for thousands of years, with particular attention to those on the margins. How can we think or speak of these qualities as an innovation in our Christian lives?
Please read Bishop Alan's entire post and view his other photos of the abbey.
The lovely photo above is Bishop Alan's. I hope he doesn't mind my borrowing it. The lush greenery (but not the building) reminds me of south Louisiana.
I like Bishop Alan's blog.
ReplyDeleteI have gone over there and looked at the photos of the Abbey. What a lovely place.
ReplyDeleteI admire Bishop Alan's blog quite a lot, too.
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