Mtr Margaret Babcock
Dear Friends,
In seminary, I heard this advice from a valued professor: “Remember, the church is not your mother.”
At first, I thought it harsh, but on reflection (over 45 years now!) I appreciate its wisdom.
We seminarians, like many committed Christians, came to our faith within parishes which supported and nurtured us. But this mentor understood there would be times in every congregation we served, where disagreements and conflict would challenge our comfort. Our equanimity could not be dependent on either consistent approval or a tranquil community.
St Paul understood this as well. Out of his nine epistles, seven of them address deep divisions in those early congregations.
In today’s reading, he’s writing to a group of churches around Galatia, which had significant numbers of Gentile converts. Members of Jewish descent were insisting on strict adherence to the Torah and rabbinical law as a requirement of the community.
The fight was on: who’s in and who’s out?
This whole letter is worth a read, as Paul lays out an argument defending faith in God’s grace over the rule of law as the basis of our inclusion in Christ’s body. Evidently, these congregations had the humility to learn and grow, because we know that centuries later Christianity flourished in this area. I wonder how they came to have such flexibility.
Perhaps it had something to do with these two lines of Paul’s advice:
“The person who lives in right relationship with God does it by embracing what God arranges for him. Doing things for God is the opposite of entering into what God does for you.
—Galatians 3:11, The Message
What is Paul getting at here? Every parishioner (not just clergy) is called by God to participate in particular, human, and flawed congregations. If we find ourselves a member of a parish, it is because the Holy Spirit guided us there.
Not only are our gifts and resources needed for that congregation to grow into a mature Christian community, but the friction of real people trying to live out God’s love in challenging circumstances helps us remember: our true dependence is on the grace of God. Out of the security of that loving relationship, we can offer the gifts we have (prophetic, helping, teaching, etc.) and even opinions to the wider group without fear.
Even when we are wrong, we still belong, for Christ has claimed us.
Blessings,
—Mtr Margaret