Fr Ben Garren

Dear Siblings in Christ,

History is written by the winners. As Episcopalians we tend to speak glowingly of the Elizabethan Compromise and the series of events that brought an “end” to the religious divisions within her realm. Our myth is that we are a peaceable church that uses non-violent means of civil discourse and compromise to come to mutually agreeable ends. Today we are asked to reflect on the flaws of that myth and remember the martyrdom of Margaret Ward, Margaret Clitherow, and Anne Line. They were put to death for refusing to comply to the Elizabethan Compromise.

In 1584, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, “An Act Against Jesuits, Seminary Priests, and such other like disobedient persons” was made law and would remain such until 1791. This law made it not only illegal for Catholic Clergy to be active within the realm but also penalized those who would dare provide them refuge. The three women we remember today broke this law multiple times, facing ever increasing penalties, until they were put to death for their actions. Specifically, they were providing housing for Catholic Clergy and space to gather for Catholic Worship.

The Anglican Tradition is beautiful, it is also marked with many points of tragedy where we have done egregious things. We don’t need it to be a myth, a perfect fable… but for it to be a real story, filled with tragedy, comedy, resiliency, and hope. We need the type of resiliency and hope these three martyrs held for our mutual faith in Jesus Christ. We need to recognize that sometimes we are a rather silly group of people. We must confront the fact that we have been the perpetrators of tragedy upon those who got in our way.

The Anglican Church then is much like each of us. We are not myths, we are not fables, we are real. Our stories are filled with tragedy, comedy, resiliency, and hope. We provide, for good and ill, these things to others and have such handed to us. To be people of faith, to embrace our own beauty and the beauty of our faith, we must first be honest, be real, about these things. Take a moment today to touch on your reality and find your beauty, when we can do that without bypassing the parts we are not so proud about we can begin to do so in truth. This is the whole self with which we are called to love God.

Pax,

Ben