This year, as we know, marks the hundredth anniversary of the modern ecumenical movement, which began with the Edinburgh Conference’s appeal for Christian unity as the prerequisite for a credible and convincing witness to the Gospel in our time. In commemorating this anniversary, we must give thanks for the remarkable progress made towards this noble goal through the efforts of committed Christians of every denomination. At the same time, however, we remain conscious of how much yet remains to be done. In a world marked by growing interdependence and solidarity, we are challenged to proclaim with renewed conviction the reality of our reconciliation and liberation in Christ, and to propose the truth of the Gospel as the key to an authentic and integral human development. In a society which has become increasingly indifferent or even hostile to the Christian message, we are all the more compelled to give a joyful and convincing account of the hope that is within us (cf. 1 Pet 3:15), and to present the Risen Lord as the response to the deepest questions and spiritual aspirations of the men and women of our time.
As we processed to the chancel at the beginning of this service, the choir sang that Christ is our “sure foundation”. He is the Eternal Son of God, of one substance with the Father, who took flesh, as the Creed states, “for us men and for our salvation”. He alone has the words of everlasting life. In him, as the Apostle teaches, “all things hold together” ”¦ “for in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell” (Col 1:17,19).
Our commitment to Christian unity is born of nothing less than our faith in Christ, in this Christ, risen from the dead and seated at the right hand of the Father, who will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. It is the reality of Christ’s person, his saving work and above all the historical fact of his resurrection, which is the content of the apostolic kerygma and those credal formulas which, beginning in the New Testament itself, have guaranteed the integrity of its transmission. The Church’s unity, in a word, can never be other than a unity in the apostolic faith, in the faith entrusted to each new member of the Body of Christ during the rite of Baptism. It is this faith which unites us to the Lord, makes us sharers in his Holy Spirit, and thus, even now, sharers in the life of the Blessed Trinity, the model of the Church’s koinonia here below.
I also thought that the Archbishop of Canterbury’s address at Evening Prayer and was taken by this about Gregory the Great on the servant ministry:
[blockquote]And in this, we are recalled also to the importance among the titles of the Bishops of Rome of St Gregory’s own self-designation as ‘servant of the servants of God’ – surely the one title that points most directly to the example of the Lord who has called us. There is, we know, no authority in the Church that is not the authority of service: that is, of building up the people of God to full maturity. Christ’s service is simply the way in which we meet his almighty power: the power to remake the world he has created, pouring out into our lives, individually and together, what we truly need in order to become fully what we are made to be – the image of the divine life. It is that image which the pastor in the Church seeks to serve, bowing down in reverence before each human person in the knowledge of the glory for which he or she was made.[/blockquote]
I will also say the words of the Pope were very encouraging.
Gotta be careful with that “becoming divine”-type stuff…we can emulate Him, but cannot seek to replace Him.
I have no problem with humility in the clergy–some of them could use a lot more of it. No need for anyone, clergy or not, to “bow down” before me–he/she is bowing down to God and HIS glory. May everyone keep that straight.
Humanity equivalent to or above the Divine is not anything I even want to flirt with–but I consider my intellect to be relatively small.
Food for thought…
“Fidelity to the word of God, precisely because it is a true word, demands of us an obedience which leads us together to a deeper understanding of the Lord’s will, an obedience which must be free of intellectual conformism or facile accommodation to the spirit of the age. This is the word of encouragement which I wish to leave with you this evening, and I do so in fidelity to my ministry as the Bishop of Rome and the Successor of Saint Peter, charged with a particular care for the unity of Christ’s flock”.
And may the Lord richly bless you and your ministry for that. 🙂
#3 — Sigh, he didn’t say we were to become divine. He said we’re to reflect the image of our Divine Creator. Or do you not believe the bit about us being created in the Image and Likeness of God?
I have no problem with fair criticism but it seems, in this and other threads, that you are twisting ++Rowan’s words so they can mean something unorthodox and then you can criticize him for it. That’s not fair criticism.
#5, what I basically said is that it’s a fine line to walk, and not one I’d care to cross.
There’s a big difference between “image/emulate” and “become/replace”.
[blockquote]“Fidelity to the word of God, precisely because it is a true word, demands of us an obedience which leads us together to a deeper understanding of the Lord’s will, an obedience which must be free of intellectual conformism or facile accommodation to the spirit of the age. This is the word of encouragement which I wish to leave with you this evening, and I do so in fidelity to my ministry as the Bishop of Rome and the Successor of Saint Peter, charged with a particular care for the unity of Christ’s flockâ€.[/blockquote]
Yes; Trad Lady, I too sense that to be the money quote. For all that, the crux is also in the first phrases. Since what exactly constitutes this “word of God†regarding the Petrine Office – if indeed there is actually one such, either such a word and/or such an office? And then of course its actual historical implementation and/or justification … An obvious point – but worth pointing out as the obvious sometimes just ain’t that!