The truth we have is admittedly partial, but it is sufficient to proclaim him as Lord and Savior, the Son of God, the Messiah. That is the Christian witness. We may wrestle with it. We may ponder and wonder at it. But for the Church or its leaders to discard it would make us something other than Christian. We may be nice, helpful, neighborly citizens, but something other than Christian.<\/p>\n
I did not bring all this up to point out the speck in Ms. Redding\u2019s eye, although I am distressed and saddened by her actions. The risk in addressing this matter is that it invites you to join (or criticize) my distress and sadness. The log in my own eye is how far I fall short of proclaiming our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and in sharing his healing love. I encourage you and Ms. Redding to join me in not settling for partial truth.<\/p>\n
The claim of our Episcopal Church, to which I have dedicated my life as I knelt before her, my bishop, and God, and through which I swore to serve God, is that Jesus is Lord. He is the only Son of God, and it is only through his sacrifice that our sin might be overcome. In him is life, true life. This is what we believe and proclaim together. Yet we do so with all humility, as St. Paul wrote in Philippians 3:12, \u201cNot that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own\u201d\u009d (NRSV)<\/p>\n