One hundred eighteen years ago, the Rev. Dr. Joseph Dawson Wilson preached a sermon to the Seventh General Council of our church. He began that sermon with the following quotation. "In an address to the Illinois Bar Association, the Hon. O. H. Browning said, "Today, the highest, best and most refined civilization in the history of the human family is found in Europe and America. The masses of the people in both countries are educated. Their homes are the abodes of virtuous industry, peace, contentment and reasonable prosperity and plenty... by this civilization, woman has been emancipated from a servitude which filled her days with bitterness and sorrow, has been lifted from her degradation and lifted to the most influential position in the social organization. Turn to the kingdoms of the east, - to Asia and Africa; to Turkey, Persia and Syria; to Egypt and Abyssinia - embracing many of the fairest and most favored portions of the earth, and contrast their condition with that of Europe or America. For a thousand years, they have known no progress, but a steady, ceaseless retrogression. The condition of their women is melancholy - their lives a prolonged, ceaseless misery, a lingering perdition. What are the causes which have produced these extraordinary differences between Europe and America on the one hand and the other nations?
Nearly two thousand years ago, a code of moral laws was promulgated, which by its profound insight and comprehension of the physical, mental, and moral nature of man, was adapted to all times, ages, climes, countries, and conditions. These laws were eternal, everlasting truths which can neither die nor change. Nothing has been added to and nothing can be taken from them. They are the fountain of all that is pure, peaceful and blessed. They have advanced Europe and America to a higher plane of civilization and to a fuller comprehension and a larger possession of the things which make life a blessing than has ever been attained before."
Dr. Wilson said, "That lawyer looked to law to account for the startling differences he indicated. He found that forms of government are no explanation for these differences. He finds no human code of ethics to explain that phenomenon. The code he finds is found in the divine teachings of the son of Mary, Jesus Christ. The code of Christ marks the difference between a rising and a falling people, a receding and an advancing world. But, although this is true, it is not all the truth. The best code of morals conceivable is ineffective for the betterment of men unless there be in men a disposition and an ability to obey it. A motive and a power to observe the code are necessary, else the splendid code is lifeless - brilliant and beautiful as a diamond, perhaps, -but cold." He then went on to say that good codes and morals are not rare among pagans but those codes did not make men better "a code, by itself, however perfect, has never been sufficient. It may flash from heaven amid awful thunders at Mt. Sinai; it may commend itself to men's reason and conscience; it may even be uttered by the Son of God, but without the motive and power to obey, its perfections will but condemn while at the same time they dazzle. Man needs not only a rule of right conduct, but help to live according to the rule, else the revelation, which is such a rule, and for which human nature has always craved, becomes not an instrument of holiness and hope, but a sword of horror and despair.
"1800 years ago, there appeared in the world not only a rule of right living, but a society of men who kept the rule. The Nazarene not only taught morals, but imparted motives. He took minds to dull to understand or to appreciate lofty motives and gave them wisdom. He took hearts too dead to live holily and gave them life, imparting at once the sublime motive of a grateful love and a new supernatural energy. In redemption, he supplied the motive and in regeneration, he gave the power for a good life. In other words, he gathered a church, a church comprised of souls which though living on earth like other people were participants in a new and supernatural existence. He introduced them into a higher life and he introduced a higher life into them.
"The church is the explanation of the phenomena of Christianity, for the church is the moral code alive." To Dr. Wilson, it was impossible to talk about Christianity apart from speaking of the church. To his way of thinking, the Christian life could only be experienced and lived within the context of the church. And it was the gospel of Christ, applied by the Spirit of God to a person's life in the context of the church, that enabled him to live in accordance with the will of God; and it was the propagation of the church, the building of parishes throughout the world, which was essential.
From birth, throughout life, to our death, where we enter that final rest of heaven, it is the church who births us, nurtures us and dispatches us to our final home. It is into the holy nation of God that we were given entrance at our baptism. It is in the church, week after week, that we learn faithfulness. It is in the church that we learn the Holy Scriptures, and the essentials of our Christian heritage. It is in the church that we first learn to give and to tithe. It was the first place I learned to give out of my childhood earnings. My father taught me, "Son, God owns you, the tenth belongs to him." It is in the church where we learn generosity and compassion. It is in the church where discipleship is carried out. It is in the church where we learn to obey authority. It is in the church that accountability is modeled. It is in the church that marriage is upheld and singleness is dignified. It is in the church of Jesus Christ that we find the doctrinal roots that establish us in our faith. And it is in the church that His people consistently and continually experience the grace of God through the ministration of His Word and Sacraments. From birth to death, the church ministers supernaturally to its members. In a sense, no Christian can nurture and maintain a spiritual life without the church; and it is the church which must be extended into every nook and cranny of society.
In his first letter to young Bishop Timothy, St. Paul gave him instructions as to how he was to act (lit: behave as a bishop) in "the household of God which is the church, the pillar and ground of truth." (Chapter 3:15) Embedded in this statement are four descriptions of the church. Each one sets forth a different facet of a multifaceted church.
The first of these miniature portraits is that of the household of God. St. Paul isn't talking about a building, he is talking about the relationship of the members of the household to one another and to the master of the house. Philip Towner said, "The Greco-Roman household consisted of different groups, duties and responsibilities, and in the larger one, stewards were given authority to see that each did his or her share so that the master's purposes might be achieved. The concept of household with its associated notions of interdependence, acceptable conduct and responsibility were so strong that St. Paul could borrow it to illustrate the nature of the church. It too, both then and now, is made of different groups (men and women from every level of society, parents and children, employers and employees) who must depend upon and, in love, serve one another; and it is the task of the stewards (the bishops, presbyters and deacons) to ensure that the household accomplishes the masters' goals." In other words, the church is a family, not a corporation, not a program but a tightly knit family. And that family has an organizational structure, with a carefully defined leadership; and it has a purpose, to serve the Lord of the house - Jesus Christ.
St. Paul's use of the term, "Church of the living God," reminds us of just how unique this body is - called out from the world to become the new holy nation of the living God - the new chosen people - the new Israel - called out to live according to an ethical and moral standard that is distinct from the pagan culture of this evil world. Next, we are told the church is the "pillar of truth." To appreciate this image more fully, we need some background on the city of Ephesus, the place where Timothy administered his diocese. This reference to the church as a pillar would have had special significance because Ephesus was the place where the spectacular and extravagant temple of the goddess Diana stood. This temple was one of the seven wonders of the world. One of its features was its pillars. It contained 127 pillars, every one of them a gift of a king. All were made of marble. Many were studded with jewels and overlaid with gold. The people of Ephesus knew well how beautiful a thing a pillar could be. They also understood its purpose. It was to display the beauty of their God. Here St. Paul tells Timothy that the church is the pillar of truth.
What is truth? Truth is what sanctifies the people of God, says Jesus. Sanctify them with thy truth; thy word, O Lord, is truth. Truth shapes us.
It molds us. It puts us to proper use. It makes us ready to be out on display. We, who are a part of Christ's church, are made so, in order to declare and model the truth that every human being needs to hear and see: God's saving love in Christ Jesus. We are to do that by what we say, by what we do, by the way we live. The church is the ornamental pillar of truth says St. Paul. When people look at her, she is to be the outward testimony to the truth of the gospel of Christ. And it should be something awesome to behold. The Church is to tell the truth about her God to the world, and in telling the truth, it is to be a beautiful display of the God who redeemed her.
The final image is that the church is the "bulwark" or buttress of truth. It refers to that which causes something to stand firm. The buttress is that which bears the weight of the structure. It is to His church that our Lord has entrusted the truth of the gospel of Christ as it was first proclaimed by his Apostles. Like ancient Israel of old whose advantage over the rest of the world was that they possessed the very oracles of God, the church today is "built on the foundation of the prophets and apostles, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone". To the church has been given the responsibility of guarding the gospel, of preserving the integrity of God's written revelation. To the church, all that is good and holy and true is to be preserved and modeled to the world.
What this means is, if you want to know the truth, you must find His church. She is the one and only holy vehicle which can face this wicked world and triumph over the world the flesh and the devil. In a world which does not wish to face the truth, it is the task of the church to hold it up for all to see. In a world which would gladly eliminate unwelcome truth, the church is to support it against all who would seek to destroy it.
Here we stand on the brink of the next Millennium. We have just celebrated our 125th year. Please permit me to speak most frankly. Why have we made it this far? Why was God's grace so good that we lasted a century and a quarter? Is it because we are better than everyone else? Is it because we sing the Canticles better than any other Anglicans? Is it because we possess more truth than anyone else? Is it because we have done a better of job of being a household, a select people, a pillar of witness and beauty and a bulwark of truth? I don't think so!
Listen to Dr. Wilson and ask yourself how we, as a church, have measured up to the purpose and goals first envisioned. "God has brought the Reformed Episcopal Church into being for the purpose of revivifying the Anglican Communion, out of whose bosom have come the brave, self-reliant, truth-telling, conscientious, liberty loving race of English speaking men, to tell that church and those men that what made saints of old, makes saints now.
A felt Christ in the soul, an alliance with something higher than the earthly, whether gold or mud, an alliance with the super physical and eternal - to call that church away from its poetic crooning by an empty tomb - to cry aloud to that English church, 'Why seek ye the living among the dead?' Life is in the living souls of men." That was the dream of the past, the first generation - to revivify the Anglican Communion; to be the church that this world needs - the family of God, the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of truth.
Well, how have we measured up 125 years later as this familial, select group of people, intended to be that attractive, winsome display and bastion of truth? Our founders wanted this church to be the vehicle for calling the Anglican Communion back to life! How? With the demonstration of the gospel lived out and proclaimed in this church!
Well, how have we done? We could pat ourselves on the back and tell ourselves half truths. "Well, brethren, we've remained faithful to the gospel. We still believe the truth! We're still orthodox in our beliefs. We haven't given in to the liberalism and pluralism and out and out paganism that has infected so many of the other denominations today." Yes that is true! But that's the half truth. We, as a church, have not gone down that path. But, neither have we gone down the path of discipleship and ministry either.
What has the last 125 years produced in us? Brethren, this is a hard question but it must be asked. One of our past bishops, now in the presence of Christ, told me he did not expect to see this church make it into the 21st century. Why could he say such a thing? Because almost all of our efforts and energies have been spent on telling people what we are not, rather than what we are; because too much of our time has been spent focusing on our past, on building our walls and hiding behind our self imposed fortress, and not on the goal Christ has for his church. The gospel has almost gotten lost because of our obsession with what might happen. Too many worries over what might creep in and pervert us have resulted in a paralysis that really doesn't commend us to Christ or man. We were brought into existence to be a testimony to life! The life of God in Christ. The power of God working in His church! Midway through the eighth decade of this century, it really was questionable as to whether we could stand up and become the kind of church that would make our Saviour proud. But, in those thirteen short years, we have seen the beginning and the stirring of a renewed hope and spirit in this church that are simply remarkable. New parishes springing up in every diocese.
Today, we have over 130 missions, and parishes in the United States and Canada. Twelve years ago, that number was 60 less. We had lost our young people for the most part. Today, we see a resurgence of young people and young families who have come to love the liturgy and the church and the truth she stands for! Today, you can travel from one end of this country to the other and, along the way, you will find people everywhere who know about our church, people who want to join this fellowship, people who are watching and waiting to see what we will do.
Today, the Anglican Communion is facing another crisis. In our fathers' day, it was the Tractarian movement which, for the most part, died the death it so richly deserved. That is not today's problem. Today, it is the challenge of the authority of Holy Scripture. It is the liberalism and pluralism which is eating away at the fiber of our society. Those standards which our forefathers held so dear are almost gone. What are we going to do about it? Why did God preserve us all these years?
I do not believe that God preserved this church so that she could hide her light under a bushel; or, so that she could continue to fight a fight that ended 100 years ago - a fight that no one else is fighting or understands. Today, there are new enemies and issues which are meaner and more vicious than anything the church has had to confront since her early years of persecution. Other branches of the church, the Anglican Communion itself, is in jeopardy from this wicked attack. Who will bring life to them? The responsibility is ours, my brothers and sisters. As children of that noble heritage, it falls our lot in life to bring them renewal and life. Brethren, we are our brother's keeper. To say we are not, or we won't, is to affirm that we are only the children of Cain, but not the children of promise.
Dream with me for just a moment.
There is something rich and real here in the Diocese of the Southeast. This Church is a real presence here in South Carolina. You mean something to this society. You affect it for the cause of Christ. You make a difference!
Imagine with me what it would be like if this Reformed Episcopal Church would step up to the forefront and become what God intended for her to be - salt and light to this world. Imagine, if you please, what it might be like for every city and town in this country to have the option of a Parish where worship was beautiful and biblical and liturgical, where preaching declared the truth and nothing but the truth. Do we dare dream this way? We do, if we want to obey Christ's mandate concerning the building of his church. "You shall be my witness, in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the uttermost parts of the earth...go ye therefore..." How would we ever achieve such a dream? We achieve that by making ourselves ministry oriented instead of corporately oriented; by being the four images of the church St. Paul laid out for young Bishop Timothy. A family - with leaders who are willing to pay the price it takes to be leaders and pastors.
You, brother pastors - let me challenge you! Haven't you become just a little complacent? Are you really doing everything you can to model Christ, to be the kind of leader God wants you to be? Are you preparing yourselves educationally and spiritually to take your flock, which is your family, and model them to the world? Brothers- it starts with you!
We who are Bishops are also not exempt! It starts with us! It must be driven and motivated by us! How can we be the Church of the living God, when there is no life demonstrated? The Spirit of God must empower our words, our thoughts, our actions, so that when people see us, they see the Saviour who died and bought us and commissions us!
Our church is to display the gospel. It is to wear it as a beautiful ornament testifying to the beauty of our God. It is to be the protector of the truth. Your personal preparation and leadership, Pastor, will make all the difference. Do you see that community in which you minister as being your mission field? Have you claimed it for Christ? Remember, Missions is where you are! Do you dare to do it? Do you dare to see the world as all yours?
A pastor came to me and said, "Bishop, do you know the difference between an Anglican and a Puritan world life view?" The Puritan says, "This world is not my home, I'm just a passing through and it's evil and wicked and I'm against it!" Not so the Anglican. He sees the world and says, "Look at that! My God made that! Oh, yes, sin has tainted it, but that world belongs to my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. He bought it with his own blood. It belongs to Him! And, because I am His, and He is mine, what He owns, I own! So, it's all mine! Give it to me! We'll transform it by the power of the gospel and give it back to Him as an expression of our love and devotion!" Do you dare to claim your community? Brothers, it's all yours! Do you dare do it? If you do, it won't be long before we reclaim our society for Christ.
Some of you (Clergy and Laity) will leave here and, over the next three years, serve on the Boards and Committees of this Church. I have a dare for you as well! Do you dare to make a difference on that Board or Committee? Do you dare to take every aspect of that ministry and examine it under the microscope of real Biblical ministry? Oh, how we like peace in the church. We like the old ways of doing things. We like the little hole we have dug for ourselves. It's comfortable. But is it right? New isn't always better, but the same old isn't always either. Dare to make it better!
And to the rest of you, you are the lay leaders in our parishes. Let me challenge you to be receptive to the leadership God has given you. You must follow them as they follow Christ. Furthermore, you must be open to the ways God might use his church to be salt and light in this world. We were never called to hide behind walls of our own making. We were never called to hire ecclesiastical hit-men to do the work of missions and ministry for us. Rather, Jesus calls each one of us into His service in His church so that the world might be His.
And to all of us, I have one last dare. Do we dare to be the catalyst for revivifying the Anglican Communion? To be the cause of evangelical unity.
Be careful with your answer- it might stretch us! It might take us into uncharted waters! But, it also just might let that great dream come true and enable us to capture our world for Christ - to add beautiful new pillars of witness to the glorious old pillars of Truth.
Seventy-five years from now, if the Lord tarries, when this church reaches her 200th birthday, where will we be? That's a question that depends on the answers we give now to the ministry to which God has called us. It depends on how we behave in the Church. And, it especially depends on the Amazing Grace of God working in us and through us.
Old Pillars, New Pillars. Don't we need them both? Amen.