July 18, 2008

Another good day!

We are beginning to get the rhythm of the place and the queues are shorter. Eucharist was at 7:15am in the Big Top and we strolled off to breakfast afterward.

Bible Study focused on John 1: 19-34. The questions for reflection included, “What does it mean to “make straight the way of the Lord in your context?” and “In what ways have you felt like “one crying in the wilderness”? We finished with “What are the particular challenges of each of our contexts in being a faithful witness to Jesus?” The challenges some of of our brothers and sisters face are extraordinary. We should never take our freedom to gather for public worship for granted. Please pray for those Anglicans who are not free to worship God together, or to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ freely.

The coaches took the bishops off to Canterbury Cathedral at 10:30am. There is a Starbucks right outside the entrance to the Cathedral grounds that has done an amazing business the last two mornings! We have had the gift of having the whole Cathedral to ourselves for these past two days. In return, many of us patronized the Cathedral shop and contributed to the continued upkeep fund for the Cathedral. I doubt we made their 50 million pounds target though!

The Archbishop’s morning meditation focused first on Ezekiel 3 and the questions of to whom we speak, and what do we want to communicate. He moved on to talk about Paul in terms of him losing his first religious language in his encounter with the Risen Christ, moving to the language of silence, then trying to stammer his new language to hostile listeners (Acts 17), and then trying to use the language of the gentiles (1 Corinthians 9:19-22). In speaking about the need to listen first before finding the language to speak, the Archbishop used the phrase “stereo listening” to refer to the attempt to listen to God with one ear and to God’s people with the other ear. He ended with 1 Corinthians 10:31, “So whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” Good advice for bishops and all Christians!

The afternoon meditation began with a quote from Tertullian “A single Christian is no Christian.” ++Rowan pointed out that this is not to do with marital status but willingness to be part of Christian community. He listed some occasions when Jesus sent people out in at least two’s, e.g. Luke 10, Acts 13. He referred to the endings of Paul’s letters where Paul lists all those engaged in the ministry with him, e.g. Colossians 4:2-16. ++Rowan talked about the monastic fathers who were rigorous with themselves, but reluctant to condemn others. He reminded us about the obedience owed to each other in the rule of Benedict. Gently and pointedly, we were reminded about our relationships with each other in what should be a community of bishops. He suggested that instead of making an assumption about another, we speak with that person; instead of being fearful of another, we ask that person to pray for us. He used the phrase, “Put fear in God’s presence.” As one bishop put it, “That had to be said and he did it elegantly!”

On our return home, we were told to pick up our invitations. They included one from ++Rowan to walk in the Walk of Witness for the Millenium Development Goals on July 24. I had not heard about this in Canada, so it may be a British initiative to raise public awareness. The walk apparently takes us by Big Ben, 10 Downing Street, the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey. Hopefully it will be a cool day since I think we are wearing cassocks because of the next event. The second one was from the Lord Chamberlain inviting me to Tea in Buckingham palace on July 24 in the afternoon. All I could think of was the nursery rhyme, “Pussy cat, pussy cat, where have you been? I’ve been to London to visit the Queen”! Me?! The invitation specifies that clergy wear cassocks, ladies wear dress and hat. I wonder if I should wear a hat and a cassock. NOT!