I could make my case against the looming
divorce, or even the way we talk about our differences. On both ‘sides’ (and the very concept of ‘sides’
in the Body of Christ grieves our Lord) we have those who strive to be holy and
live out the Scriptures as best they know how; and on both ‘sides’ we have a
lot of rancor, people who mirror the secular culture’s wars and platitudes more
than they point to anything genuinely Christian or Methodist.
I could ask for a reasonable explanation
of the idea that, because you break
the covenant, I withdraw? I could ask
all of us, myself included, about our selective adherence to the Discipline, not to mention the literal
commandments in Scripture.
I could reiterate my gloomy prediction that
the split will not be win-win, but lose-lose.
Each congregation would be asked (I suppose), Will we be Progressive? or Traditionalist? Let’s say the vote in my
parish is 2,137 for one, 1,792 for the other, with hundreds more
abstaining. What happens to the
1,792? Don’t we in this way guarantee the most rapid
shrinkage of membership imaginable, far more catastrophic than our current
steady leakage?
I could ask why, since we disagree on a
great many things, this is the line
in the sand? ...and we’d keep debating for
a few more minutes, or decades.
So, here’s my deepest, gut reason for
resisting a breakup. I do not wish to be
in ministry, or to be a United Methodist, without any of the many wonderful
friends I have made over many years. I
have longtime friends among the 80 proposing the breakup, and I have longtime
friends among those who’d prefer to split but from the opposite side of the
aisle. I have grown to love progressives
and traditionalists. I’ve been loved by
them, and I’ve been inspired by them. I
admire the faithful on both sides, and find strength, challenge, and hope in
our differences.
In my family, we have pretty ferocious
disagreements about a great many things:
politics, religion, whether to cheer for UNC or Duke, personal habits. We are covenanted as a family – but there is
a lot of noncompliance, from my children, my wife, my cousins, my parents, and
even from me. But we love. We don’t divorce. We are a family.
Thomas Merton, when asked about his views
on whether those who believe differently are saved or not, answered, “I will
have more joy in heaven and in God if you are also there to share it with me.” At a personal level, I’m a little
selfish. I want the most joy, and I need
all of us in the family for that joy. I
will never, ever look back and say “Whew, thank God we had that amicable
split-up, and I don't have to deal with those wrong people any longer.” I’ll lose too many who are
beloved to me, and to God.
God wants us to be holy. God wants us to embody the Scriptures. And holiness in those Scriptures tells me we
keep our promises, and love. I want to
be right on every issue. But love and
personal commitments trump in over being right more than we're willing to admit. I wonder if that's the holiness test before us today. Let’s find the way to stay together – because
I love so many of you, and need the joy.
