Mrs. Katherine Schori's sermon in Venezuela

[HKHaugan]

I always want the full text of remarks someone makes so that the critique is not  overly subjective.  I'd much rather have people read the original document and make their own conclusions.  So read her direct sermon and then my evaluation after.

 

All Saints Church, Steenrijk, Curaçao [Diocese of Venezuela]
12 May 2013

The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori
Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Church

The beauty of this place is legendary.  It is beautiful – and fragile, for its beauty depends on a dynamic balance among the parts of this island system.  Many people don’t notice beauty around them until it’s gone.  When we go somewhere that looks very different, often it takes a long time to appreciate that it has beauty, even though it’s a different kind of beauty.  Some people never do learn to value the different kinds of loveliness in the world around us.  One of the gifts of this remarkable island is its diverse mixture of desert and tropics on land and sea – and even more so, the beauty of its different peoples, languages, and heritages.  Yet the history of this place tells some tragic stories about the inability of some to see the beauty in other skin colors or the treasure of cultures they didn’t value or understand.

Human beings have a long history of discounting and devaluing difference, finding it offensive or even evil.  That kind of blindness is what leads to oppression, slavery, and often, war.  Yet there remains a holier impulse in human life toward freedom, dignity, and the full flourishing of those who have been kept apart or on the margins of human communities.  It’s a tendency that seems to emerge along a common timeline.  Formal legal structures that permitted human slavery ended here and in many parts of the world within a relatively short span of time.  It doesn’t mean that slavery is finished today, but at least it’s no longer legal in most places.  Even so, slavery continues in the form of human trafficking and the kind of exploitation that killed so many garment workers in Bangladesh recently.

We live with the continuing tension between holier impulses that encourage us to see the image of God in all human beings and the reality that some of us choose not to see that glimpse of the divine, and instead use other people as means to an end.  We’re seeing something similar right now in the changing attitudes and laws about same-sex relationships, as many people come to recognize that different is not the same thing as wrong.  For many people, it can be difficult to see God at work in the world around us, particularly if God is doing something unexpected.

There are some remarkable examples of that kind of blindness in the readings we heard this morning, and slavery is wrapped up in a lot of it.  Paul is annoyed at the slave girl who keeps pursuing him, telling the world that he and his companions are slaves of God.  She is quite right.  She’s telling the same truth Paul and others claim for themselves.[1]  But Paul is annoyed, perhaps for being put in his place, and he responds by depriving her of her gift of spiritual awareness.  Paul can’t abide something he won’t see as beautiful or holy, so he tries to destroy it.  It gets him thrown in prison.  That’s pretty much where he’s put himself by his own refusal to recognize that she, too, shares in God’s nature, just as much as he does – maybe more so!  The amazing thing is that during that long night in jail he remembers that he might find God there – so he and his cellmates spend the night praying and singing hymns.

An earthquake opens the doors and sets them free, and now Paul and his friends most definitely discern the presence of God.  The jailer doesn’t – he thinks his end is at hand.  This time, Paul remembers who he is and that all his neighbors are reflections of God, and he reaches out to his frightened captor.  This time Paul acts with compassion rather than annoyance, and as a result the company of Jesus’ friends expands to include a whole new household.  It makes me wonder what would have happened to that slave girl if Paul had seen the spirit of God in her.

The reading from Revelation pushes us in the same direction, outward and away from our own self-righteousness, inviting us to look harder for God’s gift and presence all around us.  Jesus says he’s looking for everybody, anyone who’s looking for good news, anybody who is thirsty.  There are no obstacles or barriers – just come.  God is at work everywhere, even if we can’t or won’t see it immediately.

The gospel insists that Jesus has given glory to the growing company of his friends and disciples so they can be all be one.  When we recognize the glory of another human being, we become her advocate, and we begin to see him as friend.  The word that’s used for glory has echoes that speak of awe, and gravitas, and deep significance.  The glory we’ve received is something like a grand ceremonial garment, maybe even a shining face like Moses’, that says to those around us, “here comes the image of God.”  The world begins to change when we see that glorious skin shining on our brothers’ and sisters’ faces.

The great loves in our lives come from a deep recognition of the glory in another human being and a desire to share that glory.  When Jesus speaks of oneness, he’s moving in that direction.  What would the world be like if we could love not only our lovers, but every human being with that kind of starry-eyed passion?  The glory is there to see in all of us.  Certainly God sees that glory.  Most of us have eyes that can see that glory in one or a few other human beings.  Learning to see that glory all around us is a good part of what the Christian life is all about.  Slavery, war, and discrimination are only possible when we fail to see the glory in those people.  Why does Jesus tell us to pray for our enemies, except to begin to discern their glory?

We live in a time when we need to see the glory of God in every other human being, and also in the rest of creation.  This fragile earth, our island home, is also shining with the glory of its creator.  If human beings are going to flourish on this planet, we’ll need to learn to see the glory of God at work in all its parts.  When we can be awed at the beauty of a sunset or the delicate complexity of an orchid or the remarkable diversity of a coral reef, we’ll be much more wary about using it for our own selfish ends.

Looking for the reflection of God’s glory all around us means changing our lenses, or letting the scales on our eyes fall away.  That kind of change isn’t easy for anyone, but it’s the only road to the kingdom of God.  We are here, among all the other creatures of God’s creation, to be transformed into the glory intended from the beginning.  The next time we feel the pain of that change, perhaps instead of annoyance or angry resentment we might pray for a new pair of glasses.  When resentment about difference or change builds up within us, it’s really an invitation to look inward for the wound that cries out for a healing dose of glory.  We will find it in the strangeness of our neighbor.  Celebrate that difference – for it’s necessary for the healing of this world – and know that the wholeness we so crave lies in recognizing the glory of God’s creative invitation.  God among us in human form is the most glorious act we know.  We are meant to be transformed into the same kind of glory.  Let’s pray that God’s glory may shine in us and in all creatures!

 

Reflections on Mrs.Katherine Schori’s sermon given May 12, 2013 in All Saints Church in Curacao, Venezuela.

 

An overall view:

Engaging the beauty of local geography and diverse cultural distinctives anaesthetizes the hearers’ hearts.  Genesis 3 alerts us to a similar figure who appeals to external appearances thus opening the door to a false premise: you can discern the problem and correct it by your own ability and power.  Identify emotionally with the awful generic evils we are all against and how we don’t have a spiritual problem but a politically and socially correctable situation.

 

But the egregious statements that follow the introduction are not only anti-biblical they are downright blasphemous.  When I say anti-biblical they defy the actual meaning of the Greek text by a misreading of the Greek and a conclusion based on the misreading.  By blasphemy the statements are actually accusing the Holy Spirit of being evil.  Let’s look at the passage, Acts 16:16-40.

 (Please note that the Greek words come after the English words as you read.)

Vs.16 And δε it came to pass γινομαι, as we ημον went πορευομαι to εις prayer προσευχη, a certain τις damsel παιδισκη possessed εχω with a spirit πνευμα of divination πυθων met απαντησις us ημιν, which οστις brought παρεχω her αυτος masters κυριος much πολυς gain εργασια by soothsaying μαντευομαι:

 

Note quickly that the spirit possessing the girl was a spirit of divination, pneuma puthon (a python spirit).  “The python was a mythical serpent or dragon that guarded the temple and oracle of Apollo…eventually killed by Apollo.  Later the word python came to mean a demon-possessed person through whom the Python spoke…even a ventriloquist was thought to have such a spirit living in his or her belly (see Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol.9, pg.462 and Plutarch, De Defectu Oraculoram).”  

Mrs.Schori goes on to say, “But Paul is annoyed, perhaps for being put in his place, and he responds by depriving her of her gift of spiritual awareness.”  Remember now, Paul is a trained rabbi, thoroughly versed in Scripture and filled with the Holy Spirit.  What Paul is reacting to is his discernment of a spirit of divination, an evil spirit (Deut.18:10) which did not annoy him.  Quite the opposite, read on:

 

Acts 16:18 And de this touto did she poiew epi many poluV days hmera. But de Paul pauloV, being grieved diaponew, turned epistrejw and kai said epw to the spirit pneuma, I command paragellw thee soi in en the name onoma of Jesus IhsouV Christ CristoV to come exercomai out of apo her autoV. And kai he came out exercomai the same autoV hour wra.

 

The text does not say he was annoyed but that he was grieved (KJV), troubled (NIV).  When this word is used it means he feels compassion for the condition of the woman trapped by an evil spirit and the people around them being affected by her condition.  Jesus was troubled at the news of Lazarus’ death (Jn.11:33) and in expressing His compassion for His disciples (Jn.14:1).  If Paul could be faulted at all it would be because he didn’t act fast enough since this had gone on for days.  Demon possession was serious to Jesus and therefore to Paul.

 

Mrs. Schori continues, “But Paul is annoyed, perhaps for being put in his place, and he responds by depriving her of her gift of spiritual awareness.  Paul can’t abide something he won’t see as beautiful or holy, so he tries to destroy it.”  Three glaring assumptions, the first of which lead to the next two.  First, annoyance, we have dealt with but how do we get “being put in his place” from the text? Then she says that the spirit in the girl, the spirit of divination, is “beautiful and holy” and Paul “tries to destroy it.”  This is why “It gets him thrown in prison.”  He brought it on himself “…by his own refusal to recognize that she, too, shares in God’s nature, just as much as he does--maybe more so.”  One has only to refer to Is.5:20, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil…” 

 

But what concerns me more and ‘grieves’ and ‘troubles’ me for her sake and those who hear her words, is how much this kind of thinking borders on the sin against the Holy Spirit (Lk.12:10) which cannot be forgiven.  

 

But there’s more, “An earthquake opens the doors and sets them free, and now Paul and his friends most definitely discern the presence of God.  The jailer doesn’t – he thinks his end is at hand.  This time, Paul remembers who he is and that all his neighbors are reflections of God, and he reaches out to his frightened captor.  This time Paul acts with compassion rather than annoyance, and as a result the company of Jesus’ friends expands to include a whole new household.  It makes me wonder what would have happened to that slave girl if Paul had seen the spirit of God in her.” 

 

Paul never forgot who he was.  His imprisonment was predicted by Jesus (Lk.21:12-15).  He was simply following His Lord’s examples when he exorcised the girl and then witnessed to his captors about the saving grace of his Lord Jesus.  Yes, what would have happened if Paul had not seen the spirit in her that was not of God but of the devil?  She would not have been freed, Paul would have failed his mission, those with him would have lost faith, they would not have been thrown in prison, the jailer and his family would not have been saved.  Everything Paul accomplished here was the work of the Holy Spirit.  To conclude anything less is a blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

 

><>Whitey

 

[HKHaugan]

Glad you commented.  It seems that many of the traditional denominations have defaulted and been compromised.  It's the same old story across generations, leaders are the first to betray us.  ><>W

[Karen McMahon]

Wow, Whitey.  I haven't been checking out your posts lately...  I just happened to have this come up in my "feeds."   It is really sad that this Mrs.  Schori doesn't seem to know what she is talking about!  I actually "felt" the Holy Spirit telling me about the change that was about to happen in the little church in Lincolnville, in St. Augustine.  I heard about some changes in the Episcopal church, around that time, and wondered if Fr David would be what I had to consider "complacent."   So when the inevitable happened, I was stressed, but glad about it.  I really hadn't been in that church for very long, and had not been in ANY church in many years, except for occasional Christmas Eve services with my mother.  There was a church recommended to my daughter, Jenny, in Philadelphia a few years ago by a former close "sister" of mine in the scripturally based church there that I had been a member of when Jenny was a baby.  That recommendation turned out to be a church that didn't seem to bear much resemblance to a scriptural church at all,  even though the person who recommended it said it was much like our former church had been for us so long ago.   My point is that I found out that not only do churches have fading memories of scripture, but so do individual people.   :(   I suspect you are back in the mountains again.  If so, I missed you again.   God bless you, and I hope to see you when you return.    

[HKHaugan]

Thanks Bootsie, the leaders of the Episcopal church have capitulated to the devil.  No one in that church has reacted that I know of.  I think that the PB sees Scripture with a small 's' and when she speaks of God I'm not sure who it is.  It's all feelings and we know where that leads.  It's good to be out from under all that strangeness.  ><>W

[Bootsie Willman]

Bless you, Whitey!  Thank you so much for all of your wonderful posts!  You always write about the very situation that is on my mind and in my heart.  I know our Lord sends your posts to assure me that I'm not going crazy!  I'm not aware of many Churches who hear sermons on the fact that satan is a huge reality to consider in our life ... especially in what we choose to believe about the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  God the Holy Spirit is also ignored by so many clergy and I don't know how believers understand the Christian faith at all if they don't know that the Holy Spirit comes as a permanent resident in the hearts of Believers and is THE HOW in how we walk and speak and love and do and and forgive and discern anything.  Not many people understand that the Bible (God's Word written) is God writing to me and God writing to Whitey, God writing to every individual person.  What is Written is His gift to the world and if people only took that seriously and read that miraculous Book, our whole understanding of God's goodness, patience, love, and perfect gift of our Lord and Savior could be seen from beginning to end AND it would be so much easier to catch the sneaky lies of false teachers!

When I first read this sermon by the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, I felt sick to my stomach (literally), but started wondering if even one single person who heard Mrs. Schori deliver this sermon took a stand to defend the Truth OR did anybody even have a clue that this was blatant false teaching?  After all, it was coming out of the mouth of the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church(?). They, more than likely, felt "honored" that she was visiting them.  So sad!!  I pray there is someone who was at the event who will boldly proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the people who heard this sermon and the lie will be exposed!!

Thank you again for your stand and for proclaiming TRUTH, as written in God's Word!!

Please give Mary my love!

Blessings and Love to you too, Whitey!

Bootsie