John 10:11-16 (NRSV)
Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away-- and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd."
Today's Commemoration of Cyprian of Carthage is one that I have a lot of trouble with. When I was an arch-conservative Catholic who believed that Pope and the Catholic hierarchy could do no wrong even if they had blood in their hands, I loved remembering early Church folks like Cyprian. Today, as a gay Episcopalian I have a harder time with it.
I have a hard time with Cyprian because he was of the belief that "If you leave the Church of Christ you will not come to Christ's rewards, you will be an alien, an outcast, an enemy. You cannot have God for your Father unless you have the Church for your Mother." (Holy Women, Holy Men, Celebrating the Saints, page 582). This statement of Cyprian's seems so contrary to the nature of who Jesus was and what Jesus was about. It certainly does not suggest an inclusive Church, nor a Church that is open to the possibility that what it historically taught about women, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, questioning and queer people is completely misguided. Cyprian lived during the very early times of the Church when Christians were being persecuted very much like how Christians have persecuted LGBTQ people even to this present day. Maybe Cyprian had already lost his head before he was beheaded.
Today is one of the Ember Days that we pray four times a year. Today we are praying for those to be ordained into the ministry in the Church. We are praying that they be filled "with the truth of [God's] doctrine and clothed with holiness of life." (BCP. Page 256). Ever since the early 1980's the Episcopal Church has been recognizing that those who are LGBTQ are just as capable of living holy lives and knowing the truth of God's doctrine as anyone who is straight. In 2003 the Episcopal Church elected and ordained Bishop Gene Robinson as the first openly gay Bishop. Last May the Diocese of Los Angeles elected and ordained with all the necessary consents of the Standing Committees and Bishops within the Episcopal Church, Bishop Mary Glasspool. Bishop Glasspool is the first open lesbian Bishop. The decision to ordain women as Bishops and open LGBTQ people as Bishops has caused a shattering earthquake within the Anglican Communion. The Archbishop of Canterbury continues to fail to use his backbone to deal appropriately with the controversy.
Among the things that we must acknowledge is that the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church is not without sin, division, discrimination and even corruption within and among it's leaders and members. Bishop Robinson was recently photographed and quoted in an interview about helping to raise money to help rebuild the sanctuary of St. Thomas Parish near DuPont in Washington, DC. In his interview Bishop Robinson said:
“You know, asking an LGBT person to go back to the church that has been the source of so much pain and abuse is a little like asking an abused spouse to go back to her husband,” he said.
“The fact of the matter is in many places the church is changing. And the church realizes that for years it got it wrong about LGBT people,” he said. “And what I love about St. Thomas’ Parish is that it is really leading the way in that kind of radically inclusive message.”
As we commemorate Cyprian we can celebrate all that the Church has gotten right over these many centuries. We can recommit ourselves to continue to pray and work for the Church to correct where we have been getting it wrong. This includes all those who have left the Church because of discrimination and lack of charity when it came to honoring and welcoming diverse groups of people. Recognizing that the Church "does not hold a monopoly on truth." (Dean Spenser Simrill). We are no more blessed and inspired because we worship God in Jesus Christ, than our Islamic sisters and brothers who worship Allah. Fortunately, we serve a God who is forgiving and like a shepherd leading us and all who are not part of the flock along the way towards salvation. We can also rejoice that our God is gracious and merciful to keep "guiding us into all truth" (Jn. 16: 13) by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
When we tell ourselves or give others the impression that we have already become righteous and holy, when we are far from the goal, that is when arrogance and prejudice can easily find soil to grow lots of weeds in the garden of our personal and communal lives. When we open our selves up to the Holy Spirit knowing that there is so much more that we need her help to accomplish, that is when God can do God's greatest and best work through us that actually touches and helps heal the lives of others.
O God, because without you we are not able to please you, mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Proper 19, Book of Common Prayer, page 233).
Almighty God, who gave to your servant Cyprian boldness to confess the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ before the rulers of this world, and courage to die for this faith: Grant that we may always be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us, and to suffer gladly for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Holy Women, Holy Men, Celebrating the Saints, page 583).
Almighty God, the giver of all good gifts, in your divine providence you have appointed various orders in your Church: Give your grace, we humbly pray, to all who are [now] called to any office and ministry for your people; and so fill them with the truth of your doctrine and clothe them with holiness of life, that they may faithfully serve before you, to the glory of your great Name and for the benefit of your holy Church; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Prayer I for Ember Days, Book of Common Prayer, page 256).
O God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, our only Savior, the Prince of Peace: Give us grace seriously to lay to heart the great dangers we are in by our unhappy divisions; take away all hatred and prejudice, and whatever else may hinder us from godly union and concord; that, as there is but one Body and one Spirit, one hope of our calling, one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of us all, so we may be all of one heart and of one soul, united in one holy bond of truth and peace, of faith and charity, and may with one mind and one mouth glorify you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for the Unity of the Church, Book of Common Prayer, page 818).
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