Homeless
As has been kindly pointed out in a recent comment the problem is that I'm Not An Anglican.
Which is fine and no real surprise. I wonder a) what I am and b) what I am supposed to do with that knowledge given that I don't fit anywhere else either.
I know it is a very cheesy thing to say, but I wonder if Jesus, John the Baptist or Francis of Assisi would have fitted within any of our modern expressions of Church either. I wonder how people like Chesterton, CS Lewis and Dostoevsky managed when they were free-thinkers and seemed to stand against Church for The Sake of It.
I wonder what we'd do if someone like Kirekegaard turned up. Anyway, maybe it doesn't really matter and maybe I don't really care.
I might turn up at church and stay for coffee, but don't expect me to get involved in any way.
Which is fine and no real surprise. I wonder a) what I am and b) what I am supposed to do with that knowledge given that I don't fit anywhere else either.
I know it is a very cheesy thing to say, but I wonder if Jesus, John the Baptist or Francis of Assisi would have fitted within any of our modern expressions of Church either. I wonder how people like Chesterton, CS Lewis and Dostoevsky managed when they were free-thinkers and seemed to stand against Church for The Sake of It.
I wonder what we'd do if someone like Kirekegaard turned up. Anyway, maybe it doesn't really matter and maybe I don't really care.
I might turn up at church and stay for coffee, but don't expect me to get involved in any way.
Labels: kierkegaard, not an anglican
posted by Joe at 2:02 AM
4 Comments:
When you are trying to follow Jesus it helps to have the support of other followers, but the question is, where can we find them? I don't think Jesus would be too interested in organising fetes and bazaars or sitting on committees and I don't think he'd be too excited by liturgy either.
Hooray. I feel a lot better about myself having read your post. Seriously. You rock.
One of the qualifications listed in job descriptions at World Relief Seattle is "A desire to serve Jesus Christ in ...." where the "...." is a simple overview of the job.
I find myself thinking .... "Self, would I be bullshitting you to say I meet that qualification, at some level?"
Which leads to further questions like "Who *is* Jesus Christ, really? and What does it *mean* to serve *him*? Can I get away with saying I want to serve "The least of these", and thus, according to his own words, serve him?"
Etc.
I'm wondering what Father David Heron *means* by "being an Anglican"?
I mean if one can "define" "Anglican" in such a way that it's so easy to simply exclude someone, then maybe the definition is fucked up. (or if *not* the definition, then maybe the whole category is fucked up?)
BICBW
B - if you are wholeheartedly committed to serving the poor, you are serving Jesus. I don't think that is bullshit and has the advantage of being decidedly biblical.
Regarding Anglicanism - I guess I've never attended an Anglican church because I agreed 100% with the theology. I have have never agreed 100% with any churches theology.
I started going to Anglican churches because I was accepted and encouraged to belong without having to make a public statement of belief. Maybe that is naive, but I wanted to go and hide from the brokenness I'd seen before.
I hope that doesn't sound like I'm making excuses - I really want to belong, but I cannot find anything I really want to belong to.
"I hope that doesn't sound like I'm making excuses - I really want to belong, but I cannot find anything I really want to belong to."
Sounds altogether human of you. I believe I understand you.
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