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IT'S JUST KEVIN

By Very Rev. Kevin George

POPE JOHN XXIII once remarked that “we are not on earth to guard a museum, but to cultivate a flowering garden of life.”

I absolutely love this quote. I think that we should have it on all of our church doors and signs. It is not enough to place those words at the front door however, if there is not a fire burning within the church that will allow this cultivation to become reality.

Pope John XXIII’s influence on Christianity was incredible. In calling the Second Vatican Council, he not only reshaped the face of Roman Catholicism, but the face of the wider Church. While many believed that Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli would be a short-term Pope of little influence, nothing could have been further from the truth. When the Cardinals gathered and elected him to be the Holy Father, few could have envisioned the reshaping of the church that would be the result of Roncalli’s vision and courage to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.

The revolutionary Pope understood the Church to be living and dynamic. The Body of Christ is not a corpse to be viewed, or visited on Sundays between 8 am and 12 pm (no flowers by request).  The Body of Christ is to be vibrant, kinetic and indefatigable.

Too many of our church communities have become museums that we work hard to guard, protect, maintain, and honour. We actually use those words in practice. It is not uncommon to hear an Anglican say, “we must protect the church from culture and the ways of the world.” Also popular is, “We cannot do that here it does not fit with our tradition.” All the while, our churches are in decline. At times I hear the words of John XXIII ringing in my ears and wonder how long before all that we have left are museums to guard, or a body on display for visitation? This gift that we are given is too precious to be diminished to the halls of history.

The Church is a living organism that has for centuries lead social change and advanced the cause of justice. We have forgotten how relevant we used to be. What is worse we seem to have accepted the notion that we do not need to be relevant – often arguing that ‘we are so different than the world.’ John XXIII saw a need to remind the people of God that ‘cultivating a garden of life’ is a wonderful calling and it demands the courage to see change happening before our eyes. It also demands the willingness to lead the church away from the dark halls toward the Sunlight. As church, we do not plant flowers and forget about them. We plant them, we water them, we nourish them, and we delight in watching them change and grow, and often we plant those seeds for generations after us to enjoy.

If we have the courage to take the leading of Spirit it is tremendous what might happen. Take note of the response to the prophetic preaching of Bishop Mariann Budde at the recent service at the Washington National Cathedral. Bishop Budde dared to take seriously the promises she made in her Ordination to the Episcopate to “boldly proclaim and interpret the gospel of Christ, enlightening the minds and stirring up the conscience of the people,” and to “be merciful to all, show compassion to the poor and strangers, and defend those who have no helper!” She rankled Christian Nationalists — thanks be to God! More importantly, she inspired and heartened many who have been struggling to find a voice in the face of mounting injustice and oppression. Bishop Budde understood that her role was not to curate a cultural exhibit, but to till the soil and reach for the radical words of Isaiah, she got to roots as did Jesus when he read in the synagogue at the outset of his ministry;

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me.

He has sent me to preach good news to the poor,
to proclaim release to the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to liberate the oppressed
and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.

In cultivating the garden of life we are guided by a Spirit that seeks to bring about a great peace and a great hope for all. That Spirit is speaking to the Church. The Spirit sings to the laity as well as the ordained. The Spirit is calling us to cultivate a garden where justice grows abundant, forgiveness is the bedding, and the love of baptism the constant water poured out to nourish the landscape of hope and mercy that God gives us. We are cultivating a garden of life. To quote Bishop Budde may “God grant us all the strength and courage to honour the dignity of every human being, speak the truth in love, and walk humbly with one another and our God, for the good of all the people of this nation and the world.”

Very Rev. Dr. Kevin George is Rector of St. Paul's Cathedral, London, and Dean of Huron.
kevingeorge@diohuron.org

Photo: Vince Fleming/Unsplash