Three Things I've Learned
Hey Friends!
I have two more Sundays and sermons left at Church of the Cross, but I want to use my final e-news as an opportunity to reflect upon what God has taught me during my time here. There are a number of things space will not permit me to describe - the relation between faith and reason stands out (thank you COTC philosophers!), as does the connection between theology and the arts (thank you COTC artists!), but here are three lessons I am taking with me.
Talk (and Pray) it Out
I'll remember the latter half of 2020 as a series of difficult conversations. I am grateful that the Parish Council prioritized congregational engagement during the twin crises of Covid-19 and the murder of George Floyd. Remember the all-church zoom meetings? People in our community did not always feel the same way about the pandemic or the protests against racial injustice. Our differences could have torn us apart. But we stuck together. We lamented, prayed, and processed together. I think COTC is stronger after one of the most tumultuous years in living memory. And we did by talking (and praying) it out.
Complementary Voices
For all my and Peter’s differences - my brash Americanness, his Canadian courtesy - we bring a very similar set of questions and concerns to the Bible. Notwithstanding their celebrity status within evangelicalism and/or fluency in Mandarin, the same is true for David and Paul, our resident clergy. Our collective voice in the pulpit is coherent, and that’s a good thing. But it has limitations. The insights and emphases brought by our guest preachers have filled out our witness. Do you remember Joe Ho’s sermon last Trinity Sunday? Or Sarah Smith’s reflection on the feeding of the 5000? I do. I couldn’t preach like that if my life depended on it. The importance of complementary voices, whatever the composition of a clergy team, will stay with me.
The Strong Name of Jesus
Have you ever noticed Peter’s habit of closing his prayers “in the strong name of Jesus"? We’ve never talked about this, but my sense is that there is a lot of thought and conviction packed into that simple phrase. We feel a unique set of “cross-pressures” as followers of Jesus. Even those of us who are settled in our faith face doubts about its plausibility and are routinely confronted by the failures of the church. COTC has given me a firm place to stand. Not by ignoring contemporary challenges, but by finding in Scripture, our Tradition, and the ministry of God’s Spirit a way of narrating and practicing the Christian faith that simply works. I have long known that Jesus is strong enough to withstand all the questions, disappointments, and uncertainties we bring to him. What I have learned here is that a congregation of Jesus followers can embody and extend that strength in time and space.
Hope to see you and say goodbye either this Sunday or next!
Nick