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Pastor Colley

Change


Good for God, by God

 

by Pastor Colley

    It is what the sign read as I
     sat at the traffic light –
               CHANGE.

   Of course, the sign-carrier was asking for help, but not too much of it: no bills requested. But, for the reflective side of my mind, I wondered if it wasn’t an order, a directive, a command: change my ways, if you would please. Change the world if you can. Change the way things are that need changing, to the best of your ability. Get going and do something helpful and constructive; in a word, CHANGE!
    It is a word that the church has been skittish about throughout history. “We’ve never done it that way before!” are said to be the last seven words of the church. And, of course, it is always said that change is the only constant. But change is happening in the Christian faith and around St. Paul’s.
St. Paul changed, or better, was changed. The water at the wedding at Cana did. Jesus changed in the tomb. The world changed at the cross. I am changed at the Confession and Absolution each Sunday. The bread and the wine change me (remember, the bread and the wine at communion don’t change, they remain bread and wine; but also remember they are the real body and blood of Christ – the church has tried to change that over the years since Christ proclaimed: “this is my body, this is my blood,” but thankfully, in many places has not).
The Lord’s prayer of 1611 is believed not to need to change at all. But to get to that version, the church had to change Matthew, Mark, and Luke’s version of it. The Apostles’ Creed is now changing from “he descended into hell,” to, “who went to the dead.” It is interesting that historically, the latter is much earlier in the church’s confession, and was changed to the former. Now we are going back to the more original version, but we think it is a change since it is not in our experience. Ah, change.
    In a recent article in the Christian Century (and the news has flooded Lutheran and other right-minded periodicals of late) entitled “Crossing to Rome–Six Catholic Converts,” a listing of prominent theologians who have left their denomination and became Roman Catholic appeared, along with some reasons for their change (or what has been dubbed their ‘celebrity conversion’). It really isn’t a conversion, now, is it? Former St. Paul’s world-prominent theologian Reinhard Huetter was one of the featured theologians who has made that trip. But the most wonderful comment that appeared in the article came from Duke’s famous theologian and Methodist, Stanley Hauerwas, who is not about to change his denomination. Why? Said Hauerwas: “I prefer loyalty to one’s church of origin, I feel like you need to stay with the people that harmed you. Think about it. So, there are times to change and times not to. It is a conscience matter of deep faith.
    At St. Paul’s there are changes afoot. Buildings, staff roles, worship books, liturgical language. But we are not changing for the sake of change or for the sake of constancy. It is the unchangeable God who changes the world through us. It is in our baptismal call of being instruments in God’s hands that brings about change, thank God. If it were about us, why change? It’s not that the church has “not done it that way before,” it’s that “the God of the church has not done it that way before here in this place.”
    Change is good for God, by God.


             Pastor Colley
             August 24, 2006
             Bartholomew, apostle

 

 

 

1200 West Cornwallis Road, Durham, NC 27705-5731
Phone: (919) 489-3214    Fax: (919) 490-1088


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