Ecumenism and Church
The modern use of “ecumenism”
pertains to a narrow problem in a wide swath of differing Christians. And within that context it’s regarded
ambiguously, either with hope or suspicion.
Between these poles sits a taught unspoken proposition that the Church
is divided. Since Christians know that
the Church can’t be truly divided, the proposition finds no voice. Instead ecumenism proposes to solve dividedness. While it may have some impact on unity as a
qualitative experience, ecumenism has offered little with regard to the universality
of the unified Church.
The very notion of
dividedness is ambiguous; just consider the grammar. “Dividedness” as a noun seems concrete, but
its verb root (to divide) already has a standard noun form as “division,” which
is the concrete result of dividing a whole.
“Dividedness,” on the other hand, begins with something that has already
been divided, abstracts the quality of that division, and then treats this
quality as the issue of concern. And
when considering ecumenical efforts of the 20th century (WCC,
Vatican II, Evangelicals and Catholics Together), this is precisely what we
find: differing groups extending
goodwill toward others, looking to emphasize common ground. We do not find, on the other hand, the
different groups offering to merge. This
approach implicitly supports something like a confederate view of the Church
while avoiding any mention of it or of any other notion of “Church.”
Ecclesiology, the teachings
on the nature of the Church, is that proverbial elephant in the room. All
Christians know with marriage, “What God has joined together, let no man
separate.” We also know the same applies
to the Church:
There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were
called in one hope of your calling; one
Lord, one faith, one baptism. (Eph 4:4,5)
And to tie the loop
completely St. Paul sets the Church as the very model for marriage. Consequently the first and most obvious
ecclesiological statement is that the Church ought not to be divided.
So that is the question: is the Church divided? My honest belief is, “no,” and I must quickly
add that within the Church we often do behave like siblings. In short, the body of Christ is one; his
members fall prey to weakness and sibling rivalry. In this
sense we have dividedness without division.
When a division occurs, then the word “sect” applies, where it is the
sect that splits off from the Church. A
classic conundrum arises where each regards the other as the sect, which amuses
me as an Orthodox when speaking with Catholic friends. Who split from whom, exactly? The same holds with Catholics and Lutherans
(or Protestants more generally). Who
split from the truth, and who stayed true?
This conundrum-turned-question strikes me, however, as a distraction
which preoccupies both the faithful and their leaders with condemning and
self-justifying behaviors. Nothing could
be further from what Jesus asked of his disciples, or from what the Apostles
handed down. Rather, when a sect has
split, the first efforts must be for reunion, not invective.
So, what is the honest
assessment of Christianity at large, and what’s to be done? Honestly, the word “sect” must be
rehabilitated, but lacking that we have the word “group,” so I’ll continue to
use it. Across the world, and within any
large city is a huge number of Christian groups. Their aggregation does not constitute the
Church, and such a superset dishonors many of those same groups given the
serious differences of belief and practice between them. Further, any expectation of unity that
includes an absence of such groups is neither apostolic, nor biblical, nor
rational. Therefore I recommend these
simple guides for addressing the saddening situation of division between Christian
groups.
- Regard the group to which you belong as The Church, and be obedient to Her; condemn no one
- Regard all other Christians, individuals and groups, charitably, condemning no one
- Occasionally revisit the meaning of Church (your ecclesiology); if you find you have misunderstood it, consider changing, condemning no one
Since I have adopted this
way of behaving, dialogue that might be called “ecumenical” has been much more
positive. Has it been more productive? That depends on what you want to produce. The Lord said, “Repent for the Kingdom of
Heaven is at hand.” The Apostles said
the same. That command aims at myself,
and therefore, repenting is my business.
The Lord also commanded, “Judge not lest you be judged,” and “if you do
not forgive you will not be forgiven.”
Since adopting the above guides, I have been much more productive in
repenting of pride that judges and withholds forgiveness, and conceives of
Church in a tribal way. There is one
Lord, one faith, one baptism, and there is The Church, which is His Body. If I regard others as the Lord regards me,
then from within His Body, I regard others not with condemnation but with
kindness.
For He makes His sun to rise on the evil and the
good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what
reward have you? … And if you greet your
brethren only, what do you do more than others? (Matt. 5:45‑47)
Comments
Post a Comment