William Temple -- Reflection
"Freedom is a great word, and like other great words is often superficially understood. It has been said that to those who have enough of this world's goods the claim to freedom means, 'Leave us alone,' while to those who have not enough it means, 'Give us a chance.'"
-- from Christianity and Social Order
Overtly Christian and overtly political -- these are qualities that William Temple embodied in his life and ministry. Wait a minute! Every good clergyperson knows that religion and politics don't mix, right? Apparently Temple did not receive that memo.
His book, Christianity and Social Order published in 1942 was his last and most provocative. Written in the midst of World War II and just two years before his death, this text is Temple's articulation of "the principles which had guided his political activity". The book also challenged many popular assumptions regarding the place of the Church in the political conversations of the day. (Glorious Companions, p. 257) Temple's ministry gave witness to his belief that the Church wasn't simply some sort of archaic devotional society devoted to the perpetuation of anachronistic rituals of piety. In Temple's mind, the Church mattered in society because the Church could call forth the best in society's citizens and speak toward the injustices and oppressions in light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Temple had honed his political skills during his eight years as the Bishop of Manchester -- a sprawling industrial diocese with a myriad of social ills exacerbated by sharp class divisions. But previous to that appointment he had, time and time again, spoken out on behalf of the poor and those who were on the fringes of British society. In Christianity and Social Order, the Archbishop outlined the three principles he saw as absolutely necessary to the betterment of society as a whole: personal freedom (maximum individual choice), social fellowship (strengthening family, national and international ties) and service (wider loyalties taking priority over narrow ones). (Glorious Companions, p. 257)
As one who routinely spends my days managing the small-time politics that are endemic to parish life, Temple's charge to the Church to take an interest in the society (and its politics) beyond the Sunday morning liturgy is a stinging rebuke. Temple also raises important questions for me. How can we possibly "proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ" (BCP, p. 305) to the world and not ever touch upon the societal issues that will require political willpower -- of a big-time sort -- to address? Can we simply be in the business of saving "souls" for the next life, while tacitly allowing systems to continue that, intentionally or unintentionally, result in the deaths of people's hopes, aspirations and dignity in this life?
My fear isn't that as the Church we have nothing to add to the political debate in our own day in our own country. My fear is that we seem to lack the courage to deliver that sort of message humbly, directly, clearly and without apology. My fear is that I don't have the courage to say what my understanding of the Gospel may be calling me to say. My fear is that the relative security of a stipend, health insurance, rectory and pension fund may have more of a collar (and muzzle) on me than the Gospel of Jesus.
The witness of Temple's passion for social justice is a powerful one. There are others in our own day and time who have taken up the Cause for those whom our society (and even our own Church) would too easily ignore. I give thanks for their courageous witness and pray for them daily.
I also pray that God will deliver me from the fear that would cause me to sell out the the glorious Good News of the Gospel for the security of small-time politics in the church-of-business-as-usual.
"Freedom is a great word, and like other great words is often superficially understood. It has been said that to those who have enough of this world's goods the claim to freedom means, 'Leave us alone,' while to those who have not enough it means, 'Give us a chance.'"
-- from Christianity and Social Order
Overtly Christian and overtly political -- these are qualities that William Temple embodied in his life and ministry. Wait a minute! Every good clergyperson knows that religion and politics don't mix, right? Apparently Temple did not receive that memo.
His book, Christianity and Social Order published in 1942 was his last and most provocative. Written in the midst of World War II and just two years before his death, this text is Temple's articulation of "the principles which had guided his political activity". The book also challenged many popular assumptions regarding the place of the Church in the political conversations of the day. (Glorious Companions, p. 257) Temple's ministry gave witness to his belief that the Church wasn't simply some sort of archaic devotional society devoted to the perpetuation of anachronistic rituals of piety. In Temple's mind, the Church mattered in society because the Church could call forth the best in society's citizens and speak toward the injustices and oppressions in light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Temple had honed his political skills during his eight years as the Bishop of Manchester -- a sprawling industrial diocese with a myriad of social ills exacerbated by sharp class divisions. But previous to that appointment he had, time and time again, spoken out on behalf of the poor and those who were on the fringes of British society. In Christianity and Social Order, the Archbishop outlined the three principles he saw as absolutely necessary to the betterment of society as a whole: personal freedom (maximum individual choice), social fellowship (strengthening family, national and international ties) and service (wider loyalties taking priority over narrow ones). (Glorious Companions, p. 257)
As one who routinely spends my days managing the small-time politics that are endemic to parish life, Temple's charge to the Church to take an interest in the society (and its politics) beyond the Sunday morning liturgy is a stinging rebuke. Temple also raises important questions for me. How can we possibly "proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ" (BCP, p. 305) to the world and not ever touch upon the societal issues that will require political willpower -- of a big-time sort -- to address? Can we simply be in the business of saving "souls" for the next life, while tacitly allowing systems to continue that, intentionally or unintentionally, result in the deaths of people's hopes, aspirations and dignity in this life?
My fear isn't that as the Church we have nothing to add to the political debate in our own day in our own country. My fear is that we seem to lack the courage to deliver that sort of message humbly, directly, clearly and without apology. My fear is that I don't have the courage to say what my understanding of the Gospel may be calling me to say. My fear is that the relative security of a stipend, health insurance, rectory and pension fund may have more of a collar (and muzzle) on me than the Gospel of Jesus.
The witness of Temple's passion for social justice is a powerful one. There are others in our own day and time who have taken up the Cause for those whom our society (and even our own Church) would too easily ignore. I give thanks for their courageous witness and pray for them daily.
I also pray that God will deliver me from the fear that would cause me to sell out the the glorious Good News of the Gospel for the security of small-time politics in the church-of-business-as-usual.
posted by FrGaryB | 1:06 PM
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