Loving all well: the People vs. the Church

I have been thinking about the rationale we use within the Church to justify our actions. Occasionally the right action is clear in a given situation. Often path to right action is not set out before us. I saw this demonstrated in the testimony I heard about two different controversial resolutions today.

The first resolution I listened to testimony on this morning was C029 which would have changed the canon to no longer require baptism for those who receive communion. It was clear in the testimony that we all want the Church to be open and inclusive. Every person, on either side of the debate, was looking for a way to grow our Church. We want to reach out to those that are unchurched. We want to reach out to people who desperately need to hear about God's love.

The second resolution was actually a series of resolutions (B010, C064 etc) on how the Church will go forward in relation to the continuing occupation of Palestine by Israel. One of the people testifying opened his testimony by saying that his opinion on the issue was as complicated as the issue itself. The issue is complicated, but mainly because we are failing to boldly proclaim Jesus' love for all people.

Today's struggle for me has been to remain present in this convention as I have become more convinced than ever that Church is not something that happens within four walls (and especially not something that happens within four non-unionized hotels). Church is that what happens when we go outside these walls. God is found everywhere, but God chose to become human and then die as a political prisoner. Jesus' harshest words were for the members of the religious ruling class that took their religion and tradition more seriously than compassion and love.

One of my favorite stories in the Gospel is the story of Jesus' healing of the bleeding woman (Mark 5:21-43). The framing of the story of this woman is just as important as her story. The story opens with the leader of the synagogue telling Jesus that his daughter is dying. While on the way to his house this woman, who would have been banished from religious society, touches Jesus' robe because she believes “If I can just touch his clothes, I shall be saved.” (v28 New Jerusalem Translation). The woman is, in fact, cured of her sickness. Since Jesus waited to cure this woman the daughter of synagogue leader dies. (SPOILER ALERT– Jesus then goes and wakes her because she was only sleeping). This story speaks to me tonight. We are called to emulate Jesus. He was not about the hierarchy of the Church. He did not believe that we had to follow the rules in order to be included. If anything he believed the opposite. Love and compassion heal. I love this story because it demonstrates how Jesus goes out of his way to heal and show love for those that are normally excluded by the Church.
Today both of these resolutions are attempting to address how we as a Church react to and include those that are different from us. Do we allow those that are unbaptized to share in Jesus' body? I believe that we should. We are only giving what God has given us. We do not have the right to keep that from anyone. In Palestine, in the land where Jesus walked, we see people living in occupied territories. We see the suffering. We need to be able to offer them compassion because they are in a powerless situation. As a Church we need to expand beyond our walls and our comfort zones. We need to take God's love to the streets to the people that have been excluded.
General Convention should be a place where we recommit the Church to it's mission. I am being conflicted because I am beginning to be jaded. I am beginning to think that this convention is about Church politics and having the right colored shirt rather than about teaching each other how to love God's people better. This conflict in my heart is not new, it is a one that I have been believing with and struggling with for some time. How do we stay relevant in this Church while remaining true to our tradition and learning to love the world around us?