I suppose it's a stretch to equate the squabble within the Episcopalian church with that of the Palestinians who can't seem to get their act together, but one certainly made me think of the other, especially since both were discussed in in separate articles in today's New York Times.
The Episcopalian's turmoil became ever more public when Bishop Gene Robinson was ordained to preside over the Diocese of New Hampshire in 2003, but it had been bubbling long before that. Like within Presbyterianism and other groups that have made relationships with God institutional, many Episcopalians think nothing of discriminating against people that they think are "not like themselves" in some way. So within these bodies of folks that come together to ostensibly worship their Creator, we find people who keep one eye open during their recitation of prayers so as to be sure that the people on either side of them in the pew are acceptable in their sight -- their own sight that is, not God's sight, which seems to be up for grabs depending on who's looking.
A group of about a hundred thousand Episcopalians are thumbing their noses at "God" by founding a separate denomination to be called the Anglican Church in North America.
It doesn't matter much what the issue is that divides them. If it's not one thing it's another. History records them all and dismisses them when the emotions fade in the light of a newer issue to arise. Fickle.
The Palestinians are all in a twit about who can make the pilgrimage to Mecca this year. Known as the hajj and operated by Saudi Muslims since its into their country that these millions of Muslims travel each year, lists of individuals must be submitted and approved by Saudi Arabia as to who may enter the country. Sounds reasonable so far.
Palestinians on the West Bank submitted the list for its own citizens and also for the citizens of Gaza, that tiny strip of beachfront trapped between Israel and the Mediterannean Sea but separated from the West Bank. This list was approved.
Then Hamas, the political group that claims to run Gaza really screwed it up this year, so much so that nobody from Gaza will be allowed to go. They made up their own list of Gazans and said that nobody from the other list will be allowed to leave Gaza to make the Pilgrimage. Saudi Arabia turned down the second list, and now nobody from Gaza will be able to go.
Remember the old cliche' about biting the hand that feeds you? Or the one that says "People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones"? Or picture both the Palestinians and the Episcopalians shooting themselves in the foot.
At this point, the audience watching these dramas is allowed to laugh, however sardonically.
Jesus wept.
1 comments:
Thanks for the apt comparison.
The Episcopalian situation intrigues me not only for itself but for the way different people react to it. The election of Gene Robinson was a deliberately provocative action, orchestrated by factions within that church who had become impatient with the old-fashioned views of many of their co-religionists. It is as if the "More Light" Presbyterians were able to not only adjust the policies of their own congregations, but also succeeded in mandating those policies for congregations that were not yet ready to deal with them openly.
I am with those who feel that gender and sexual orientation shouldn't even be issues among the family of Christ, but legislating morality works as poorly here as it does in the civil sphere.
What is happening to the Episcopalians is pure politics, just like the Hamas v. Fatah situation.
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