Homily Marks of Mission 4,5 and 6
One of the greatest misconceptions about the Christian faith is that our scriptures and our faith have nothing to do with our political system, our economy, our way of living together in this world.
Perhaps these texts will be familiar: “He has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich empty away.”
That’s from the Magnificat, from Luke Gospel.
Or how about: “He will establish and uphold peace with justice and righteousness from this time onwards or forevermore.”
Indeed if you looked at our scriptures as a whole you would find more references to economic justice and money than any other subject. More than salavation. More than love.
The powerful and rich in society would like us to forget about this emphasis in both our Old and New testaments. While the early church in its first centuries was a church of the poor and the marginalized, the economic underclass—peasants, and slaves, the leadership of the church from the Roman Empire on became linked to secular wealth and power.
And the social justice dimension of the Christian faith was downplayed, leaving it as primarily a matter of personal devotion.
The final two Marks of Mission, plus a supplementary mark of mission adopted by the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada deal with this social justice dimension of our faith.
The fourth mark is “to seek to transform unjust structures of society.”
The fifth mark is “To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth.”
The sixth mark is “to work for peace-making, conflict resolution and reconciliation.”
Transforming unjust structures is rooted in the vision of the prophets of the Old testament. Listen to these words from the prophet of Amos.
“Hear this, you that trample on the needy and bring to ruin the poor of the land, saying, “When will the new moon be over so that we can sell grain; and the Sabbath so that we might offer wheat for sale? We will make the ephah small and the shekel great and practice deceit with false balances, buying the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals, and selling the sweepings of the wheat.”
Some things never change. Think of the fraudulent practices of Wall Street bankers, which caused the US economic crisis and led to many people losing their homes, and lifetime savings.
As Christians we need to address these issues from a Biblical perspective. Unjust financial practices and economic exploitation is an offence to God.
The church is at its best when it challenges power. I think of the famous Brazilian Archbishop Dom Helder Camara, a Roman Catholic. He was declared a “non-person” by the military distatorship which ruled the country in the 70’s.
He had been a staunch critic of the government, accusing it of exploiting poor Brazilians to line the pockets of wealthy people.
In a quotation, which has since become legendary, Helder Camara said: “When I feed the poor, they call me a saint. But when I ask why so many people are poor, they call me a communist.”
Archbishop Helder Camara realized that helping the poor wasn’t enough. In oder to do God’s work, to obey his calling he had to challenge the unjust structures which created poverty.
His example has inspired Brazilians since, and now the president of Brazil is a woman who was imprisoned by the military junta, and now leads a democratic nation which has one of the worlds fastest growing economies.
The fifth mark of mission is aimed at protecting our environment for future generations.
When people say economic growth that requires degrading the environment is a defensible position, they are ignoring our Christian calling to safeguard the earth, in order for future generations to live.
It is short sighted in the extreme to ignore climate change, and pollution of our air, water and land. Anglicans from throughout the communion have been working together on environmental issues.
A meeting in Lima, Peru in 2011, concluded that creation is in crisis, yet there is continued degradation of our environment, and an unwillingness on the parts of governments and businesses to take action.
The Anglican Communion Environmental Network set out a series of actions which can be taken by local and national communities to address these issues, through education and action.
In our own diocese we have an environmental action committee which has encouraged parishes to do what they are able to make their own spaces environmentally friendly,
The unofficial sixth mark of mission was originated here in Canada, in recognition of the need for reconciliation and peace making, in light of our history with aboriginal peoples and the abuses of residential schools and reservations.
The thrust of these last three Marks of Mission is seeking God’s Kingdom on earth, and applying Biblical teaching to the way we live out our lives in the economy, in our political system and in our communities.
Christian faith is not pie in the sky by and by as the old expression says. It is not some consolation for injustice which offers the promise of salvation later for suffering now.
Instead our task is to comfort the afflicted, but also to afflict the comfortable. Needless to say that sometimes has created problems when the church’s prophetic witness against injustice has collided with the interests of those of its members whose interest is in maintaining exploitation, and maintaining the status quo.
It is a delicate balance. The church can not be engaged by its nature in partisan politics. But that doesn’t mean it can’t speak out on issues of economic injustice, as the prophet Amos did in his time. Amos, who was said to be a shepherd, was undoubtedly not very popular amongst the wealthy landowners of the seventh century BC.
Neither are Christian churches likely to be popular with politicians and business leaders if they press for changes in unjust structures, or environmental protection measures which put people above profits.
Jesus wasn’t too popular with the Scribes, Pharisees, or the Jewish establishment either when he challenged them to give up their wealth and power and meet the needs of the poor.
But as we move forward as Anglicans in this community, no matter what shape our ministry takes, these issues need to be addressed.
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