The Imperfect Lady, our Mother, the Church
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.
Yesterday, I answered a note from a person who asked me about the Church, and it made me think. In his note he said that he is in a PCA congregation because he needs fellowship and teaching. As I read what he wrote, it had me thinking about G.K. Chesterton and some of his writings, so with a great apology to Mr. Chesterton, let me write a small letter to “John Doe.”
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Dear Mr. Doe,
You wrote me yesterday about your confusion about which Christian body to join. You commented on how you liked the music of this one body, the theology of this other body, the sacraments of that body, but the fellowship you experience in yet a fourth body. And, I wonder not at your confusion, because the Church itself appears to be confused. Is the Church one body or is she many bodies? Even among us Orthodox, we appear to be a set of bodies rather than One. How can you not be confused when Mother Church appears to be confused?
And, that really is at the root of our problems with our Holy Mother Church. We expect better of her. We expect her to be ever so pure and ever so right in all she says and does. But, that is a child’s view of his/her parents. A child living a normal childhood always assumes that mother is correct. A child receives sustenance and support from his/her mother without questioning his/her mother’s decisions or actions. But, the reality is that mother is not perfect and mother makes wrong decisions and takes some wrong actions. It is as we mature that we can have a balanced view of our mother and realize her great love for us and her sustenance of us, in spite of her many mistakes. Have you guessed already that I am speaking of Holy Mother Church?
All of us need to grow up and have a mature view of our Holy Mother, while at the same time coming to her for sustenance and love as little children do. It is a hard set of attitudes to maintain, yet we must in order to be able to have a right view of Mother Church. If we err and demand perfection, we shall always be disappointed. We shall then always go around from group to group seeking that which we shall never find on this side of the grave (or of His Glorious Appearance). But, if we are unable to see her mistakes, we will be unable to take our proper part in the counsels of the Church, so that Our Lord may continue to wash His Church and cleanse her. In fact, if we are unable to have a balanced view of Mother Church, we shall be unable to have a balanced view of ourselves; and we shall be unable to grow correctly in personal holiness.
Let me caution you about one mistake. It is easy to see the imperfections of Mother Church and thereby decide that no group is really the Church–which is to say that every group is the Church–and that you are free to attend any group which calls itself a church and which agrees with certain criteria that you hold in your mind. It is even easier to see groups that may hold better to some of the criteria you consider important, and to thereby decide that such a groups are really Mother Church. But, let me assure you, there really is a Holy Mother Church. She is imperfect, and at times hard to see, but she is there. It is much harder to submit to an imperfect Mother Church and to receive from her, especially when there are some bodies that are better than Mother Church at following the evangelical counsels of the Church.
Nevertheless, let me encourage you to seek Holy Mother Church. She is the presence of the promised Kingdom that is to come. She is the herald and the harbinger of Our Lord Jesus Christ. She gives us sustenance through the Word and the Sacraments. She points to Our Savior and brings us to Him and Him to us. She cleanses us in Holy Baptism and presents us to Our Lord. She feeds us with his Body and Blood. Do not despise her. Do not merely say that you will go directly to Jesus as though you would throw away the Body of Christ. You would be throwing away a pearl. Come to her as a Prodigal Son and see that Our Father in Heaven will be standing right there beside her. We stand by to welcome you home.
Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.
Related posts:
- Infallible and Imperfect, you have got to be kidding!
- Imperfect people do great deeds
- On arguing about the Church
- How not to argue for the Church
- Still infallible and imperfect – shh
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Posted by Fr. Ernesto Obregon on Friday, January 29, 2010e-mail at 1:09 am
Filed under uncategorized · Tagged with American Orthodoxy, pastoral, theology
How does one balance this imperfection when looking at teachings, creeds, etc… that are considered authoritative?
Are they tainted?
Not that I am questioning them, I am just looking at where the imperfection/perfection meet and how one can distinguish between the two.
As one looks at Church history, some interesting things are seen that are most helpful:
1. All self-proclaimed Christians have the same New Testament.
2. With the exception of some rather extreme groups, all self-proclaimed Christians accept the dogmatic declarations of the first three Ecumenical Councils. They may not accept them as “rule” but they will discipline any who stray from them.
3. Only the non-Chalcedonians do not accept the fourth through sixth Ecumenical Councils. With slight exceptions, all the rest of the self-proclaimed Christians accept the dogmatic declarations of the fourth through the sixth Ecumenical Councils. They may not accept them as “rule” but they will discipline any who stray from them.
4. The non-Chalcedonians, Roman Catholics, other Catholic groups, some Anglo-Catholics, and the Eastern Orthodox accept the Seventh Ecumenical Council.
This basically means that all self-proclaimed Christian groups–except the non-Chalcedonians–accept the first six Ecumenical Councils as authoritative for dogma. And, all groups accept the same New Testament as authoritative.
There are also some similarities in worship that speak to what is important. For instance, all self-proclaimed Christian groups have come to regularly use some form of the Corinthian passage on the Lord’s Supper as the passage which should be recited/remembered during the celebration of the Lord’s Supper.
I could go on, but all too often we concentrate on the differences rather than the likenesses. The likenesses are a worthwhile study on their own.
OK, now read this next sentence carefully. All that I have described above comes under the heading of the phenomenology of religion. However, I do not live in that field of endeavor. I live in the Church. This means that the distinguishing of imperfection/perfection is not my individual role. Rather, I am part of a community that stretches from the creation of Adam through today, and includes patriarchs, prophets, apostles, martyrs, hierarchs, priests, deacons, subdeacons, laity, etc., etc. It includes the Church in glory and the Church militant. I study; I read; I question; I agree; I disagree; I have my personal opinions. But, the field within which I function is the Church and the basic trust that Our Lord is slowly cleansing her.
There are times to fight for what is right, but within the Church. My first endeavor, decision was to find out where the Church was, even to find out whether there was one visible Church or whether the various pieces into which we are divided are all Church. So, oddly enough, I used the classic American individualism to do my research and make my decision. There is a significant bit of irony in that. But, having decided that there is a Church, I joined it and it is within that “field” that I function. I do not consider Eastern Orthodoxy perfect. But, it is within that field that I function and study. So, it is within that field that I accept what is unchangeable dogma and what is changeable discipline and what is arguable theologumena (theological opinions, but carrying much greater weight).
Eastern Orthodoxy is a Lady in need of cleansing. But, she is my Lady and my Holy Mother Church. This answer may not fully satisfy you, but it is the best I can give at this time.
I have wandered through most of Non-Denominational, Protestant and Catholic Christianity finding a piece here, a piece there–but nothing that was anything more than a few squares of the whole quilt. As I prayed and struggled and read and listened and asked God for guidance, I was led in what some might consider coincidental ways, but that I consider miraculous ways to the Eastern Orthodox Church. Here I have found the whole quilt–a little faded in places and a little ragged in others–even splattered with a little mud here and there–but undeniable the whole quilt. I have wrapped myself in this whole quilt and here I stay–warmed, sheltered, taught (this quilt has squares that tell stories) and even warned when I stray from the pathway (other quilt squares tell THOSE stories).
Alix
As someone who leans towards paleo-orthodoxy (Thomas Oden), there is much you said in your response that I agree with.
Part of my reason for asking that question was my attempt to fit into the shoes of someone who is not a Christian: How would he/she consider your post? Your answer to me might work for that type person as well.
Thanks.