lots of wrestling

There are two reflections that I could write this morning.

The first comes out of the collect - "Let your continual mercy, O Lord, cleanse and defend your Church; and, because it cannot continue in safety without your help, protect and govern it always by your goodness." As GAFCON folk throw grenades at a conference they chose not to attend (Lambeth) and a system they asked for (Windsor) refusing to life up to their side of the bargain I could riff for quite a while on what it means to be cleansed by God's continual mercy, and how true it is that we cannot continue in safety without His help, and how good His goodness is. But alas, I gave up church politics for Lent 2007 and until yesterday have felt so free from its oppression that I choose today to be defended by God and not return to the power-grabbing firefight that is the Global Anglican Communion until the moderates (who I still contend are the majority) grow a pair and start talking louder than the squeaky wheels on both sides of the carriage.

The second comes out of the Old Testament Lesson. Once again somebody is getting their name changed. If you pay attention to name change sequences in Scripture you'll note that they are very, very important moments. Jacob - roughly translated "the trickster" - has been the tricker and the trickee over the years, and God has decided that its time to change his mission, and so they meet in battle for a night. In the end, having wrestled with him all night (Jacob must have used all the tricks in his bag to prevail against God so long), God decides the time has come for trickery to end, and so he gives him a new name, Israel - roughly translated "God contended".

Words, generally speaking, name things. Nouns name, well things. Verbs name actions. Adjectives name qualities. You get the idea. Names, and by association, words, are important. If I call myself an Episcopalian one set of images come to mind. If I call myself a Christian another set is formed, and if I call myself a follower of Jesus Christ, the Messiah still another. The words we use are very, very important. The names, titles, and labels we are given are very, very important. Many names, titles, and labels that once suited the situation are now being reevaluated. Does Church need a new name? Has it been a trickster long enough? Does Gospel (not the Gospel) need a new name? Have we ruined the word in our usage? Does Minister, Pastor, Priest, Preacher need to be reevaluated? Does a profession clerical class even make sense?

When God gets involved and begins to cleanse and defend we must be prepared for change to happen. Names, identities, roles, long-held traditions, lifestyles, comfort zones, friendships, allegiances, you name it, if God starts wrestling with us, everything is subject to change.