An infection that invades our thinking is impatience and pride – thinking that we are the all-knowing ones who must act NOW in order to save God’s Church (or our little Anglican part of it). Come on. Why do we think (in all our various forms – liberals and conservatives – political or theological) that we now know God’s mind well enough to act as we do? We like our ways, frankly, better than God’s ways, don’t we? You know, love you enemy and all that.
God is in control and He doesn’t need our impatient hubris to accomplish anything, particularly the reform of The Episcopal Church – again, either liberal or conservative reform. It is His!, not ours’ (liberal or conservative)! He will do what He deems best and at the right time – even if that time is beyond our lifetimes’. The solutions to our current problems may well be beyond our lifetimes. So? God is still God and His Church is still His Church.
Sometimes I think we act so hastily and arrogantly because we don’t think God is doing what He should be doing (like casting into utter darkness the people with whom we disagree), so we have to help the poor guy along. My goodness.
Live faithfully. Live consistently. Most of all live humbly and seek wisdom – God will provide without our feeble strategizing and politicking. Boy, God, am I glad I am not like one of THOSE people! 😉