Re-membering

Galatians 3:23-28

          I have been thinking of my cat. He was rescued (or we were rescued) when he was just a small kitten. He is a joy, he is smart, he is loving and I adore him. I clearly see the love of God's creation in him. I am fascinated sometimes by how he reacts to the birds feeding outside our windows. We feed the birds simply because we love his reaction to the birds. He also knew instinctively how to handle the lone mouse that managed to penetrate our vermin free kingdom. These behaviours of his come without any teaching, they are a natural instinct apparently. There is a common book of knowledge that cats apparently possess.

             I am wondering if there is no such book for humanity. I would say killing is instinctively wrong and engrained in us but so many people of the earth seem to thrive on hate and killing. There is a history and knowledge that we seem too quick to dismiss. There is so much history that we just seem to forget or dismiss.

             The former president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was a total Holocaust denier. How is that even possible?  That is a glaring example of our short mindedness.  We seem to be able to think only in the present. If we look at marriage equality, we look only at how things were viewed for the last century or so and then paint the whole issue with that brush. History tells us so much about marriage equality that so many are willing to deny or dismiss. From the work of John Boswell to 'hidden' gay relationships in Hebrew scripture, the message is there. Even simply the knowledge of gay relationships is clearly evident within nature but that knowledge goes out the window and is denied by so many wingnuts. It is all too scary. We seem capable of dismissing anything. I have even heard there are people that think the earth is the center of the universe. Yikes? Massive fail!

              I have frequently noted that the same thing happens when Holy Scripture is looked at only from our present frame of reference. Their words cannot easily be defined by our words, our culture or our philosophies. So much was different, so much needs to be understood. Scripture speaks clearly of women in church leadership, perhaps even Apostolic. These roles existed in Christian scripture yet this is seemingly denied today in the Roman church. The zeal with which an agenda for male domination in God's church is not consistent with God's love or message or history. Joyfully today we remember the Anglican church's first woman Priest, Florence Li Tim-Oi (ordained 1944). But imagine the gap in our collective memory and the denial of God's plan that woman are full participants in His plan between the early church and 1944. Astounding time gap isn't it? Imagine that there are still (men) who would argue against the ordination of women in the Anglican communion. I hate to say it, let us 'forget' the Roman church altogether. This is all about history and remembering and denying the full message of God's love and creation.

              I once heard a funeral sermon where the Priest spoke about remembering the deceased. He emphasized Re-member-ing. That is bringing us all back together. That is what thinking about the person does.  We cannot move forward unless we try to understand and appreciate our past and our history.  In a related note, it seems so counterproductive to cut short eduction and philosophy courses as a mandate to a full and complete education. Education is a lifelong process for sure and for sure, it does not end with the fundamentals of the three R's. If we are to move forward as humanity we need more than that, we need a full education that embraces our history and focuses on thought, history, philosophy. If we do not, we foster denials of who we are and where we come from, we foster ignorance and downright stupidity.

           If there is to be no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female, we must embrace who we (all) are, where we (all) have come from and where our brothers and sisters have come from. Respect, knowledge and equality for all.

Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.