A Moment of Temptation

From John Kirkley+ at meditatio, his sermon rooted in today's reading from Paul's Letter to the Romans, reminds us that the Communion belongs to God, not to us. Whatever else we may hear from the Primates, the Anglican Communion is a gift, and woe to us if we arrogantly treat it otherwise:

My sisters and brothers, the gifts and calling of God to us are irrevocable. We do not need to sacrifice ourselves, alone or with others, for the sake of the Communion because it is already ours as God’s free gift. Our response to calls for sacrifice must be a clear refusal to embrace it as a means to curry divine or human favor. We need not, must not, put God to the test. . .

Our response must be a clear and honest declaration that we can not in good conscience refuse the gifts of gay and lesbian people for any order of ministry, laity, bishops, priests or deacons, and that we must recognize, pastorally and sacramentally, God’s blessing on the holy lives led by lesbian and gay couples. If we must make sacrifices for the sake of justice in this way, even at the cost of our standing in the Anglican Communion, then so be it. Our lives, our vocations, and our relationships are not negotiable.

Read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest.