wfn.org | ACNS3350 Message from the Presiding Bishop of ECUSA "Finding

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ACNS 3350     |     USA     |     17 MARCH 2003

Message from the Presiding Bishop of ECUSA

Finding Our Way: A Christian Perspective

13 March 2003

All through these many months of debates and discussions about our
government's policy and actions toward Iraq I have expressed my opposition
to war. Joined by leaders and members of other faith communities, I have
supported the alternatives to war that would both address the legitimate
concerns of our nation and recognize that war at this point is not the
solution. At what appears to be the eleventh hour, I remain convinced that
military action is the course of last resort and could have unintended
negative consequences beyond our imagining. I do not believe it an
exaggeration to say that decisions made now will affect our global future
for good or ill.

Over these last weeks an undercurrent has entered the debates and
discussions that I might describe as the "God factor." I have read and heard
a great deal about how religion, and faith in God, bear on this situation.
In one sense, this is welcome in that people of faith are obliged to bring
their perspectives to matters of public policy.

At the same time, to invoke God's name and assume God's blessing on our acts
is not something that can be done in a spirit of self justification, but
rather in a spirit of humility and constant openness to being led into
deeper understandings of God's desire. "For my thoughts are not your
thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord." (Isaiah 55.)

Our images of God's ways and God's will are rooted in the Bible. Scripture,
however, contains different understandings of God and God's will. As
Christians we look to the view which is most faithful to the life and death
of Jesus Christ. God sent his Son to reconcile the world and its people to
himself and to show us how to live into the fullness of our humanity. In
Christ we see power surrendered in favor of vulnerability, service to
others, and a compassion and love for his enemies that leads him to the
cross.

I am deeply disturbed that some Christians are animated by notions of a God
of vengeance and retribution, and adopt simplistic views of good and evil.
The task of people of faith, indeed those of the three Abrahamic faiths -
Judaism, Christianity and Islam - is to point us all toward a God abounding
in compassion and love for each one of us.

What are the implications for us, the followers of Jesus, as we ponder the
present situation? How do we see ourselves as a nation? How is our national
character - historically marked by generosity, mutual respect, and a love of
freedom - being shaped by our present experiences?

Following the terrible events of September 11, 2001 and the outpouring of
expressions of solidarity from people around the world - many of whom
experience the effects of terrorism daily - I had hoped that we as a nation
would come to a new consciousness that would enable us to see ourselves less
in terms of "offended power" and more as belonging to a vulnerable and
interdependent global community in which we are called to bear one another's
burdens and share one another's sufferings. Since that day I have said that
as our nation is a superpower, we are also called to be a super servant
genuinely concerned for the welfare of the world beyond our own perceived
self interest.

Those who argue for war have said that war can be an act of service to the
global community, and religious language is employed to justify such an
action. How can this be when war would have a profoundly damaging effect
upon countless innocent people? How can this be when war would further fuel
the anger and frustration so many people around the globe, far beyond the
borders of Iraq, feel towards our country?

Instead of waging war, our faith calls us to wage reconciliation. This
involves the demanding and difficult challenge of loving our enemies and
embracing policies of generosity of spirit that build up the global
community.

I am also concerned that the call for war and the attendant rhetoric have
profoundly polarized our nation. Anxiety and self-preoccupation have become
a way of life and we are fast losing our ability to see ourselves as part of
a global community. Critics are dismissed as unpatriotic and nations that
fail to do our bidding are ridiculed and demeaned. Our national spirit is
being slowly poisoned. This may be Osama Bin Laden's greatest triumph.

 From my office window in New York I can see the United Nations building.
with God's care and love for our world.
particularly the members of the Security Council, that they may be imbued
These days every time I glance at it I say a prayer for its members,

Prayer is a dimension of peace-making in which we can all engage. Prayer
unites us to God and works in us the mind of Christ. Prayer is an invitation
from God to open ourselves to God's larger desires for us and for humanity
and all creation. Prayer can liberate us from our biases and fixed points of
view and lead us into a new space where God's perspective is able to
transform and enlarges our own. God's care surrounds both our men and women
in the military, now in Southwest Asia, and the people of Iraq as they face
ominous possibilities. I therefore invite all members of our church to
observe the world wide Candle Light Vigil on Sunday March 16 at 7 p.m. in
their local communities and to consider similar observances at all liturgies
during these difficult days.

I know that President Bush is a person of prayer. And I pray for him
everyday. Today, I have made a request to him that he meet with me and other
Christian leaders at this crucial time. As fellow members of Christ's body,
we very much want to share our perspectives with him and to join with him in
prayer that we may be faithful to the ways in which God is inviting this
great nation of ours to be a blessing to the nations of the world.

The Most Revd Frank T Griswold
Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Church, USA

___________________________________________________________________

For details about the Enthronement of the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury,
the Most Revd Rowan D Williams, visit http://www.anglicancommunion.org/

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