St Mary's

ST MARY’S IN EXILE

By Leo Wright, member of the Northern Cluster, discussed and recommended for publication by all members of the Northern Cluster, November 2011.

Regarding our “in Exile” tag, I wanted to drop it. Being in a place of exile carries with it the thought/desire of going back home. But now I find its connection with the Book of Exodus illuminating.  Let me explain. The Israelites first went to Egypt because of famine in their own land. They stayed there and built a new and comfortable way of life. But then came a new power—a Pharaoh who was not familiar with their story. Oppression became the force of the day. YHWH’s solution was to call his people out of the oppression into exile.

Moses was singled out because YHWH had heard the cry of the Israelites in their oppression. Somewhat reluctantly Moses obeyed, and the journey began. The Israelites were being taken out of bondage. The Pharaoh would no longer be able to oppress them.

In the wilderness and transformation, the Israelites encountered many difficulties. Discouraged, some even suggested that they would be better off going back to Egypt, the land of oppression. But, even in the face of their complaints, YHWH continued to nourished them with ”water from the rock” and “manna from heaven.”

Biblical scholar and a member of the Jesus Seminar, Marcus Borg sees the sees the Israelite story as a model of the vision of Christianity as a journey of transformation. “It is an image of the Christian life not primarily as believing or being good but as a relationship with God. That relationship does not leave us unchanged but transforms us into more compassionate beings, into ‘the likeness of Christ’.”

The solution to the problem of bondage is liberation—moving on to the place of freedom. The way to liberation is through the wilderness; but this is a place where God is encountered. It can also be a place of fear and insecurity, where we might even be tempted to long for the old false security of “Egypt.”

How does this resemble our SMX story? How are we like those Israelites? Our ”hunger” for spiritual nourishment and connection with our Creator, which we had not been finding sufficiently in our various environments, had led us to St Mary’s, a place in which all people were respected and new ideas could be discussed without limitation. Our self-selected “Egypt” was our home in the beautiful St Mary’s church and our visible membership of the Roman Catholic Church. This “Egypt” gave us a sense of belonging and security. But then came a new regime—a Pharaoh who was not comfortable with our story. Oppression became the force of the day. YHWH’s solution was to call us out of empire/comfort into exile.

Having been told to leave the official church and its building, most of us, with hearts full of hope, went into the wilderness, to strive to be, as Vatican II called us to be, the People of God in the Catholic Church. Some had misgivings and stayed. If we did not leave with anger, we did so with criticism of those who really gave us no choice but to move on. Maybe we felt we, too, were being called out of empire, to a new journey where we could encounter Jesus the Christ in a new way; and where we would have to find a new way of seeing ourselves. And the Exodus story tells us that wilderness is transformational.

I believe that we who make up SMX readily left what we deemed to be the growing oppression of the Roman Catholic Church, because we wanted to more faithfully follow the model set down by Jesus.  But we, too, struggle with new ways of thinking. Our wilderness journey tempts us to yearn for what was familiar and clear. That is its essence. But real life is about change. We cannot stay in exile forever. We must journey on, or “die” of heartbreak, or homesickness, or frustration. Much prayerful discernment must happen for us to find our true home.

As to that discernment, I wonder: Have we, individually and collectively, let go of past attitudes and practices that no longer serve us on our journey? Perhaps these questions may help.

• What made me come to St Mary’s in the first place?
• Have my needs/desires been met?
• What attitudes, if any, have I had to change?
• Who is the Pharaoh within me that has enslaved me?
• Is anything still keeping me in bondage?
• Am I tempted to return to “Egypt” or otherwise leave the journey? If so why?

I believe St Mary’s Community is an Intentional Eucharistic Community. What is that? First it is a community that we own. It is my/our community. This is a free choice. We come because we want to. Long gone is the burden of law commanding our attendance. We fully participate as we would at any event or exercise we attend.

Secondly, an Intentional Eucharistic Community needs no hierarchy. Vatican II made collegiality the new principle for the life of the Church, so we need to embrace our membership in the community. This justifies, even demands, that we each offer our own wisdom and take on the responsibility this carries, so that SMX fulfils its potential in being faithful to the model given by Jesus. We remember Jesus, in speaking to his disciples, said, “You know that among the Gentiles those they call their rulers lord it over them …. Among you, this is not to happen.” [Mark 10: 42,43]

I think Jesus wanted his disciples to be one in Spirit while being unique individuals—unity not uniformity. For this to happen in an Intentional Eucharistic Community, we must be able to sit alongside someone who thinks differently from us and accept them without judgement, knowing they are just as acceptable to God as we are. There is only one DNA denoting a human person, but what a magnificent and wonderful diversity is put before us in the multitudinous cultures in the universe, and in the unique gifting of each person!

So clearly an Intentional Eucharistic Community needs the prayerful discernment I spoke of. As our aim is to deepen our experience of God, we need not only the opportunity to share our stories of our own experiences, but we must also be willing to do so. In this way we can all grow together. In this we need to trust that the Spirit will inspire and guide us.

To me, the essence of Christian spirituality is our consciousness of the presence and action of God in our life. This is more fully achieved when we share our experience of God with others, and then join our stories with the story of Jesus’ life.

MY STORY + YOUR STORY, OUR STORY, THE STORY.

I believe this is why we come together so that we can be better followers of Jesus rather than just fans. How to achieve this in our large, dispersed community will take some discerning. This story-sharing could begin in the cluster groups. Then, perhaps, the groups could play a more visible role in the sharing process.

I would like to see some scheme whereby those teachings given to us in homilies can be teased out in the community, especially when we have difficulty in doing it alone or with others. These questions might help:

• Before the homily, could comments be called for about how the readings spoke to our hearts?
• Could time be allowed after homilies for questions or comments?
• Am I able to accept unconditionally those whose beliefs are not in accord with mine?
• Am I willing to reflect on views I have previously held in the light of new information or opinions?

As well as story-sharing, Jesus called us to share a meal. Eucharist is a family/community meal. When a family gathers, especially for a celebration, they share food and drink and stories. Each member leaves nourished by food and drink, and word. If this is also the case with our gatherings, then we will want to keep coming back to this life-enriching experience. I believe Jesus wants us to celebrate His memory in this way fully. We do what He asked by inviting all to break open the word and approach the table, to receive the bread and wine, without distinction or exclusion. [Personally I feel that full participation extends also to receiving from the cup too.]

Thus our community will be the wellspring from which we draw the energy to intentionally enrich our life.

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On the presumption that we want SMX to continue, we can turn our attention to the future. What will our community look like then? If there is no priest to follow Peter and Terry, will that mean the end of SMX? Jesus the Christ promised that where two or three are gathered in His name He would be in their midst. Now this is something to take on faith, as we tease out its meaning and the breadth of its application.

Bishop Fritz Lobinger [of Manila] wrote a booklet Teams of Elders as a possible answer to the shortage of priests. He suggested that a team of elders could be appointed for and by a community to be responsible for the sacramental life of the community and also have the responsibility of preaching and teaching. In his scheme the team would be trained by and monitored by an ordained priest. He writes: Many of us will find it difficult to imagine a non-clerical clergy. It seems like a contradiction in terms. …In the early church there was a non-clerical priesthood, no other one. Then followed the many centuries when the only thing we knew was the clerical priesthood. Now we should move to a new era when both forms exist side by side. The New Testament Church seems to be house-churches and the householders were the presiders at the Memorial Meal.

Recently I was loaned a book that was printed in 1935, When the Church was Young, by Ernest Loosley. The first chapter is It had NO BUILDINGS. I would like you to think about this: Here is a pertinent question. How would the church have met the present and ever changing situations today, had it never built church buildings? Is not the answer this: she would have developed and extended the idea of “house-churches,” encouraging groups of neighbours to meet in one another’s homes, to share in group fellowship.

When I ponder this, I think that if families met regularly with other families for the Memorial Meal, faith would be more deeply embedded as a normal part of life, and maybe children would continue to be involved, even into their teens. These house-churches could then meet with other house–churches once a month, or less frequently, to develop a vibrant community to ensure THE STORY continued to be told and lived.

Again some questions may help:

• Does any of the above help in discerning what the future holds? Why?
• Can we believe that Jesus’ promise to be with us when we gather in his name would be true in our liturgy if there were no ordained priest present?
• Does this take us too far away from our Catholicism? Or are we already being transformed into a new way?
• What suggestions can you offer?
• What concerns do you have?

We all need to be courageously honest with ourselves and one another in this discernment process. And it will take some time. While I am becoming more and more comfortable with the “Teams of Elders” concept, I have not fully resolved in my own mind whether we could still call ourselves “Catholic.” In Baptism we are each anointed as “priest, prophet and king.” Are these just words in the accepted formula, or do they hold a reality? Is it more important to be known as a follower of Jesus rather than as someone who identifies with a (Christian) denomination? Jesus prayed for unity not uniformity. Ecumenism, as proposed by Vatican II, did not ask non-catholic churches to give up their identity, but urged that somehow we all be one. To take Ecumenism to its logical conclusion, intercommunion would be totally acceptable. We would then have to stop allowing dogma to divide us. More, it would enable us to be done with oppositional identity that comes from accentuating the differences.

The early Church was known as THE WAY. Such an understanding puts following Jesus ahead of accepting dogmas and laws. It does seem to me that the emphasis in our education was on knowing the articles of faith and obeying church laws, introduced as a direct result of Emperor Constantine’s  wanting THE WAY to be a force for unity, even uniformity, in his empire. It was then that the trappings of empire were adopted by what became known as the Holy Roman Church. Maintaining empire replaced teaching the Kingdom of God. Jesus’ clear condemnation of “power over” has no place in empire. For me, the Roman Catholic Church today is more like empire than the kingdom of God. Empire establishes peace through violence whereas the Kingdom [of God] establishes peace through justice and love.

As I see it, St Mary’s must continue as the true face of Kingdom so that we can be supported as we, an Intentional Eucharistic Community, intentionally and consistently walk THE WAY.

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