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Another Type of Ecumenism

When Jesus saw that the scribe had answered intelligently, he said unto him, “Thou art not far from the kingdom of God.” .

Jesus’ praise of a scribe, in recognition of the scribe’s wise answer, is exceptional in the gospels.  Elsewhere the scribes and the Pharisees are depicted as Jesus' opponents and are fiercely denounced.  Even in the two other versions of this same episode the purpose of the scribe’s question is not honest, as here in Mark, but tricky, the desire to put Jesus to the test.  In these later versions we see reflected the situation after Jesus’ death, when his followers, called “Nazorenes,” came into bitter conflict with Pharisaic Judaism. 

Jesus himself, a marginal Jew, reaches out, with words of praise, to a Jew who is not a member of the circle of his own followers. 

Today ecumenism is usually understood as the attempt to bring all Christians into one church.  Of course, this could only happen if all Christians were prepared to submit to the one church which claims to be  the one true church of Christ.

Pope Paul VI showed commendable honesty when he referred to ecumenism as “a new means of evangelization,” that is, a new way to bring the separated brothers and sisters back to the true church, from which they, or their forebears, had strayed. 

Archbishop William Temple once said, “I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic church, and I greatly regret that it does not presently exist.”  I think we could go a step further and add: it never did exist.  Even in the first Christian community, in Jerusalem, as the Book of Acts attests, there were disagreements between the party of the Hebrews and the party of the Hellenists. 

Jesus’ interchange with the scribe illustrates a different understanding of ecumenism, that is, ecumenism as reconciled diversity.  This understanding acknowledges that no one church has a monopoly on truth, and that we can all learn from each other.  In this understanding, diversity is affirmed as a gift of the spirit, and not resisted, as something to be overcome or suppressed in the interest of unity. 

Of course, reconciled diversity is something to be worked for not only between different Christian churches but also within our own Anglican church.  This is where it becomes personal for each of us.  Are we willing to reach out, as Jesus did, to those within our communion with whose ideas and lifestyle we deeply disagree?  Are we prepared to admit that our personal convictions, though deeply felt, may not be the whole truth?  These are the questions with which today’s gospel confronts us. 

October 3, 2010

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