This Sunday we have Choral Evensong at 4pm with the Choir of Trinity Church, Princeton, New Jersey, directed by Connor Fluharty. Music by Herbert Howells and Herbert Sumsion.
I have been pondering on the words of the great Church historian Jaroslav Pelikan much beloved by Bishop Michael Marshall, the great Anglo-Catholic bishop and old friend of our church who is still remembered for his energetic preaching and his very successful parish missions. He used to remind catholics in particular that if they were only concerned with the externals, with the ceremonial, with the music, with the way things have always been done, that their faith risked withering. Pelikan famously said:
“Tradition is the living faith of the dead; traditionalism is the dead faith of the living. Tradition lives in conversation with the past, while remembering where we are and when we are and that it is we who have to decide.
Traditionalism supposes that nothing should ever be done for the first time, so all that is needed to solve any problem is to arrive at the supposedly unanimous testimony of this homogenized tradition.”
It is so easy for tradition to be seen as something in the past that is unchangeable when, in actual fact, in the history of the church, tradition is rooted in the past but lived out in the present moment. It is so easy for Christian communities of all kinds to only look back instead of looking forward. In so doing, they can become inward-looking and, worse, like private clubs. In contrast, Archbishop William Temple (1881-1944) once said, “The Church exists primarily for the sake of those who are still outside it.” Drawing people into the tradition of the Church means connecting the Gospel with where they are today and not simply appealing to the past.
On Sunday, we shall begin a sequential reading of Matthew’s Gospel until we get to Thanksgiving. We will begin this sequential reading with Chapter 10 and the account of the first mission of the twelve disciples. The first nine chapters of Matthew’s Gospel are all about the ministry of Jesus and his formation of the disciples, especially through what we call ‘The Sermon on the Mount.’ In order for the disciples to become Apostles, they need to a formation and they need to know Jesus. Indeed, after the Ascension, when the apostles were looking for another disciple to replace Judas Iscariot, the main qualification was knowing Jesus personally and being able to attest to his resurrection.
“One of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these must become a witness with us to his resurrection.” (Acts 1:21-22)
To this day, this tradition has been passed on through the ordination of Bishops through the laying on of hands. Knowing the real Jesus and being able to attest to his resurrection is at the heart of the Bishop’s ministry. It is also why the Book of the Gospels is usually taken to the Bishop after reading from it at the Eucharist, and why the Bishop venerates the Book of the Gospels with a kiss; he or she is the guardian of the tradition – of our faith in Jesus Christ and the power of his resurrection.
That is the living tradition of the dead – the countless saints who have gone before us who have attested to the Resurrection and who have gone out into the world to confront it with the truth of God’s redeeming love. This, my friends, is the exciting future of Saint Thomas as we prepare to celebrate our Bicentennial in October. We will look back and cherish the past; we will connect the Gospel with the present; we will look forward to the future with resurrection hope.
Affectionately,
Your Pastor and Priest,
Carl
