the Church is in the business of redefinition
Posted: August 4, 2011 Filed under: The Church Leave a commentThis was written in the wake of the legalization of same-sex marriage in New York, but I think that Rev. Hopkins' words fit into the much larger context of social justice in general. This, to me, is the church at its best.
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The church's job, in "the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit," is constantly to be the agent of the new thing the prophets taught us God is always doing. That means "redefinition" is in our portfolio. It's the business we are in. [….] I am reminded of something the then Lutheran Bishop of the Washington Metro Area said to our Diocesan Convention in Washington many years ago. "Progressives in the Church need to remember that God never changes; traditionalists need to remember that God is always doing a new thing." I think this paradox is true today. In terms of marriage, it has, in fact, not changed, and we have, in fact, done a new thing. —The Very Rev Michael W Hopkins, courtesy of Susan Russell |
my point being 