Rock the Boat
John Wilkinson Third
Presbyterian Church
June 25, 2006
Mark
4:35-41
We never had the opportunity to ride the Fast Ferry. We were
waiting until this summer, and now it is a mere distant chapter
in Rochester history. Politics aside, we were looking forward
to the ride, even though I am much happier on terra firma.
I could not help but think of the Fast Ferry this week, as
I contemplated this morning’s lectionary gospel text.
I could not help but think of all those other places in the
Bible – Noah and Jonah particularly – where a boat
served as the main character of the story, even with no speaking
parts.
I also could not help but think of the image of the boat as
the General Convention of the Episcopal Church met in Columbus,
Ohio, and more to the point, as the 217th General Assembly of
the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) met in Birmingham, Alabama.
As predicted, the weather was hot; and as predicted, it felt
even hotter inside the overly air-conditioned convention center.
More on that in a bit, and then not much more on that for a
while, I hope.
In Mark’s gospel, which we have just heard, Jesus has
finished a long day of teaching. They need to get from here
to there. They need a fast ferry. A storm comes up and waves
are beating the boat. Jesus remains asleep. The disciples waken
their master, who rebukes the wind and then rebukes them. “Why
are you afraid?”
Two elements to the story, it would seem. The first would seem
to underscore who Jesus is, the one who, in the disciples’
words, even the stormy waters obeys. But for the moment, I am
more intrigued by the boat, and the way in which it represented
then, and does now, the church.
As Pheme Perkins writes, “the disciples are unable to
grasp the significance of Jesus’ words and deeds and do
not understand who Jesus really is.” (New Interpreter’s
Bible, Volume VIII, page 580)
And yet even then, Jesus does not respond to their panic. He
first calms the storm, and then addresses their lack of faith.
As the commissioners gathered in Birmingham for the General
Assembly, they heard a sermon on another version of this story,
from Matthew’s gospel, from Frances Taylor Gench. You
may remember that Frances was here with us at Third Church some
year or so ago. Frances reminded us of Matthew’s picture
of the church as a small boat filled with terrified disciples,
battered by wind and waves on a storm-tossed sea. Matthew, Frances
reminded us, uses an odd word to describe what the waves are
actually doing to the boat. “Our translations convey that
the boat was ‘battered’ or ‘buffeted’
by the waves. But a more literal translation would convey that
the waves are actually ‘tormenting’ the boat, ‘harassing’
the boat, ‘torturing’ the boat. It’s an odd
description of what waves do to a boat – until you begin
to see that this is much more than a boat on the sea story.
It’s a story about a tormented, conflicted church caught
in the throes of a very difficult storm – fearful that
the forces that blow through its life threaten to undo it –
and doubtful about the presence and power of the Lord.”
Perhaps that is the church, or part of it, at least, that gathered
in Birmingham.
What happened at General Assembly? Inquiring minds want to
know! You may have read a bit, but I will share a few highlights,
and then we can move on from there.
The Assembly first elected a moderator, Joan Gray, a minister
from Atlanta, in the first three-ballot election seen in awhile.
I still am not sure how to read the tea leaves of her election,
except to say that it was interpreted by many as a very centrist
vote, or at least not a progressive one.
The Mission Coordination Committee, chaired very ably by our
own David Norton, confirmed the election of Linda Valentine
to serve as Executive Director of the General Assembly Council,
the chief program officer of the church. Her work, in the face
of declining membership and financial resources, will be challenging.
The assembly adopted a version of a paper on the Trinity, which
would allow for greater latitude in use of language and imagery.
Certain moments of the Trinity debate had a curious quality
to them, as commissioners used the finer points of Robert’s
Rules of Order to discuss the finer points of a very complex
theological doctrine. Roberts might have been spinning in his
grave; fortunately the Trinity wasn’t.
On the topic of the Middle East and divestment, the assembly
essentially re-framed its discussion. It did not rescind its
earlier decision, but this General Assembly acknowledged that
the actions of the 2004 assembly caused hurt and misunderstanding
among some Presbyterians and our Jewish neighbors. Divestment
is still an option, but not the goal. Instead, this assembly
broadened the focus to corporate engagement to ensure that the
church’s financial investments do not support violence
of any kind in the region.
My biggest disappointment was that what became known as the
Heartland overture, from Heartland Presbytery, did not make
it out of committee to the floor of the assembly for its consideration.
Heartland, which we supported as a Session and presbytery, would
have deleted the restrictive ordination language in our Book
of Order. Few felt that it would pass this assembly, because
of the vote that would precede it, but many had hoped that it
would get a fuller hearing by the whole body. It did not. In
the hearings for the committee that received Heartland, our
own Ralph Carter gave a wonderful testimony that I will remember
for a very long time.
But to that earlier vote, which seemed to make the most news
and which will seem to define this assembly for a while. As
you know, the Theological Task Force on the Peace, Unity and
Purity of the Church reported to this assembly, and the church
has been ramping up since last September. All of this works
very similarly to any public legislative body. A report is made
to a committee. The committee holds hearings and debate. A recommendation
is made to the plenary body that then makes a decision about
that recommendation.
The seven Task Force recommendations were divided into two
groups, in anticipation of a rigorous debate on two of them.
Recommendations 1-4, seen to be less controversial, passed the
committee unanimously, and the assembly itself by something
like a 90-10 vote.
It was Recommendation 5 that was the central point in the debate.
This is more technical than may be useful, but Recommendation
5 asked the assembly to issue something called an “authoritative
interpretation” of the church’s constitution, which
clarified the roles of sessions and presbyteries in the ordination
process. The language we used continually was “church-wide
standards with local application.” Opponents of the recommendation
used language such as “no standards and local license.”
Robert’s Rules were in full force. In the committee,
report opponents made two attempts – the first to delete
Recommendation 5 and the second to refer Recommendation 5 to
the presbyteries for a vote – that both failed by 65-35
margins. On the floor of the General Assembly, the same tactics
were employed, with minority reports and majority reports and
several hours of intense debate. At the end of a very long day,
the General Assembly adopted our recommendations by a 57-43
margin.
It was all very gratifying and we experienced a great sense
of relief. It is very true that we would have preferred a larger
margin, though in the political world, 57 percent is pretty
good. We sought more commissioner votes because we viewed the
specific recommendation and the whole report not as a winning
proposition for any one side of the church, but rather a new
opportunity for the whole church.
It is true that this report will allow for greater flexibility
at the local level, flexibility built in 300 years ago and neglected
in recent years. That flexibility may lead to decisions that
every Presbyterian may not personally affirm. That action has
created significant and negative response from the right side
of the Presbyterian spectrum, which concerns us and which we
hope will find a settled place at some point. No ordination
standards have been changed, including the ones that many of
us find problematic.
What we aimed to do, and what the majority of voters supported,
was to provide a new way for the church to address contentious
issues, new forms of community building and decision making.
Though I could talk about this for days, and seemingly have,
I will not. Our work is still cut out for us. Our ordination
standards still need addressing, and I, and I would say, we,
are still called to reach out to those who may disagree with
us on these and other matters. But when the dust settles, I
do hope that the church has embraced a new and different way
of living together and doing its business. The controversy will
not disappear, but perhaps the way we engage it will be transformed.
All during the week at Birmingham, countless commissioners
and others approached my task force colleagues and me to express
gratitude. They had no dog in the ordination hunt, but they
appreciated what we were trying to do. And then at the airport
– where we still could not avoid these things –
a self-described evangelical approached me. “I still believe
what I believe about ordination,” he said. “But
this report does something good for our life together, and I
just want to thank you.” And for a moment, anyway, the
seas felt a bit calmer.
And a task force colleague, who disagrees with me very strongly
on ordination matters, said to me after the vote, when we were
all a little teary and not a little exhausted, that we’ve
done a good thing for the church, realizing full well that he
had lost something as we all gained something. I hope so as
well.
My friend Deborah Block stood for the office of Moderator of
the General Assembly. Deborah is pastor of the Immanuel Presbyterian
Church in Milwaukee; she will be here in September to help us
celebrate the 50th anniversary of the ordination of women to
ministry. In her campaign speech, she lifted up this morning’s
gospel passage, and even used the image of a ferry, though not
a fast one. We are all on different shores, she said, and Jesus
moves from shore to shore, back and forth, back and forth, taking
us where we need to go, allowing us to take a bit from here
and there. Finally, we need the ferry no more, because Jesus
has built a bridge for us.
I believe that. I believe that whatever storm may be tormenting
you, that Jesus will provide a calming presence. And I believe
that whatever storm is buffeting the church, that he will do
the same. A constitutional provision will not calm us down,
nor will even a theological proposition. He will. We will be
at our best when we listen – listen with those like us
and with those unlike us – listen to one another and listen
to him, and have faith, and when the moment comes, get out of
the boat, together, and take a leap of faith. And we will not
sink. Amen.
