Personal presence renews Incarnation
Gloria and I recently returned from visiting family back east. We delighted in being with the generations beginning with our own surviving parents through our sons, their spouses, and our grandchildren, and joyfully celebrated a high school graduation and a birthday.
The time with family was a poignant reminder of how important it is to be present in person. Email and phone serve well, but never substitute for the real presence of others. Our visit was happy and even holy – we left before it went downhill as family gatherings tend to do – and the doctrine of the Incarnation, of God coming in the flesh to be with us, was renewed.
It was not unlike the gift I receive visiting with you throughout the diocese and being repeatedly reminded of the difference it makes simply being there, seeing, hearing, and even touching one another. The fullest expressions of love call for embodiment, as Jesus showed in his very fullness of form.
As the Lambeth Conference of Bishops throughout the Anglican Communion approaches, the prospect of being with bishops and spouses from throughout the world seems a hopeful means of unifying and strengthening the global mission of the church. I pray that the benefit of being together will justify the expense and extraordinary efforts conference preparation requires.
In the spirit of incarnational encounters and their potential, I share with you our Presiding Bishop’s thoughtful words in her call for our individual and collective prayers in anticipation of Lambeth.
“The Lambeth Conference represents one important way of building connections and relationships between churches in vastly different contexts, and reminding us of the varied nature of the Body of Christ. I would bid your prayers for openness of spirit, vulnerability of heart, and eagerness of mind, that we might all learn to see the Spirit at work in the other. I bid your prayers for a peaceful spirit, a lessening of tension, and a real willingness to work together for the good of God’s whole creation.”
May it be so, and may you experience the blessing of Incarnation with others this summer.
