Together on the Journey: A Weekly Blog from Fr. Andrew Sheldon

On Ash Wednesday, I addressed those gathered and said: “I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Lord, to observe a holy Lent by self-examination, penitence, prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, and by reading and meditating on the word of God.”

In my blog the last number of weeks, I have discussed self-examination and penitence, prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.  And then last week, I began a discussion on reading and meditating on the word of God. I want to continue along those lines this week.

The focus last week was on the Bible, on Holy Scripture. But I would argue that God has, does, and will ‘speak’ to us in other ways, and that these also need to be the object of our ‘reading and meditating’. One image often used for us Anglicans is that of the three-legged stool. This classic expression of the Anglican understanding of authority comes from Richard Hooker, Master of the Temple in London, and a favorite cleric of Queen Elizabeth I. His book Of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity has been perhaps the most authoritative voice of classical Anglicanism. In Book V, he writes on the nature of authority in the Church, and this is where we find what is probably his most famous passage:

“Be it in matter of the one kind or of the other (doctrine or practice) what Scripture doth plainly deliver, to that the first place both of credit and obedience is due; the next whereunto is whatsoever any (man) can necessarily conclude by force of reason; after these the voice of the Church succeedeth. That which the Church by her ecclesiastical authority shall probably think and define to be true or good, must in congruity of reason overrule all other inferior judgments whatsoever.”

This, many have suggested, leads us to a three-legged stool of scripture, reason, and tradition. The mistake we can – and do – make, however, is to see these three as independent and equal sources of authority. They are decidedly unequal, and entirely interdependent. In the first place, Hooker is affirming the primacy of scripture, at least to the extent it is plainly delivered. That is, that where scripture is clear – love the Lord your God with your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbour as yourself – there is not a whole lot of reason that needs to be applied, and the teaching finds itself established in the church, in the tradition, as true and good. As such, what we have in Hooker’s teaching is a careful and helpful explanation of how one best interacts with Scripture to discern the mind and will of God.

Nonetheless, scripture is not always plainly delivered. When that is the case, we employ reason, the comprehending and ordering capacity of the human mind, to discern the teaching of scripture and how to apply it in a particular time, place, or situation. In doing this, we rely on theologians, biblical scholars, and preachers to make sense of things, and so it is on this that we also read and meditate as we seek to understand the word of God for today. That is why at St George’s we access various resources that topically address the many issues that arise when we consider the things of God.

And then, tradition encompasses the historical practices, teachings, and beliefs passed down through the Church, offering insights and guidance on how to live out the Christian faith. The historic reading and teachings of the church help reason along in its work, even correcting it when necessary. Tradition doesn’t shut down reason; it assists our God-given faculty to discern the truth of the text for itself. There is a wealth of resources to be found in our tradition: creeds, doctrines, liturgical resources, hymns, prayer books. And again, it is also upon these that we read and meditate in the life-long task of seeking and understanding what God’s word is to and for us. This is why the reading and meditating of some lead to liturgical revisions, new affirmations of faith, changes to doctrine, and innovations in music and worship.

So, you see there is much to read and meditate on. We do that work individually and corporately, in studies and in sermons, in Lent and beyond.

Have a holy Lent.

Andrew+