Installation Wars?

We do live in such interesting times (by which I mean, terrible and terrifying times) that on the one hand Twitter this past week has had many pictures of young women (and young men) who face execution in Iran for protesting against a government that, among other things, imposes compulsory wearing of the hijab for women, along with many deprecatory comments about ++Sarah Mullaly, many, sadly, from Roman Catholics ("sadly" because, in fact, many Roman Catholics not on Twitter are not such "social warriors" but are kind and considerate to people in other churches ... as, indeed, Pope Leo has been in his public letter to ++Sarah).*

Of course not all Anglicans are being kind to ++Sarah, seeing the occasion as a useful opportunity to put the ecclesiastical boot into the Anglican Communion. Installation wars? Friendly fire from frenemies? 

I wonder what Jesus makes of it all? He was no stranger to disputes and disagreements within his own camp, but tended to subject the warring parties to some direct guidance, none of which disclosed which side was right, but all of which said, in today's language, pull your head in!

In Matthew 20:24-28, the twelve disciples are at odds with each other, 10 versus 2 upstarts (James and John) and Jesus tells all twelve to be servants and slaves to others, not to lord it over others.

John 13 is intriguing. It both honours Simon Peter and discloses how frail and fallible he was, while subtly revealing that another disciples was actually "boss", but not through a role he plays, but through the intimacy of his relationship with Jesus. 

The honouring of Simon Peter is through a simple device: there are only three speaking parts in the chapter, which is effectively a dialogue between Jesus and Simon Peter apart from four words (in ET) spoken by another disciple. The disclosure of Simon Peter's flaws occurs when he questions whether his feet should be washed or not, and when he asserts that he will lay down his life for Jesus but Jesus dismisses this by predicting that he would deny him three times. By contrast, the third speaker is the disciple "whom Jesus loved" who reclines "next to Jesus". This disciple is boss! 

The (21st cerntury) point then is that important though Simon Peter and the Petrine church is, Jesus is closest to the disciple who says least and claims nothing for himself.

Which brings me back to our new Archbishop of Canterbury. I am confident that as Jesus looks upon her, he is not thinking "But she is not a real bishop, "Null and Void" and all that" nor is he thinking, "How could the CofE get Scripture so wrong that they agreed to ordain women as bishops and now, oh folly of follies, even appointed one to be the Archbishop?". No, he will be judging her as he judges you and me: is she serving God's people? What is the state of her heart? Does she love the church with the love with which Christ loves the church?

I have a feeling that when Leo meets Sarah at a forthcoming Vatican meeting - I have deliberately dropped both their titles from this sentence - they will get along just fine as followers of Christ.

Because they both love Jesus Christ and want nothing more than to serve the church Jesus loves.

As one astutue commentator has noted this week, all the dark clouds of negative comments re ++Sarah reveal one silver lining: the dear old CofE is not yet dead ... people care enough to slag it off!

*Archbishop Sarah's reply is here.