My brothers and sisters,
I was having two conversations with my wife this week that touch on the Independent Sacramental Movement. First, I purchased a lottery ticket since the jackpot was way up. My wife looked at me and said she was surprised because I do not care about having lots of money. I affirmed how that is true, but I have a big dream for the Independent Sacramental Movement. She was curious and I shared with her my ISM dream found here: My ISM Dream She could not understand how something like this could exist. She was thinking in terms of power and control rather than in terms of love and support. She believed something like this would try to tell jurisdictions what to do rather than being a support to ISM jurisdictions and enabling them.
As she was reading the Gospel of Luke, she came across the passage where Jesus tells Peter that when he has turned back after denying Jesus, Peter must go and strengthen his brothers. I used this to illustrate what the papacy should be. The papacy should not be about power and control but about love and support. The pope should model by living the authentic Christian life rather than commanding armies. My dream is for an institution to exist that wants to support ISM jurisdictions and pool resources in ways that our jurisdictions presently cannot.
One significant ISM challenge is the lack of a physical presence. Many communities cease to exist because there is no larger institution to support them. As a Roman Catholic priest, I hated dealing with all the administrative complexities of keeping plant and equipment in good order. I felt that too much time was being spent on maintaining these rather than evangelizing. At the same time, these resources of plant and equipment provide continuity and bring institutional stability.
If you look at ISM communities in the United States, some in the movement are looking for centers of pilgrimage and scholarship. Why are people going to Utrecht? We are looking for scholarship, a physical place with history, saints, heroes, and stability. This is lacking in the United States and so we turn to true Old Catholics to make up what is lacking in our jurisdictions. We need a place of scholarship, of jurisdictions coming together to promote a common life, of gathering for prayer, of asking the saints to intercede for us, and a Spirit of Pentecost to animate the work we do.
My dream seems impossible given the limitations in the Independent Sacramental Movement. If God is using the ISM movement, God is going to provide what we need. I do believe that means we must let go of our limited jurisdictions and narrow focus and let God’s Spirit do something new. It is insanity to continue to create new jurisdictions, ordain new bishops who lack real communities, and to keep doing the same thing only for small communities to begin and cease upon the death of their priest or bishop. This cannot be what God intends. It is time to stop playing church and complaining about jurisdictions with buildings and resources which we lack. It is time to build up the Body of Christ!
I did not win the lottery; that would be too easy. The kingdom is not built easily, but on real sacrifice which we see in Jesus who offers everything over to the Father. Can we let go and sacrifice our petty jurisdictions to let God create something bigger and better than what we dream and hope for?
Peace,
Ben
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