St. Aidan's Episcopal Church
30 Brighton Ave.
Bolinas, CA 94924
(415) 868-5504
Join us in our quest!
Holy Eucharist and Sacred Conversation
Sundays, 10 a.m.
All our welcome here.
We are a community of diverse views and interesting observations, leavened by love.
We'd love you to choose St. Aidan's as Your House of Prayer
A NOTE ON the bible AND POLITICS
Certain people in Washington are citing the Bible to justify the ripping of immigrant children from their parents at the Mexican border. We know from Jesus' temptation and the writings of Shakespeare that even "the devil can cite Scripture for his purposes," so the mere use of words from Scripture signifies nothing, unless those words serve the reality of God, or what Presiding Bishop Michael Curry calls "The Jesus Movement." Religion that is someone's fictional set of beliefs is fiction. This is one reason why we study the Bible carefully and in community, for like all sacred texts and sacred stories, the words resonate in various ways, and their meanings evolve as we evolve.
From the journey of the Magi to bless the sacred child, to the horror of Herod's slaughter of the Innocents, Jesus took children seriously and with love, saying it was to "such as these that the Kingdom of Heaven belonged." To pull babies from their mother's breast is a ghoulish negation of the right to life. It is like an abortion of the already born. The Innocents, pulled from their mothers by Herod, became the first Christian witnesses to God's grief at what we had become.
The passage being pushed about by pundits comes from Paul's Letter to the Romans, Chapter 13, which says, "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgement." This passage draws upon the Hebrew prophetic tradition in which leaders could be scourges as well as saviors and it was up to us to discern whether their administrations were blessing or curse, David or Herod. To be appointed by God, or even to appear in the Bible, is not necessarily a sign of divine approval, for God has been known to send rulers like Herod to wake us up to our hidden sins. Therefore, to obey a bad ruler, is to repent of my complicity.
No person can make an unjust law on his own recognizance and then passively say "it was God's will." This runs the risk of pure fiction. God's will always leads towards healing, wholeness and abundance for all.
It is our task, therefore, to listen carefully to what is said in the polity, because even disorder can teach, but to resist in obedience to the higher law of love and life. Yes, if we resist, we will be judged by God, but favorably.
The Rev.
Carol Luther
Voluntary Priest
Thanks to Jean Capron for her photos
OFFICE HOURS
Wednesdays, 1:30-3:30
and by Appointment
Spiritual Direction, Counseling and Faith Formation Available
Come in. Pray. Have a cup of tea. Or conversation.
Like the seasons of the Natural World, our Christian Practice has its own cycle of seasons. The Sundays After Pentecost, which extend through Summer and Fall are the time of parables and teachings. During this time, we ponder Jesus' ministry of healing and the Biblical economy of generosity and grace. The early part of the the season dances through growth and feast, the later months focus on the Earth and we end with a celebration of the Cosmic. The color of worship is green, signifying growth.