I was very struck by Mtr Kara’s sermon last week, particularly her acute observation that our current social malaise, described by so many people as “unprecedented,” is in fact quite precedented. The violence, famine, war, hatred, prejudice, injustice, political intrigue — the list goes on and on. We’ve seen all of this before. And a cursory glance at almost any book of the Bible confirms our propensity towards what might be most accurately described as “sin.” The natural reaction to all of this might be screaming and cursing the universe, running away and distancing ourselves, or burying our heads in the sand. Fight, flight, or freeze, well-known stress responses that our primal brain uses when we feel in danger, responses that can keep us alive. But is there another way? A better way?

I am being utterly sincere when I say that I cannot think of a better time to be a Christian. I read something dire almost every day about the rise of agnosticism, the decline of the Church, the end of Christianity. Which is perhaps all factually true. What is also true is that depression is on the rise, loneliness is on the rise, suicide is on the rise, addiction is on the rise. In the words of the old spiritual, “If we ever needed the Lord before, we sure do need him now.” It may very well be that we are in the midst of a second Reformation, a time to reclaim the Gospel from the bondage of Christian Nationalism and false teachings. What an incredible opportunity we have as people of The Way to make true the sacred words that were put down on paper 2000 years ago, “On earth as it is in heaven.”

In his compelling book Do I Stay Christian, Brian McLaren writes, “Religion, at its best, is what re-ligaments or reconnects us to God, one another, and creation. It challenges the stories that pit us against each other: us over them, us overturning them, us competing with them, us isolating from them, us in spite of them, us purifying ourselves of them. It tells a better story—some of us for all of us—a story in which there is no them, a story in which we tear down the walls that have divided us—and from the rubble build bridges.”

I was talking to Kara this afternoon and observed that one of best things about The Episcopal Church is that even as we embrace differences, cherish diversity, and think creatively, we are bound together by our liturgy, and most importantly, by the Eucharist. We come together at a common table to eat and drink, not despite our differences, but because of our differences. On earth, as it is in heaven.