04 27 12 New Lessons Are Sometimes Old Lessons

                                                       Gambell Presbyterian Church

I continue to ponder last month’s “New Beginnings” event in the village of Gambell, Alaska.  Without doubt the whole event was good news, because proclaiming the truth through that event allowed light to shine into a darkness we Presbyterians had helped create.  Bringing light into darkness is always a good thing.  The sad thing in this case was that the bringing of the light was necessary at all.

One of the reasons I say this is because part of what we learned was not so much a new lesson as relearning of a very old lesson.  Nearly five hundred years ago Martin Luther, the famed reformer of the Church, complained about those Christians whose arrogance caused them to believe their theological insights were so pure that they did not need to dialogue with others about them.  He called that kind of self-righteous theology the “theology of glory,” as if certain Christians were standing in glory with God and shared God’s sovereign ability to judge others without question.   Martin Luther was complaining about the Roman Catholic hierarchy covering over distorted theology and the abusive ministerial practices that resulted (an example for those who are interested is the selling of indulgences—look up “Indulgence” in Wikipedia if you don’t know what that is).  It is sad that something like that also happened in Alaska.

Indeed, across Alaska, and in Gambell, certain missionaries branded much rather innocent behavior, like Native drumming and dancing, as “pagan” without really understanding what they were talking about.  Similarly, both church and government demonstrated a rather self-righteously arrogant faith when they came to the conclusion that assimilating indigenous people into western culture would be doing them a kindness--something they obviously decided without asking the indigenous people, themselves. [1]

---

[1] R. Pierce Beaver. Church, State and the American Indians: two and a half centuries of partnership in missions between Protestant churches and government. Concordia Publishing House, 1966.

 According to Luther, such arrogance reflects a theology of glory, which calls good things (Native culture) bad and bad things (assimilation) good without real understanding.

For me, on the other hand, one of the great joys of living many years as a Presbyterian in Alaska has been to witness the very different view that has become prevalent in our current ministry.   Alaskan Presbyterians have come to value the cultural diversity that is present in the church.  When viewing matters of faith and life, we have come to understand that traditional values and ways have much to teach all of us, and not just those living in the more remote parts of the state.  Worship in village life should look different, and does look different, than in the more urban areas. Differences in language are important, too, because the thought patterns embedded in each language shape much of a people's worldview. In our presbytery we have learned that bringing together Christians of different languages and cultures, and working together for ministry, brings greater wisdom and greater awareness of the God's possibilities to our ministry.  Since the "New Beginnings" event in Gambell, I also believe that such work requires an intentional humility, so as not to insist that one worldview or perspective should dominate.

This fits with the 500-year-old teaching of Martin Luther.  According to Martin Luther the antidote to a theology of glory is the theology of the cross.  In the cross of Jesus we know that God was present in Jesus Christ, joining with us in the brokenness of sin and mortality.  God recognizes full well that human beings are always being subjected to sin and death, and therefore are not capable of the perfect understanding implied by a theology of glory.  Yet, in Jesus Christ, God joined with us anyway.  Indeed, Jesus humbled himself and was put to death on a cross by the self-righteously arrogant religious people of his own day.  In that death, God opened the way for usto have communion with God, the Spirit revealed the truth Jesus was standing for, and Jesus showed us the proper way of discipleship.

It is my sincere hope that we will hold up that lesson of humble faith as we move forward from the “New Beginnings” event in Gambell.  Self-righteousness is always a temptation.  But a good antidote is to embrace dialogue—diverse Christian people joining their voices in dialogue together and listening to one another with respect—all the while staying focused on Christ Jesus.