Reflection This Week
The
Broad Middle
A friend of mine
likes to argue about anything and everything. If we get into a
discussion and he determines that I have a strong opinion about some
matter, he will immediately take the opposite point of view, even
when he agrees with me. I will have to admit that this sometimes
drives me up the wall and forces me to ask myself why I allowed
myself to fall into his trap once again.
Yet the truth
is that I always learn something when we enter into these types of
discussions or, better, debates. He forces me to take a serious look
at why I believe what I believe, no matter what the subject may be:
politics, religion, sports, whatever. If, in the process, I do
convert him to my way of thinking, I know he will never let me know
that I have. It’s part of his game. It’s fun to play even if it is
at times infuriating.
The further
truth is that we often learn more from those who disagree with us
than we learn from those who are on the same page as we are. We
learn more when we are challenged, when we are asked to defend our
beliefs, than when those beliefs are accepted as fact and never
challenged. We may be wrong. We may be in error, but we will never
know if we are never put on the spot to explain why we hold dear
whatever it is we do so.
There is much debate
going on in the church today over many and varied issues, none of
which I want to get into here. This is nothing new. From the very
beginning there have been discussions, debates and fierce arguments
about matters of faith and practice. Some faith issues have been
resolved while others are still up for grabs. When it comes to how
we practice our faith, the issues can be even more convoluted. Ask
three people about using incense and you’ll find three different
responses that run the gamut of liturgical practice. (My advice on
this issue? Don’t ask!)
The problem
when it comes to matters of faith, both in belief and practice, is
that no matter where we stand on any issue, our natural instinct is
to want to narrow the playing field. We would like everyone to
believe as we believe and worship in the manner in which we like to
worship. It is more comfortable that way. We want others to see it
our way even as we rebel against trying to see it their way. It's
human nature.
The debates
going on in the church center around trying to convince those who
hold opposite opinions to see it our way, whatever our way happens
to be. And while that has always been the way, debates being what
they are, that has never been the Anglican Way, which is why I love
the Anglican Way. Since Elizabethan times we have been the Church of
the Middle Way, the via media. That middle has always been
broad.
The temptation
has always been and is today, no matter what side one is on in any
issue, is to narrow the middle. The danger is that if we don’t get
our way, we will go our separate ways. That does neither the church
nor us any good. We need the broad middle to keep us centered just
as I need my friend to keep me centered. If we only see with one
eye, we become myopic unable to see that part of the whole truth in
what those who disagree with us possess.
We all
possess part of the truth, but no one has a handle on all the truth
because no one of us fully understands either our own personal faith
or the faith itself. We are all on a faith journey. The road is
long, windy, difficult, fraught with bumps and detours. Narrowing
the road only makes it more dangerous. Keeping the middle broad
offers a safer journey for all because it keeps us in conversation,
even debate, which allows us to grow both individually and together.
We need to be wary of those who want to narrow the middle. WJP
