Our bishop speaks out (1)

From our bishop today:

Friday, December 21, 2007

A Word to the Diocese of Louisiana

I write to share with you a bit of my thinking behind my decision to enter the fray around public housing in New Orleans. The Bible as God’s revelation is the beginning of theological reflection just as surely as God is the end, the object, of such reflection. I know many of you question why I have become involved in this issue and some think I have come down on the wrong side of the issues. I want to share the theology that has informed my decisions. Time and space dictate a hurried and superficial look.

So, faith, hope, love abide, these three, but the greatest of these is love. (I Corinthians 13.13)

In one sense, I wish we would not read this passage of Scripture at weddings for such usage could mistakenly lead to the idea that these three theological virtues, revealed in Holy Scripture, are sentimental and fuzzy. One can even begin to believe that the theological virtue of love is an emotion and depends upon an intensity of feeling. Do not confuse eros and agape and be certain that the love of which St. Paul writes in I Corinthians is neither erotic nor emotional. Agape, of which St. Paul writes, is a tough and persistent act of the will in which we continually put God first in our hearts, our lives, and our decisions. As wrote Bishop R. C. Mortimer, formerly Lord Bishop of Exeter and Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford University, the theological virtue of love is not primarily an emotion; its seat is in the will . . . it is something to which we must direct our attention by an act of the will. 1 This theological virtue of Agape is also a gift of God and one for which I think all should pray. Agape is an infused virtue and comes to us as a matter of grace. One cannot manufacture Agape, this virtue is not naturally ours as is an emotion, though I would say that we can and should prepare ourselves for the infused virtue by conforming our lives to charitable living. Since I was ordained Bishop ten years ago next month, I have prayed daily that God would make me a good Bishop for you and that I might faithfully live out this vocation. As you well know, I am not one who quickly claims a charism, so with hope and humility I pray that I am indeed carrying out God’s will in standing with the poor in this particular way. I would not suggest that those who disagree with me believe themselves to be doing exactly the same. I believe the Church catholic is called of God to be a place where Agape is not merely a topic of conversation but the marching order of the day.

But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they came together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which the great commandment in the law?” And he said to them, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This the great and first commandment. And a second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.” (St. Matthew 22: 34 – 40)

God is the first and primary object of our love, but we must remember that we are bidden as well by Jesus to love neighbor and self. To so love another, at least in classical Anglican theology, is to desire their true good.2 It seems to me that Agape is the fulfillment of justice. As Dewar and Hudson point out, it is the generosity of agape that produces the atmosphere in which that rough-and-ready approximation to justice which is embodied in human law always can be achieved. Paradoxically, so long as men are solely concerned to insist on their rights, it is never completely possible to fulfill those rights. .. there is, however a second way in which agape fulfills justice. It is the ultimate satisfaction of natural rights. Accordingly, any conduct which is inconsistent with this is not truly agape. A further examination of the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard may help elucidate this.

I have come to think that the theological virtue of love is the basis for the baptismal covenant question which asks: “will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?” We are called to love others as God loves others and ourselves. We are called to seek for others God’s perfect end. The Christian is not only to love neighbor as self, but as best we can, to love our neighbor as God loves them.

This means that there are no disposable lives, no subspecies of human upon whom we may look down but that all posses a certain, God-given, dignity in life. This frames the moral issue that I feel compelled to address as a Christian. There is a direct connection between our current homeless population in New Orleans and the thirty thousand families and individuals living in FEMA travel trailers all of whom shall soon be evicted even from those formaldehyde soaked boxes. I am concerned about our homeless situation now and concerned about what I think may a looming human tragedy in the near future.

I traveled to Baker, Louisiana, last week to meet with folks from Renaissance Village. It was interesting to hear the HUD representative tell folks they could move anywhere they wanted in the United States and HUD would help them but that they probably could not move home to New Orleans because of the housing shortage and the high costs of rent.

Let me be clear that I am not about trying to repeat a failed Federal effort in public housing. I absolutely agree with Community Congress II and III which said that we the people do not want the poor deposited in huge neighborhoods of poverty. I am for improving the lot and living conditions of our poor folks, especially our working poor. I have said that I would seek to use some of the existing projects as temporary, dignified homes whilst the new, mixed-income housing is built over the next two years. Let our leadership find a phased way to make this transition. Why not accept the moratorium called for by the Speaker of the House and the Majority Leader of the Senate? There is a serious disconnect between the claims of the Housing Authority of New Orleans and the experiences of those in the diaspora who want to come home. HANO says there is an abundance of housing going without takers. Residents tell me they cannot get HANO to admit them to a home.

Let me be clear. I am not so concerned about buildings. I am concerned about people. I am concerned about our homeless and our soon to be homeless. I care deeply about the hopes, dreams, and aspirations of our people. I pray for the good of all God’s people. I may be going about this wrongly or naively, and if so, I pray for forgiveness. I imagine that many will agree with the theological principles I have tried to demonstrate but will question my choice to apply them in this issue. It is a gift to live in a Christian community where diversity of opinion and practice is treasured. My decision to enter this fray comes from the depths of my spirituality. I pray this decision is prompted by God at work in my life. I could be wrong.

In the meantime, the Christian Church stands for the dignity of every human being. To do so is to be faithful to Scripture and the great tradition of Anglican moral theology. How can we do otherwise and believe ourselves faithful?

Bishop Jenkins