King Charles

End of an era? The King and the Pope Pray Together

/ MurrayCampbell

King Charles flew to Rome to pray with Pope Leo. As reporters are headlining, this is big news. 

The BBC is making a splash, 

“King and Pope make history by praying side by side

King Charles and Pope Leo made history in the Sistine Chapel by praying side by side – a first for the leaders of the Church of England and the Catholic Church.

Under the scrutinising eyes of Michelangelo’s Last Judgment, when Pope Leo said “let us pray”, it meant everyone, including the King, closing a gap that stretched back to the Reformation in the 16th Century.”

SBS,

‘Healing of history’: King Charles and Pope Leo pray together in 500-year first’.

Photo by Ryszard Zaleski on Pexels.com

This is the first occasion in 500 years that an English monarch has so publicly aligned with a Pope. The public prayer meeting hasn’t been lost on the media or by Christians worldwide. Despite the historic nature of this meeting, it’s unsurprising, given that the ecumenical King is married to Queen Camilla (who has strong familial links with Roman Catholicism), a step that itself moves history a little closer to its medieval past. 

You may be wondering, why is a Baptist interested in this affair? Fair enough. Good question. We live in a global community, and I belong to a Christian denomination and am a child of the Reformation. No doubt many readers are pondering the significance of this public display by the King and Pope, and so sometimes the ‘outside’ voice has more liberty to make observations than those close to the crown and zucchetto. The King of England praying with the Pope is news, even if it has zero impact on what happens this Sunday at church.  It may do little to change what happens on Sunday, but the step has symbolic power.  Symbols have a habit of punching the air and giving credence to ideas. Should the Church of England one day return to Rome? Will the divorce be followed by a wedding?

Whatever this union symbolises, the King and the Pope praying is paradoxical for 2 obvious reasons:  the historical theological divide and the new theological divide.

A history of irreconcilable difference. 

The very doctrines and spiritual abuses that led to the Reformation, from Germany to England, haven’t been relinquished by Rome. Indulgences remain widely practised.  Rome continues to believe in 7 sacraments. The view that salvation and forgiveness of sins require effort and merit on behalf of the sinner is a hamstring injury that persists to this day. 

Over the 500 years since the reformers sought to purify the church in teaching and life, the Roman Catholic Church has doubled down and expanded in its theologising. For example, 1964’s Second Vatican Council, Lumen Gentium 16, states that salvation is given to the anonymous Christian, the person who doesn’t believe in Jesus the Son of God and yet is redeemed. This teaching was upheld by Pope Francis. 

It would be a wonderful sight to one day see Rome throwing off the magisterium and for genuine spiritual unity to be found in the one Lord of the church and by his Spirit. After all, the Apostle Paul spells it out for us in Ephesians ch.4,

‘There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all’.

And yet, this is not the situation before us today. The differences between Rome and Canterbury are substantial and primary.  Sure, there is also common ground, but does this denude the division over how sinful human beings can be redeemed and given assurance of right standing before God?

So what is the King of England trying to achieve by visiting the Vatican and coming together with the Pope in prayer?

What political statement is being made? 

What kind of theological statement are the two heads suggesting?

It is a strange sight. 

I imagine Thomas Cranmer rolling in his grave in search of a flame to thrust in his right hand, if he were there, and Ridley sighing with frustration. Hugh Latimer’s dream became a reality, and we can dream again, ‘Be of good comfort, and play the man, Master Ridley; we shall this day light such a candle, by God’s grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out.’

Maybe this is the point, albeit unbeknownst to the orchestrators of the King’s visit. The candle has not gone out: the UK is witnessing a resurgence of Christian interest and London churches are growing…except where the Church of England who with decision and pageantry, blew out the candle in Canterbury.

The timing of King Charles’ visit to the Vatican to pray with Pope Leo is perhaps perfect. Within weeks of the Church of England giving up on the Christian faith (thanks to the appointment of the new Archbishop of Canterbury), the head of the Church of England flies to Rome. 

Old divisions remain formally and substantially, and there is a new divide.

A new divide

Before I point out the enormous elephant standing next to the King and the Pope in the Cistine Chapel, let me clarify, I love my Roman Catholic friends. There are many Roman Catholic brothers and sisters around the world who believe the Gospel and love Jesus, and with whom we may pray and share in common. Rome in the 16th Century may have designated the Reformers as heretics, but the likes of Martin Luther and Jean Calvin saw Rome as a genuine but very sick church. 

Also this, when it comes to the Church of England, there are many faithful and amazing Parishes across the UK, and many, many faithful Anglican churches around the globe, including Australia and here in Melbourne; praise God. The Anglican Communion has, however, shifted. The seat of Canterbury is broken thanks to the ‘Living in Love and Faith’ offering and appointing one of its chief architects, Sarah Mullally, to be the new Archbishop.

It is with this issue that a new chasm between Rome and the CHurch of England has opened up. On this matter of human sexuality and marriage,  there is a fundamental disagreement between Rome and the Church of England. Canterbury has bent the knee to the cultural zeitgeist. Indeed, on this and many ethical subjects, Rome has proven more resilient than those Protestant denominations that continue to perform to the crowds, hoping for appeal and applause. Let the lesson be learned: if our theological preferences change according to seasonal cultural winds, it is only a matter of time before your church blows down!

I suspect this is one reason why young people in the West are as likely to be drawn to finding a home with Rome as they are in the local Church factory or Saint Bob Anglican.

In the last 5 years, the tissue-thin screen veiling the new atheism has been removed, and the Wizard of Oz is nothing more than a scrawny man holding a megaphone and shouting, ‘There is no God’. 50-year-old middle-class Melbourne may be stuck on this Spotify playlist, but younger generations know better. People know instinctively that there is something real and important beyond this material world.  We need it to be, because God knows, life gets pretty miserable without Divine forgiveness and hope. Take away God, and we have 8 billion people pretending there is commonality and trying to figure out a reason why brute power shouldn’t win the day. 

Of course, in the search for God, one of the mistakes we can make is to think that if it looks and smells old, it must be the real thing. I say, don’t judge a church by its smell! The Reformers were right. Does a church believe, read and teach the Bible? Do they worship the Triune God? Do they believe in the sufficiency of Christ’s substitutionary atonement death? Do they affirm the physical resurrection of Jesus? Are they denying or adding to the One Gospel? If we can tick these boxes, then they are the real church where God dwell by His Spirit. 

Part of the search for God is the persistent and right need for security and substance. We see an aged wineskin and assume its contents are priceless. As a Christian minister, I want to argue that true security and substance is found in Christ and his sufficient Gospel. This idea isn’t new and novel; the Reformation rediscovered these precious truths: justification by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. It is, in fact, a Bible idea. If you’re looking for new old, go to the Scriptures!

Two great errors can be committed by a Church. One is to take away from the gospel in the search for relevance, and the other is to add to the gospel. In my view, the Church of England has chosen the former, and Rome, for too long, is persisting with the latter. 

Religion can be bewitching. When we catch a whiff of permission giving, we feel liberated to mould God into our own image. At the other spectrum, rules and traditions provide a temporary ballast, and yet both miss the point of Jesus. That makes this meeting between King Charles and Pope Leo both fascinating and superfluous. The power of the Gospel is found in towns throughout Nigeria and in house churches across China, and in the cities of Brazil and the suburbs of Sydney and Melbourne.

Our Bible text this Sunday is a really helpful explainer. It’s not a short read, but if you’re interested in what the Apostolic testimony has to say, it’s worth following the Apostles’ logic from beginning to end. Have a read,

“Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? 3 Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? 4 Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain? 5 So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? 6 So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

7 Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. 8 Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”9 So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

10 For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” 11 Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.”12 The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them.” 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” 14 He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.”

Correction: The original suggested that Queen Camilla is Roman Catholic. That is not the case. What is the case is that Her Majesty’s first marriage was to a Roman Catholic, and her children are Roman Catholic.

A message for the King

/ MurrayCampbell

King Charles and Queen Camilla went to church in Australia last Sunday. They attended a regular service held at St Thomas’ North Sydney.

Kanishka Raffel, who is the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, preached a sermon for all, whether they were Kings or kids, monarchs, musicians or mechanics.

What might an Archbishop preach about in the presence of the monarch? Of all the subject matter in the world, both large and small, what message is worth pressing home?

Kanishka spoke on Acts 8:26-40. Long before the Gospel ever reached the shores of England, and Europe, the good news of Jesus Christ came to an Ethiopian man who then took God’s message home with him.

‘The Good News of Jesus’. I can’t think of a better message for everyone to hear.

Before you watch Harry & Meghan

/ MurrayCampbell

Before clicking play on Netflix to watch Harry & Meghan or purchasing a copy of Spare, consider how doing so will add to the sordid affair.

Unless you’re still sailing to Hobart from Sydney with a broken mast and no satellite dish, you’re hearing the names of Harry, Meghan, William and Kate every few hours. With the launch of the Netflix series, and now with Harry’s memoir released and a series of television interviews ready to play, everyone is talking about Britain’s Royal family and offering their thoughts, opinions, and evaluations. It’s as though we’re all the butler with eyes on the inside of the Winsdors’ hearts. 

Harry and Meghan are everywhere. As much as I’m trying to avoid them, the latest revelations are headline news for newspapers and the late-night news on tv. I’ve taken to wearing noise-cancelling headphones everywhere I walk (metaphorically speaking) as I way to block out the latest stories of who did what to whom. And because repeating them here makes me an accessory to gossip I have no intention to repeat the stories here. Although, I am tempted to make one comment about the scary headline of ‘brother fights brother’. Have there ever been 2 brothers who’ve never punched, kicked, or wrestled each other? Beating up my baby brother was familial routine…until he outgrew me!

Leaving aside my own family history, I’m not writing to offer a commentary about the Royal family or to take sides. Doing so would shred the very point that I wish to make. I want to offer a short word to everyone who is quick to read, watch, and repeat opinions about what really is a sad state of affairs. Let’s not do those things.

There is wisdom in the book of Proverbs,

A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy person keeps a secret. (11:13)

A perverse person stirs up conflict, and a gossip separates close friends. (16:28)

Without wood a fire goes out; without a gossip a quarrel dies down. (26:2)

Participating in the mob may give us a certain degree of justification and even moral uprightness. It allows us to feel part of the crowd.  We’ll have something to say at work while everyone lines up to grab another cup of stale coffee. The reality is, all we are doing is gossiping.  

Gossip is one of the oldest sins and for some odd reason, it is too often treated as an acceptable one.

 We all know that sharing another person’s secrets is a no go zone. We all know that breaking trust and retelling personal details can rip apart a friendship, and yet most of us a guilty of doing so…even at church as though faux concern legitimises the action! Whether the subject of gossip is the Royal family or my neighbour or best friend, take note of this Proverb,

The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts. (18:8)

The age of the internet accelerates the pace of rumour spreading from the old school gossip magazines and water coolers. Twitter and Netflix are the latest machines for globalising gossip.  My secret today can be the topic of public scrutiny tomorrow.

The thing is, by watching and reading and gossiping, we’re leaping into a carefully managed trap. We’re suckers for a good juicy story about a family imploding. And what’s bigger than that family being our King and Princes? Far from satisfying our own grubby hearts, we’re falling for the very thing publishers and marketers are dreaming of. They’re gambling on our ability to read and repeat another person’s private life. The reality is, we’re adding just a little more oxygen to build the bonfire no one needs out bush in the middle of summer. 

I’m not .suggesting who is right and who is wrong, or who in the Royal family has said or done what to whom. Not at all. Does the Harry-Meghan saga boil down to money? Is it a case of old fashion greed or revenge or is it about a man defending his wife against torrents of abuse? One thing we do know is this, I don’t know the truth and neither do you. The public outing of private lives is certainly unsanitary and our public gaze is guilty of participating and even egging it on. I won’t bet my crown on it, but I’m pretty sure the Windsors can do without my psychoanalysing. 

I hope that with time and humility and eventual public boredom, these two brothers and their families are able to find whatever repentance and forgiveness are required in their hearts and be reconciled. For our part, perhaps the wisest thing to do is remember that gossiping isn’t a virtue. It really is quite ugly and unhelpful. So let’s keep our eyes, ears and noises out of this story. 

The Queen is dead; Elizabeth lives

/ MurrayCampbell

“Precious in the sight of the Lord

    is the death of his faithful servants.” (Psalm 116:15)

The Queen is dead. God save the King

I went to sleep last night having heard the breaking news that the Queen’s family were rushing to Balmoral and with Doctors concerned for her. I woke at 3:35am and checked my Twitter feed, and I watched the world hear the announcement that the Queen has died. This is one of those rare moments in life that one doesn’t forget. I spoke with my children this morning and told them, this is a history defining day.

With her death, there is a tangible sense of loss and grief. I am sad today. I never had the privilege of knowing her or meeting her. I once saw her for a few seconds in Australia as she drove by, and yet like many millions around the world, we sense that the world is a poorer place today with her passing. 

Like most people, I have known only one monarch during my life and so it is hard to fathom a world without Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth. She was our head of State. Her image is printed on all Australian currency. Her name was never far from the news. The Queen of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth became a grandmother figure to leaders across the globe, giving stability and assurance to a rapidly changing and uncertain world. 

Queen Elizabeth II ascended the throne during the post-war years, and she reigned through the revolutionary 60s, the rise of pop culture, man on the moon, the fall of the Soviet Union, the creation of the internet,  9/11, the smartphone, Brexit, and countless crises and peaks. Her Majesty served her country and the Commonwealth with unparalleled grace, repose, sincerity and love. The Queen had the remarkable fortitude to stand above the heat of political maneuverings and culture wars. Even through family tragedies and sadness, our Queen did not flinch from her promise to love and serve her people. 

In part due to her long reign, and much because of her dignity and servant nature, Queen Elizabeth stands as perhaps the most important world figure of the last 70 years. Her first Prime Minister was Winston Churchill, arguably the most important man of the first half of the 20th Century. It does not require much argument to see Her Majesty as the most emblematic and esteemed leader of the second half of the 20th Century and over these first decades of the 21st Century.

It is right to pause today and give thanks to God for her life. It is appropriate to take time to consider her passing and to mourn. The reason is not that her life has more value than any other. Thousands of people have died across the world today and Queen Elizabeth is but one of those lives. However, her position as our monarch, and the integrity and honour in which she has conducted her role, leaves not only an impression on the pages of history but perhaps brings a close to one of the final chapters of history.

Her reign oversaw the greatest momentum in human technological and economic advancement that history has ever witnessed, and the world through globalisation became much smaller. In recent times, especially over the last 5 years, we have begun to watch a disintegration of global homogeny and there is an infection eating our culture and splintering communities and families alike. While we have never been closer in proximity, waves of ideology is attacking the very notion of human identity and defying the imago dei, and nationalist ideals are rekindling and creating a world that is less safe for our children. The pieces are moving quickly and any notion of Francis Fukuyama’s vision is proven to be little more than hubris and misplaced self-belief. 

I will pray for the Queen’s family today, and pray for King Charles III. The Scriptures command Christians, “petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness”, and so that is what I will do.  

The greatest contribution offered to the world by Queen Elizabeth was her faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom she believed and placed her ultimate hope. At Easter 2020, Her Majesty spoke of the resurrection of Jesus,

“The discovery of the risen Christ on the first Easter Day gave his followers new hope and fresh purpose… As dark as death can be – particularly for those suffering with grief – light and life are greater.”

Last year in her annual Christmas speech, the Queen shared her trust in the Lord Jesus. She said,

“Jesus teachings have been the bedrock of my faith”.

And she concluded by pointing us to her hope,

“His birth marked a new beginning. As the carol says: The hopes and fears of all the years are met in Thee tonight”

A monarch who bows the knee to Jesus as Lord encapsulates the posture and foresight to rule and be an example for people to follow. 

The Queen is dead. Elizabeth lives.

“For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.” (1 Thess 4:14)

Queen Elizabeth ascended to the throne during a time of dawning hope and mounting optimism following half a century of global bloodshed. She leaves the earth with the light of hope in human determination growing dim over the world, but the light she saw in God’s gospel of grace remains bright and clear and now our Queen is meeting the King of Kings and enjoying his presence forevemore.

“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,

    you may now dismiss your servant in peace.

For my eyes have seen your salvation,

     which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:

a light for revelation to the Gentiles,

    and the glory of your people Israel.” (Luke 2:29-32)