Pride and Promise!

It is pride month and the Episcopal Church is full of rainbows and banners celebrating our LGBTQIA siblings as beloved children of God. Pride, we explain is not the same as the sin of pride that Scripture repeatedly warns us about, but a healthy outlook, a rejoicing in the way God has created all persons to be. 

Yet in our celebration of all things LGBTQIA, I do have to ask myself; what is it we want for our beloved siblings?

The God we believe in and serve loves and welcomes all persons into fellowship with him! He accepts us exactly how we are! Yet, we well know that, acceptance is not certificate of completeness or perfection! All humans are imperfect, in need of healing, restoration and change! God’s character and his great love demand it! He receives us and changes us to the very best that we can be! He disciplines and  “corrects” us so that we can be participants in his glory!

If you want to be a Christian, prepare, because change is inevitable! 

These are the words of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians some of which were certainly LGBTQIA : 

“such were some of you. But, you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of our God."

Are we prepared to be truthful to those in the LGBTQIA community that are part of our church family or feel drawn to it by our invitation and support? Are we prepared to say that following Jesus is less about pride and much more about humility? That sometimes it entails taking up our cross to follow him? That often the things we think most valuable about ourselves are precisely those God wants to mold, change or maybe have us give up altogether? 

Can we be sincere in saying that when a person comes to Christ a new identity comes into being, where “old things pass away and there is a new creation”?  Can we be candid in explaining that; as we “put on Christ” in baptism, relationship with God, being children of God, becomes the primary identity of a Christian, above race, nationality, status and even gender?

I would hope so! It is what Christians know to be true! 

God is faithful, what he has begun in each of us he has promised to bring unto completion,  St. Paul claims that it is until each of us has come to the measure of Christ….that is quite a tall order.

Of course a question which would be in the mind of all, specially those who have been persecuted because of their sexual orientation, is whether God finds it sinful? Whether being a Christian means attempting to deny their deepest feelings? and if it were possible change who they love?  

As a physician, I do not think sexual orientation can be changed! As a Christian and a priest, I do not think that it is any different from heterosexuality.

What I do know is that no matter whom you love, God will certainly change HOW you love!   

Human love tends to be conditional, selfish and imperfect, often temporary. When it comes to sexuality, we can be led by our desire for intimacy, to people and places sure to hurt us!

I have had the opportunity over many years in my profession and ministry to see the results of this! People who, looking for love, ended up feeling used and abandoned, going from one hook up to the next, with an STD, overusing drugs and alcohol in an attempt to fit in , or stuck in relationships that were hurtful and abusive.

LGBTQIA persons are not exempt from any of that! 

As we celebrate the love God has for each person, we have to be sensitive to those who may be struggling with the effects of sin or tied to behaviors or relationship patterns that are destructive! These things hinder us  from becoming the person God has destined us to be!  

Christians have to be able to lovingly, without judgement, point out that for all of us , God wants better!

Just like for the heterosexual, there may be different paths to holiness for Christians who are LGBTQIA! For some there may be marriage to a same or opposite gender spouse, mixed orientation marriages although difficult, do occur!  For others celibacy or committed friendships might be the path God chooses!    

The Episcopal Church’s To Set Our Hope In Christ, written as response to the Windsor report, reminds us of the qualities that, for Christians, make LGBTQIA and all relationships holy:

“…Exclusive, life-long, unions of fidelity and care for each other have been experienced as holy. These unions have evidenced the fruit of the Holy Spirit: “joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22- 23). More specifically, members of our congregations have seen the fruit of such unions as sanctifying human lives by deepening mutual love and by drawing persons together in fidelity and in service to the world….”

It goes further by comparing these holy relationships to prevailing patterns in our world:

Their holiness stands in stark contrast with many sinful patterns of sexuality in the world. As a report to the Lambeth Conference of 1998 stated very well: Clearly some expressions of sexuality are inherently contrary to the Christian way and are sinful. Such unacceptable expressions of sexuality include promiscuity, prostitution, incest, pornography, pedophilia, predatory sexual behavior, and sadomasochism (all of which may be heterosexual or homosexual), adultery, violence against women and in families, rape … From a Christian perspective these forms of sexual expression remain sinful in any context.

May we celebrate pride along our LGBTQIA siblings, and continue to strive for a world where there is equality for all, where none have to hide or pretend to be different that how God has created them!

May we point those outside the church or far from God to the arms of Christ, who loves all persons and who has a life better that any of us have imagined. 

May we be allies, friends, prayer partners, as people are led to the life of holiness God has set for them!

May we remember that celebration of who we are is but the beginning, that there is a promised becoming that will be revealed, when Christ has come!  

What do we want for our LGBTQIA siblings…nothing but God’s best!

Blessings

Seraph

The Gospel of Nice?

EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF FLORIDA BISHOP SEARCH, MEET AND GREET QUESTIONS

Please click below for video clip

A Politically Correct Gospel?

PRIDE AND CONTRADICTION

I came across this post from several years ago and it seemed so appropriate for this time, given my recent experiences.  Please click on the link below to access the original post!

SERAPH SAYS: PRIDE AND CONTRADICTION:

After over a decade in the Episcopal Church as a priest in a diverse parish and one who is committed to the life and health of our chu...

Choosing Diversity?

DIOCESE OF FLORIDA BISHOP SEARCH MEET AND GREET QUESTIONS. Holy Comforter.

Please click on link below for video clip

CHOOSING DIVERSITY

Christian Marriage; Jesus and General Convention!

                             

QUESTION FROM THE DIOCESE OF FLORIDA MEET AND GREET

Marriage was not invented by Christ  and we have no credible evidence that he himself was married. However, he gave a very specific meaning and significance to marriage which any conversation about the theology of Christian marriage has to seriously consider. 

Christian marriage is first and foremost defined by the words of the Lord Christ as we find them recorded in the gospels and the later teaching of his apostles

Matthew 19: 3-6, Mark 10:6-9: 

“Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and, ‘For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh"

The apostle Paul makes the same reference in his discussion about marriage in Ephesians 5:28-32 

“For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh."

Here are the pertinent verses in Genesis:

Genesis 1:27 "So God created man in His own image; in the image of God.  male and female He created them.  Then God blessed them"

Genesis 2:23-24 "That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame."

It is from these simple verses, the creation story, Christ’s explicit reference to it, and the Apostle’s teaching in the New Testament, that we begin the conversation about what Christian marriage means! We must begin with what marriage meant to Christ!

In congruency with these words the Book of Common Prayer reads; …

"The bond and covenant of marriage was established by God in creation" It signifies to us the mystery of the union between Christ and his Church, Holy Scripture commends it to be honored among all people The union of husband and wife in heart, body, and mind is intended by God for their mutual joy; for the help and comfort given one another in prosperity and adversity; and, when it is God's will, for the procreation of children and their nurture in the knowledge and love of the Lord"

Here are some simple ideas as to the purposes of marriage found in Scripture:

Marriage is for companionship: Genesis 2:18  "And the Lord God said, "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him."

 

Marriage is for children: Genesis1:27-28  "God created man in His own image; male and female He created them. God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply" 

 Marriage is for Sex:  1 Corinthians 7:14-15 "...Each man should have sexual relations with his own wife and each woman with her own husband. The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband...."

Marriage is for Holiness:  1 Peter 3:7 " Husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God's gift of new life. Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered.", Ephesians 5:21 "Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ." 

Marriage is for life:  Matthew 19:4-6 "...They are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate." 

 

Marriage in our society is evolving! In 2015 the US Supreme Court granted equal access to marriage to same-sex couples! It was Justice Kennedy who said in that case…"They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law," "The Constitution grants them that right." 

I and most Episcopalians agree with this! People in society have the right to regularize, protect, and solemnize their relationships with the person they love! 

In the same year, following the US Supreme Court decision. the Episcopal Church's General Convention approved the trial-use liturgies for marriage that made it possible for same-sex couples to wed in the Episcopal Church, and in 2018 made it possible for any couple civilly able to marry to do so in any diocese of TEC.  

Christ spoke of marriage as a covenant between a man and a woman, a husband and a wife! 

Our General Convention has made a “clear decision” that Christian marriage can be a covenant between two people irrespective of gender! It is a complicated place to be! 

There is of course the rejoicing that our LGBTQIA siblings are able to legally recognize their relationships in civil society and have access to the sacraments and blessing of the church in their committed unions! Yet there are the clear words of Christ that define the particular relationship we call marriage in the church!

Perhaps we lack the language, or the theology, and lump human relationships into one neat box considering only common elements, over their uniqueness! Same-gender and opposite-gender relationships have love as a common element but have demarcated differences some of which are biologically based. 

Perhaps there is an implicit bias in the way we look at human relationships, a push to heteronormativity, where relationships have to fit into a particular mold in order for us to think of them as blessed…so it has to be marriage or bust! 

Can we as Christians and Episcopalians live and minister in the same Church while holding diverging convictions about the sacrament of marriage? 

Our polity urges us to, but whether we can do so and mutually flourish, only time will tell!

Blessings

Seraph

Are You More Open Minded?

HAVE YOU BECOME MORE OPEN MINDED SINCE BECOMING AN EPISCOPALIAN? 14 YEARS LATER....HARD TO SAY!🙃

I have been a asked that and it is hard to answer! 

I have not changed my mind about the things that brought me to our church; the beauty of liturgy and sacraments, the role of women in all areas of church  life, the importance of the laity, inclusion of LGBT in the church, the ability to question!  ☦💒⚡🌈

I have not changed my mind about the importance of the Creeds. the divinity of Christ, the importance of Scripture, the importance of marriage, the sanctity of human life!  👼

I know we can not function without the power of the Holy Spirit, nor without true acceptance and love! 

I have NO time for religion, still find many rules we Episcopalians abide by very unhelpful to mission! I have told the bishop! 😄

I have sung a few songs from the 1982 Hymnal but it is not my cup of tea...though I admit to liking hymns more now. 🎼

I am no longer surprised when a fellow Episcopalian denies the Virgin Birth, the Resurrection, salvation through Christ, the reality of sin...rants about substitutionary atonement or they randomly quote the departed John Spong, whom I never followed! Some people do that... not my circus! 🎪🤡

I love Rachel Evans, may she rest in peace, Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schorrii taught me many things!  Bishop Michael Curry is a great preacher! I am not a fan of Diana Butler Bass! 

I do not like the vocal politics of many in our church ....but do not have to, nor agree! 🤮

SO,  I am not sure my mind is more open...BUT, ALAS...my mouth sure is! I find myself more vocal, more likely to speak out when I perceive what seems like injustice, more likely to object even if others find it impolite, and definitely to let you know exactly what I think... if you ask, and sometimes even if you do not!  😎

More open minded...I don't know, more open mouth...yep! Not quite the development I expected but, seems to fit my Cubanness and the reality of being a Latino in the Episcopal Church...a tiny but growing minority of folks! I am not sure how I feel about that yet! 

Blessings! 

Seraph

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤🧡🧡🧡🧡❤

What my parents taught me about voting!

 Perhaps, it was the experience my parents had in Castro's Cuba, that led them to always remind us of what was for them a certainty: 

NEVER TRUST POLITICIANS! 

My mom and dad were among the idealistic young Cubans who opposed the dictatorship of Batista, Cuba's strongman before 1959! They wholeheartedly risked their life and gave their support to a charismatic young revolutionary who promised freedom for the island, elections, safety and prosperity! One who insisted, even as his movement triumphed, that there was no socialism , no communism in his ideals nor the future of their island.

Sure thing...! We all know how that went! 

I am a Marxist Leninist was Fidel Castro's announcement when he had seized power in Cuba, sending many of those who had risked their life for the ideals of freedom scrambling for exile in Miami!  Older Cubans still joke that when Fidel said his revolution was "green" like the palm trees, he really meant it was like a watermelon, pretty green on the outside, red on the inside! 

POLITICIANS LIE!  That for us has been part of  our education and political participation in the United States, ever since I can remember! 

Look at what they have done, not at their eloquence, looks or promises! In politics, my parents insisted , actions speak louder than words! Also that it is issues, goals, that are the driving force of the party or candidate to support.  Vote for what matters to you, for the things you would like to see in our society, for the future you want to see....and for the candidate, however flawed that you feel can help further those goals! Sometimes they will keep the promises they made while campaigning, most of the times they will not!

My parents lessons sure have come in handy over the years! I admit to not always following their advise! We all have been drawn to different politicians, loved their speeches, their energy, the idea behind their candidacy and have chosen to vote on that! Putting personality, education, TV image and charisma over concrete actions and goals. More often than not , it is disappointing!

This year I went with the tried and true lessons we learned! Its the issues that matter, the actions, the promises kept, the things that further a future where you would like your children to live in successfully!  As someone once said, 

" My vote is a chess move, not a valentine"! 

Remember as you go vote!

Blessings

Seraph

Ordination of Monica Bosque.

South Florida Reverend Preaches Tolerance From the Pulpit

Leo Frade, Cuban born bishop of the Diocese of SE Florida makes his stance clear as it relates to the place of gay and lesbian people in the church. In a diocese where there is a great number of socially conservative Latinos, he throws caution to the wind in this humorous but pointed homily! He has already allowed same sex blessings in at least one church in his diocese. Time will tell wether his convictions will strengthen or scatter his flock. Blessings Seraph

"Still Very White”

“…Baptist leaders also believe that attracting more minorities would help reverse the decline. About 19 percent of their churches are African-American, Hispanic, Asian American or other minority congregations. “We’ve got a long way to go for more ethnic diversity,” Rainer said. “We are still a very white denomination….”

These comments as Southern Baptist leaders reflected on numbers indicating a decline in their denomination made me smile! Of the approximately 37,000 Southern Baptist churches, home to 16,136,044 members in the US, only 19% of their churches are minority congregations...I was green with envy!

While the membership statistics of the SBC do not reflect the diversity of the US population, they certainly do so better than our own Episcopal Church! This is true, despite the mantra we hold dear; “The Episcopal Church Welcomes You", and our insistence that we are an "inclusive" church. Figures reported on the 2008 Faith Communities Today Survey showed that a mere 8.5% of Episcopal parishes were predominantly minority; 5% African American, 1.5 % Native American, 1.4% Latino, and 1.5 % Pacific Islander. There are many historical and practical reasons for this, I am sure! There are also patterns we must overcome as we approach church planting and evangelism if we are to be the more than a church for white retirees!.

Consider this from our own diocesan experience; the diocese of Florida has been in existence since 1838, which is 171 years, and in that time, has a handful of primarily African American congregations, a Hispanic congregation which came fully formed into the diocese from another denomination and a mission planted by Diocese. The Southern Baptists, by contrast have, just in the Duval county area, at least 10 Hispanic churches and several stable missions. The Baptist outreach to Latinos in Jacksonville began in 1960 when less than 0.5% of the population of the city was Hispanic. Our diocese had no Spanish language services, no missions or prayer groups active in any of its churches in 2008! That is almost 50 years later, even as the number of Latinos mushroomed in the county and region. One has to wonder how that happens!

In the three years since coming into the diocese of Florida as part of its first Latino ministry, there have been Spanish language ministries planted by Southern Baptists in at least 4 other locations in the area served by the diocese of Florida; in St Augustine, Neptune Beach, and just around the corner from St. Luke’s Episcopal Church! They use space provided by larger Anglo congregations, share pastors and lay leaders, alternate service times and are beginning to show promise! We in contrast, despite willingness among the Latino clergy and vocal support from diocesan leaders, have managed to plant one mission with hopes for more at some undefined point in the future.

Sadly, that seems to be the norm in many dioceses of the Episcopal Church! We have a distinguished history, beautiful liturgy and music,theological roomyness and despite the economic crises, no lack of funds! Yet we find ourselves static, unprepared, uncertain, and frozen even as our neighborhoods change, members age, and people of other colors and languages show up at our doors to an uncertain welcome! What is it about us Episcopalians? Even as we say our doors are open to all, we seem to make little effort to reach them and appear to be locked into inaction as opportunities for mission pass us by! We are inspired and intent on helping people of different colors and languages who live far away, even as those same people live next door to our parishes and are becoming more the face of the neighborhoods we serve.

“Still very white”…what an honest statement from a community of faith that has shown a willingness to reach the unchurched and, been pioneers in ministry to Latinos and other minorities! We definitely should take it to heart, reflect seriously on our evangelism priorities, and with prayer and concrete actions make the changes and difficult choices that make welcome and diversity more than words in our diocese and the Episcopal Church!

Blessings

seraph

Actions and Words-Brief reflection on the Presiding Bishop's Visit to St. Lukes

The Presiding Bishop's visit to our parish has come and gone. The experience was wonderful; great liturgy, bells and smells,lively music, liturgical dance and a beautiful message by The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori. Yet, after almost three weeks, other than the pictures, there remains very little memory or conversation about the pomp and fanfare of that day. Other things however,remain clear in the hearts and minds of people in this working class bilingual parish...things we still talk about! First, was the illustration the presiding Bishop used at the close of her sermon! Reading from her prepared notes, she compared Christians to sunflowers always seeking the light of the sun, turning towards it even during the dark of the night ; So are we to always seek and turn toward Christ even in times of darkness and uncertainty. That the altar that day was decked with bright yellow sunflowers, surely a coincidence, made the remark even more memorable! Secondly was the way she interacted naturally with old and young alike, taking time for pictures, questions conversation in English and Spanish to people from all walks of life. There was the moment she gave communion to Rosa our oldest parishioner at 101, and her foray unescorted into the kitchen to bless and thank the women who labored there. The fact that, she and her husband stayed until all the fancy stuff came down and people began to clean up for the day was so refreshing! She did not act like a visitor that day but became a member of family...our family. The third extremely memorable image happened at the end of this wonderful but long day. It was an unexpected but joyful sight to watch the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal church become a helper, assisting a young woman reset a table in the parish dining hall. I for one, had never seen that in over 40 years in churches. Preachers, priests, bishops, speakers... come, they minister, sample the goodies, thank the pastors and usually leave. Rarely do they take time to go chat or bless those working behind the scenes, nor become one with them as they lend a hand to help. That we will not soon forget! Thank you Bishop Katharine for your visit, your words and example to us as one who leads and serves...! Blessings Seraph

El Papa y el Padre Alberto...

My Personal Reaction to Vatican Announcement: Reaching Out to Anglicans Who Are Unhappy in Their Church...

Just 5 months ago… When I was received in the Episcopal Church (Anglican Communion) some members of the Catholic media (for example EWTN and ACIPRENSA) highlighted the “great differences” between Episcopalians and Roman Catholics in matters of Theology and doctrine. Others even claimed that I “changed religions” - something which I consider absurd – since we profess the same creed and share the same Apostolic roots and tradition. Now, with this latest Vatican announcement, the Roman Catholic Church is saying that Anglicans who unite to Rome can maintain their “distinctive Anglican spiritual and liturgical patrimony”.

Furthermore, if celibacy is such an important aspect of the Roman Catholic priesthood in the Latin Rite, why does the church accept married priests from other churches, but does not allow its own priests to be married?

I would ask the Vatican: Are we (Episcopalians/Anglicans) heretics and schismatic or are we good guys? Please make up your mind. Does not accepting gays and women in the clergy put you in communion with the Roman Catholic Church?

A lot to reflect on…
Father Albert

Hace solo 5 meses atrás... Cuando yo fui recibido en la Iglesia Episcopal (Comunión Anglicana) algunos de los mismos medios Católicos Romanos (por ejemplo ACI PRENSA y EWTN) resaltaban lo lejos que estábamos de Roma en doctrina y teología. Otros, incluso llegaron a decir que yo había “cambiado de religión” – cosa que considero absurda – ya que profesamos el mismo credo y tenemos las mismas raíces apostólicas. Ahora, con el anuncio del Vaticano, ellos mismo dicen que los Anglicanos que se unan a Roma "mantienen su gran herencia espiritual y litúrgica" y que son bienvenidos. Además, si el celibato es tan importante para los sacerdotes católicos romanos del rito latino, ¿Por qué entonces se aceptan sacerdotes y ministros de otras iglesias con sus esposas y familias, pero el mismo clero católico no tiene opción de casarse?

Yo le preguntaría al Vaticano:Los Anglicanos somos “herejes y cismáticos”… ¿O somos buena gente? Que se pongan de acuerdo. ¿El no aceptar a los homosexuales y a las mujeres en el clero lo pone a uno en comunión automática con la Iglesia Católica Romana?

Esta decisión deja mucho que pensar…

http://www.padrealberto.net/

P. Alberto

Just a few months ago, Archbishop Favalora of the Catholic Archdiocese in Miami chided bishop Frade of the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida for receiving Padre Alberto as an Episcopalian without first consulting with him. Clearly, his superiors in Rome have no qualms at all about inviting scores of Anglican clergy and laity to become Catholics. Respectfully,I wonder how much ecumenical consultation went into that decision?

It also makes me think! Being a celibate priest is not as important as believing that gays and women should be excluded from the clergy? So then what is the celibacy rule fuzz all about?...Let your own priests marry! That is an uncescapable if maybe unintended message in this announcement. Padre Alberto's insightful questions are spot on here.

Blessings

Seraph.

Benedict Opens Arms to Anglicans

The number of married Catholic priests could grow sharply as the result of the Vatican's epochal decision to welcome thousands of disaffected Anglicans and Episcopalians into the Catholic church.

At press conferences in Rome and London on Tuesday, Vatican officials announced that the church would set up a special canonical structure that will ease the conversion of members of the Anglican Communion without them having to give up what the Vatican called "the distinctive Anglican spiritual and liturgical patrimony." That means not only a body of prayers and hymns, but also a tradition of married priests and bishops.

"It's a stunning turn of events," says Lawrence Cunningham, theology professor at Notre Dame University. "This decision will allow for many more married clergy in Western churches, and that's going to raise anew the question, 'If they can do it, why can't the priests of Rome?'" says Cunningham.

But the arrangement with the Anglican Communion goes much further. Cardinal William Levada, the Vatican's top doctrinal official, announced in Rome that the church would set up a personal ordinariate -- in essence a diocese defined not by geography, but by function, like the division that serves Catholics in the military -- for converted Anglicans.

The move comes after years of discord within the Anglican Communion, which unites 77 million Anglicans and Episcopalians under the loose authority of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams. The church has been racked by schisms over the ordination of women and its stance toward homosexuality. Some Anglicans believe the Vatican's move will deepen those divisions.

NO comment ...but its kind of funny!

Blessings

Seraph

El Sincretismo Religioso

Noticias recientes nos informan de un sacerdote episcopal que dice practicar la religión musulmana y de un candidato al obispado en una diócesis estadounidense que recibe una ordenación laica en una de las ramas del budismo. ¿Qué ocurre? ¿Será ésta una nueva ola de tolerancia o simplemente manifestaciones modernas de un sincretismo religioso?

El sincretismo se ha definido como una simbiosis, amalgamación o mezcla de conceptos, prácticas y ritos provenientes de diversas tradiciones religiosas. Laura Rossi en Relativismo e sincretismo expresa que: "El sincretismo es la fusión de elementos tomados de formas religiosas diferentes y no siempre convergentes…".

No hay duda que las religiones en su desarrollo se han influenciado unas a otras y eso no es ajeno al contexto hispano. Como dijera Leonardo Boff "no hay Cristianismo puro, el sincretismo es lo normal". La cantante cubana Maricela Verena hace alusión al fenómeno del sincretismo religioso a nivel popular en su cultura, declarando en una de sus canciones que: "A nosotros los cubanos, el papa nos bautiza, y nos bendice Yemaya" (diosa del mar en el panteón de la religión Yoruba).

Estoy seguro de que no faltarían las historias entre creyentes episcopales de personas devotas, por una parte, de los ritos de la Iglesia pero a la vez con creencias ajenas a la fe cristiana y a su pacto bautismal. "Sí, soy cristiano pero..." quizás sea devoto del espiritismo, de la santería; o creyente ferviente en la reencarnación, o quizás acepte elementos tomados de diferentes tradiciones religiosas para formar un mosaico pintoresco, una religión con sabor de mi preferencia personal.

No hay nada de nuevo ni de moderno en el sincretismo religioso. Ya en las primeras páginas de la Biblia se encuentran ejemplos de ello. El pueblo de Dios rinde culto a un becerro de oro, a los dioses de la tierra donde habitan; sus mujeres presentan panes dulces en honor a la diosa "reina del cielo", lloran por la muerte del dios Tamuz incluso a las afueras del templo a Yahvé. Los atenienses, leemos en los Hechos de los Apóstoles, por respeto a todas las deidades tenían hasta un altar al dios no conocido.

Lejos de aplaudir o recomendar prácticas sincretistas, los autores de las Escrituras instan a la adoración del único Dios verdadero. "Oye Israel el Señor nuestro Dios es el único Señor", es la fe proclamada por los profetas. Frente a la pluralidad de deidades presentadas en los altares de Atenas, Pablo insta a adorar al Dios creador que no necesita de templos hechos por manos humanas y está cerca de cada ser humano. En la Primera Carta a los Corintios aclara que aunque en este mundo hay muchos llamados dioses, para nosotros hay "un solo Dios y un solo Señor Jesucristo" (1 Corintios 8,5). "No pueden participar de la copa del Señor y la copa de los demonios"(1Corintios 10, 21), son sus duras palabras para aquellos que se acercaban a la Eucaristía a la vez que a celebraciones en honor a otros dioses.

La Iglesia Episcopal, al igual que otras confesiones cristianas, no deja de reconocer que hay elementos de verdad y luz en otras religiones. La Iglesia Católica Romana, a raíz del Concilio Vaticano II (1962-65) en la declaración Nostra Aetate sobre la "Iglesia Católica y las Religiones no Cristianas", dice que en toda religión hay "un destello de aquella Verdad que ilumina a todos los hombres". A la vez, debemos de reconocer que hay verdades en la religión cristiana que son completamente incompatibles con las creencias de otras religiones. Los misterios de la Trinidad, la Encarnación, la Eucaristía y otros básicos a nuestra fe, serían incomprensibles en otros contextos religiosos. Monseñor Boza Masvidal en su carta pastoral sobre el sincretismo religioso y la santería dice lo siguiente: "No se pueden reconciliar el Cristianismo y la santería…el Cristianismo es monoteísta, la santería cree en muchos dioses…". De igual manera, no puede haber sacerdotes episco-musulmanes ni obispos episco-budistas. Cristo es - para el cristiano - Dios encarnado, algo explícitamente negado por el Islam y un concepto ajeno a la filosofía del Budismo.

Es esta época, caracterizada por una mayor apertura, tolerancia y diálogo interreligioso, es menester que el cristiano sepa dar razón de su fe respetuosamente, sin caer en los extremos del fundamentalismo o del sincretismo. En uno se absolutizan los valores religiosos de manera rígida, en el otro se relativizan de tal manera que pierden su verdadero sentido.

Muchas bendiciones

Serafin

Episcopalians grow Hispanic Ministry

The Rt. Rev. Samuel Johnson Howard, eighth Episcopal Bishop of Florida, will receive the Revs. Monica Bosque and Janssen Gutierrez as deacons in the Episcopal Church during a 5 p.m. Sunday service at St. Luke's Episcopal Church on University Boulevard, Jacksonville. Bosque will assist in serving the Hispanic congregation at St. Luke's, also known as Iglesia de San Lucas, where Sunday services are held at 10a.m. in English and at noon in Spanish.

The Rev. Janssen Gutierrez will be ordained priest at that same service and will serve the growing Hispanic congregation at St. Francis in the Field located off of highway 210 in Palm Valley. The Rev. Michael Ellis and the congregation of St. Francis in the Field have supported and encouraged this fledgling congregation. Sunday services at St. Francis in the Field are at 10 a.m. in English and at 5 p.m. in Spanish.

The Rev. Miguel Rosada, who is the rector of St. Luke's/Iglesia de San Lucas was the first Hispanic priest in the Episcopal Diocese of Florida to offer services in both English and Spanish, and he will be coordinating the ministries of the new clergy. "All of us in the Episcopal Diocese of Florida rejoice in the ministries of Deacon Bosque and of Father Gutierrez," said Bishop Howard "and we celebrate our rapidly growing ministry among those for whom Spanish is a first language. St. Luke's/San Lucas with its dual English-Spanish ministries has created a pattern for what true bilingual worship will look like in the future."

http://www.staugustine.com/stories/080709/religion_1822104.shtml