THE BISHOP'S PAGE

Bishop Godfrey Fryar

May 2010

There has been some recent news regarding "the discovery" of Noah's Ark on a mountain in Turkey. Some conservative Christian Archaeologists, claim to have found the vessel used by Noah and his family, and two of every kind of animal who were escaping the great flood as described in chapters 6-9 of Genesis.

This news item has been greeted with great skepticism by many people and enthusiasm by some.

Mainstream Biblical scholars of the last century or so tell us that when it comes to individuals mentioned in Genesis, like Adam and Eve or Noah and a number of others, we need to be mindful that in these texts we are dealing with a different expression of truth from what we find, for example, in the Gospels. For there we have material based on Jesus, an historical person whose existence, even if not his deeds, are affirmed by non Christian sources.

To search for the bones of Adam and Eve would be a futile exercise, for they are characters that one of the writers of Genesis uses to explain the flawed nature of humanity in every generation, where given a choice in terms of decisions about care for creation, our relationships with others and with God, our tendency is to choose for ourselves regardless of the consequences. The outcome of the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen bears dramatic witness to this.

Such truth is not limited to the small dialogues of 'the man' and 'the woman' in the garden.

The discomfort many have about the search for Noah's Ark lies in the understanding of just who Noah represented for the Genesis writer, for he too is a much greater figure than any literal interpretation would reveal.

Built around Noah we have an extraordinarily powerful story about God’s willingness to give humanity yet another chance after repeated spectacular failures.

If Noah were found to be an actual figure of human history just what value would there be in finding him or the ark?

Faith is not built upon the verifiable existence of the Ark, any more than it is supported, or undermined, by the authenticity, or not, of the Shroud of Turin, or the relics of the true cross.

Faith rather is about our encounter with God, as revealed in the Risen Christ in the present, rather than searching for him in the past.

Yours in Christ,

+ Godfrey
 
 

Bishop Godfrey Fryar

March 2010

The recent announcement from the Vatican regarding the canonisation of Mary MacKillop brings to our attention the place of saints in the life of the Church. In the New Testament Letters the term 'saint' is used not of people of note but to refer to the believers in general.

From post New Testament times however there grew a differentiation between saints in general and certain people who were particularly notable. This was spurred on no doubt by the heroic suffering of martyrs in those early centuries of fierce persecution.

Such outstanding witnesses to Christ along with The Blessed Virgin Mary, the Apostles and other New Testament figures were celebrated without first being "processed" by the Church to test their worthiness.

By medieval times more defined processes had been developed, but since the English Reformation, no centralised system for declaring saints has existed outside Rome.

From the mid twentieth century different parts of the Anglican Communion have returned to the early practice known as 'acclaim'. An Australian Prayer Book 1978 added quite a number of people to the Calendar, and this continued in A Prayer Book for Australia 1995.

Proof of miracles that might be traced to requests to certain saints to intercede with God are not required in the Anglican way.

The process of 'acclaim' runs at two levels. On the first level are those who have been added to Anglican Communion calendars around the world because of their universal significance. Dietrich Bonhoeffer the heroic German pastor who was killed by the Nazi's for speaking the truth is one of many. The second level additions are more 'local' to a particular national Church. An example of this is William Grant Broughton, our first Bishop of Australia.

The process of acclaim takes time and relies ultimately on the consensus of the people of God who agree to the worthiness of new inclusions.

I have no doubt that the worthiness of Mary MacKillop has made her a good candidate for inclusion in the Roman Calendar. Perhaps in time, through a different means, she might make it to our calendar as well!

In the end what we are celebrating is the grace of God at work in the lives of people. All of us are called to be open to the transformation that such grace works, and the degree to which this is taking place indicates we are saints on the way.

Lent reminds us of the constant need for such transformation as we journey.

Yours in Christ,

+ Godfrey