"In any case the Christian conception of [persons] as members of in the family of God forbids the notion that Freedom may be used for self-interest. It is justified only when it expressed itself through fellowship; and a free society must be so organized as to make this effectual; in other words it must be rich in sectional groupings or fellowships within the harmony of the whole."

William Temple, Christianity & Social Order (London: Shepheard-Walwyn, 1976), p. 71.

This quotation comes from one of the great twentieth-century Archbishops of Canterbury, who was instrumental in the creation of both the modern ecumenical movement and landmark social legislation.

As we watch the Occupy Wall Street movement unfold (perhaps some of us are participating) and read commentary by various participants, government officials, and Church leaders close to the action, I think it is a useful reminder of one of the hidden dimensions of this crisis, namely the lack of effective social organizations to mediate between the individual and the whole. This leaves the field open for unaccountable elites (whether governmental or corporate, most often an unholy alliance between the two) to reign with the rest of us as passive consumers, left to gather up the crumbs under the masters’ table, with few options for action beyond polarizing interest group politics that cannot change the underlying social realities. In other words, we have all the trappings of democracy but none of the substance, namely people and communities empowered to participate effectively in meaningful decisions about our lives and livelihoods.

John Howard Yoder, the Anabaptist theologian, once said that “the Church doesn’t have a social strategy; it is a social strategy.” Only time will tell if Occupy is the beginning of an effective popular mobilization for the internet age or just more of the same old ineffective protest.

So often we use the word “fellowship” as Christianese for social interactions that are shallow and trivial at best. What would it mean instead to create serious community, modeled on the egalitarian life within the Godhead? What would it mean, in other words, if we modeled our koinonia on the koinonia that pulses forever among the Three? What if our fellowship were part of a seamless tissue of worship, formation, and action that formed us into witnesses and missionaries of Christ and his Kingdom?

I think we would discover a freedom that was for something other than self-interest. We would rediscover the meaning of our baptism into Christ. We would discover the freedom to give ourselves for our neighbors, as Jesus did. And we would discover new effective forms of social organization and mission, in collaboration with other people of good will. Forms that would make a difference for the 99% and eventually for the other 1% (the one lost sheep?) as well.

The Rev. Bill Carroll serves as Rector of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Athens, Ohio. His parish blog is at here

Friday, March 23, 2012 -- Week of 4 Lent
Gregory the Illuminator, Bishop and Missionary of Armenia, c. 332

Readings for the Daily Office (Book of Common Prayer, p. 955)
Psalms (morning) 95* & 102 // 107:1-32 (evening)
Exodus 2:1-22
1 Corinthians 12:27 - 13:3
Mark 9:2-13

[Go to http://www.missionstclare.com/english/index.html for an online version of the Daily Office including today's scripture readings.]

To the Egyptians, Moses was just a murderer, or maybe even a terrorist. His killing of the Egyptian who was beating one of the Hebrew laborers had a political component to it. Moses fled for his life. The Midianites who took him in -- did they give sanctuary to a justice warrior or did they harbor a terrorist?

In one sense, we can see Moses' violent act as a response that is motivated by love. His love for his people provoked his anger into rage when he witnessed the injustice of their forced labor. That love was focused in the particular incident when he came across the Egyptian overlord beating the Hebrew. Moses' act was premeditated. He looked around. No witnesses. He struck. He buried the body.

Anger is the appropriate emotional reaction whenever someone or something you love is threatened. Anger stimulates action -- sometimes enraged action. But underneath the anger, there is love.

Gerald May writes:

"Searching beneath anxiety, one will find fear. And beneath fear hurt will be discovered. Beneath the hurt will be guilt. Beneath the guilt lie rage and hatred. But do not stop with this, for beneath the rage lies frustrated desire. Finally beneath and beyond desire, is love. In every feeling, look deeply. Explore without ceasing. At bottom, love is." (Simply Sane, Crossroad, 1993, p. 87)

What do we do with all that love? If love is the energizing cauldron of emotion, how do we channel that energy into constructive rather than destructive actions?

Paul says today, "If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing." Love may be the underlying motivation for one's speech and powers and sacrifices, but if that love is exercised through rage and violence, it can become destructive nevertheless, as Moses learned.

The model for us is Jesus who transfigures human life and love. Today we see Jesus on a high mountain joined by Moses and by Elijah the prophet. Jesus is bathed in dazzling light. Jesus will take the energizing love of freedom (Moses) and justice (Elijah) and he will channel that energy in a pure and non-violent way. He will stand up to violence and injustice, exposing it and soaking-in its evil without giving it back in some violent counter-reaction. Instead, he will trust God's deliverance, and unmask wrong, forgiving perpetrators and liberating victims alike.

Love expressed through love is the transfiguring way of the Light. All other expressions of love must beg God's mercy.