Recently, several of us had an extended conversation after church, regarding church theology. Part of the discussion centered on comparing the Church of the Brethren and Orthodoxy on church hierarchy and power relationships. The comparison was not aimed at defending one or the other or proving one was better but exploring what we can learn from two bodies and traditions that are connected as part of global Christianity.
We also discussed knowledge—particularly theology and how we do or do not articulate it and how it is or is not woven into our practices. A new member of our community with an Orthodox background has begun reading about the Church of the Brethren. They noted that it seems that compared to many church bodies, the Church of the Brethren has rather limited formal theological writing. Delegates and representatives from across the denomination gather each year for corporate worship, fellowship, and discerning and debate of theological and biblical matters. Our Annual Conference statements are biblical and theological but often address very practical matters of drone warfare, ordination, or how we invest money. While we have written theology (in Annual Conference resolution, Brethren Life and Thought, sermons, and writings from our theologians, biblical scholars, pastors, and members), we also have embodied theology. Though we may often do our ordinances such as feet washing or love feast with a bit too much ease and not enough reflection, these practices are a form of theological knowing or embodiment. We learn what it means to follow and know Jesus through these and other actions of discipleship.
Our lectionary passages today (Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10; Psalm 19; 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a; Luke 4:14-21) all present forms of knowing, or are relevant for our joint work of gaining a greater understanding of God.
In the book of Nehemiah, the people are back from exile. They were carried off from their land and on returning are struggling to rebuild. Nehemiah, who has become an official in exile, returns with permission to evaluate and rebuild. This rebuilding is of physical structures such as the wall, but also of religious life. In our passage, the people gather for a reading. They stand and listen to the words of scripture. Upon hearing, they weep, but Nehemiah exhorts them to celebrate. Though grief and repentance are appropriate responses, this is also a time of joy. Not only did they hear the words of the law, but the teachers taught and explained.
So they read from the book, from the law of God, with interpretation. They gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading…And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law. Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord; and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
Here we have what we might often think of as church knowledge. There is the scripture—which is understood to be Divine communication. It is presented in a public religious gathering. And the leaders, who are identified by a particular vocation, calling, and/or professional religious training, teach and explain what is being read. This is not simply the transference of information, but the understanding is flowing mostly in one direction. Not only is the knowledge of God and God’s law spread through the community, but the position of the people and the readers is theological (as well as cultural in assumptions of honoring and practical in terms of literacy, availability of the text, and the lack of a sound system).
Our local and global Church of the Brethren family embodies and shows theological beliefs in many (basically all) ways. These embodied beliefs can be explicit or implicit and with varying degrees of intention. These include our official and practical ways of reading the Bible, how we define and practice “set apart” ministry, our manner of worship, and our relationship to matters of money and power.
The sanctuary of the Washington City Church of the Brethren was built in 1899 and has a raised platform for the ministers to preach from. However, within the last 10 years, we moved the pulpit down to the main floor. Traditionally, within the Brethren, there was a prohibition of a raised platform. The preachers, though with a particular task, were seen as part of the congregation. Our congregation also has stained glass windows, which were pretty fancy for Brethren at that time. Simple buildings were a theological statement of our relationship with and posture towards God and the world. Were our windows an example of theological extravagance or an ecumenical gesture in an urban environment?
Bishop K. H. Ting, a church leader and theologian from China, writes,
Doctrines are of course important. Their specialized language safeguards a message, a gospel—the gospel of God’s love for humankind…Doctrine is more concerned with matters of orthodoxy. It inevitably tends toward the rejection of any thought or faith alien to itself. Overemphasis on orthodox doctrine always leads easily to monotony, oppressiveness and lack of vitality. But love is lively and unrestrained, rich and varied, full of creativity. Love is the richest and most colorful spirit on earth. It is infectious, inestimable, unpredictable and incalculable.1
Within my DC policy world, the topic of China is ever-present. Questions of rise and dominance (and US hegemony), Asia Pacific alliances and arms race, and trade war meet me several times an hour. After having been in the Church of the Brethren’s Office of Peacebuilding and Policy (fka the Office of Public Witness) for a decade as of March 1st, one might surmise that my perspective is overly tinted by living and working “inside the beltway.” However, that the official church policy that I work within says things like, “All war is sin”2 and I work for a peculiar organization with both “Church” and “Brethren” in the name, makes the idea that I am part of the foreign policy establishment suspect. Even apart from my world of foreign policy analysis, I imagine that your news sources and feeds have a fair amount of US-China policy-related traffic as well.
From predictions of a “new cold war” to the prospect of a hot war related to Taiwan, or jousting over the trade war or human rights violations, there are many reasons for concern.3 As a result, over the past year or so I have increasingly tracked developments in US-China relations and have begun exploring ways for the Office of Peacebuilding and Policy, as a ministry of the Church of the Brethren, to engage constructively. As with any efforts of peacebuilding, there has been the need to understand the situation, the actors, and figure out where we might fit and positively work.
To do this, multiple layers need to be understood. These include, at a minimum, the following: Current and historical US policy towards China and China’s policy toward the US as well potential areas where positive efforts may be pursued (such as cooperation on climate change). Additionally, matters of cultural, regional, and religious identities and histories are vital. This also includes needing to know and be known by various political, nongovernmental, religious, and think tank folks in DC. Needless to say, the understanding needed is both important and probably endless. To gain a sufficiently detailed understanding will not come quickly or without the investment of energy and time in a variety of disciplines and even modes of understanding.
At times, perhaps often, the Church has prioritized verbally articulated theology. The early and later Church of the Brethren embraced being “non-creedal” or “no creed but the New Testament.” They did this because they felt that many Christians simply affirmed a Creed but were not in any way changed by this intellectual position. This was not necessarily opposition to the content of the Creeds but aimed to be an expansion to a fuller expression of following Jesus. In Jesus, we see both a proclamation by word and the inseparability of word from action. In Jesus’ inaugural speaking in the Gospel of Luke, he quotes from Isaiah, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”4
Let us join in the proclamation of God in word and deed!
Not only is the knowledge of God proclaimed by scripture and those designated by the community, but we gain insight from all of Creation. As beings also created by God we are co-discoverers and co-proclaimers of God’s goodness with the rest of creation. In Psalm 19 we read,
The heavens are telling the glory of God;
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours forth speech,
and night to night declares knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words;
their voice is not heard;
yet their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In the heavens he has set a tent for the sun,
which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy,
and like a strong man runs its course with joy.
Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them;
and nothing is hid from its heat.
The law of the Lord is perfect,
reviving the soul;
the decrees of the Lord are sure,
making wise the simple;
the precepts of the Lord are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is clear,
enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the Lord is pure,
enduring forever;
the ordinances of the Lord are true
and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey,
and drippings of the honeycomb.[efn_noote]Psalm 19:1-10.[/efn_note]
In Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and Teaching of Plants, Robin Wall Kimmerer describes the ways that trees communicate. Robin is an enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation and a Professor of Environmental Biology and she writes, “In the old times, our elders say, the trees talked to each other. They’d stand in their own council and craft a plan. But scientists decided long ago that plants were deaf and mute, locked in isolation without communication.” She goes on to note that there is now compelling evidence that the elders were right. Not only is communication possible via “pheromones…hormonelike compounds that are wafted on the breeze, laden with meaning” but forests are connected through fungal networks. These networks and communication seem to alert to insect invasions and may synchronize fruit “masting” as well as redistribution of energy among trees.5
In our Psalm today we read, “There is no speech, nor are there words: their voice is not heard: yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.” Though speaking of all of Creation and not only trees, we see forms of balance and communication when there is ecological wellbeing. We also see the presence of the Creating One. What some have called mute and merely resources to be exploited, are a joyful herald of God.
Let us join in this proclamation of joy!
In 1 Corinthians we read the passage on the “body of Christ” which comes in chapter 12. Much of the first part of the book and the context of the Corinthian church focuses on divisions within the Body. Factions and identities have formed around certain leaders as well as around approaches to living and sexuality. Indian scholar, Joseph Pathrapankal, writing the Global Bible Commentary, reflects on the divisions among Christians in India in a context of religious pluralism and being a religious minority community. He observes that, though the Indian church is well represented beyond its size in social-economic and health endeavors, its witness is undercut by many divisions—many of which were introduced by European and American missionaries who discounted many aspects of the indigenous Indian Christians who were there before they arrived.6
I cannot speak for other church settings, but within the Church of the Brethren the Body of Christ an image is referred to regularly. One might argue that it is a key text in our theology of church—in our ecclesiology. In the image, we see the church reflected as the Body of Christ. The physical earthly presence of the ascended from our sight Christ. The passage highlights the mutual nature of our ministry. Jointly ministering in unique ways in cooperation with our fellow travelers and Jesus. In it, the Body of Christ is made up of many individuals who have specific and important roles within the life of the church. Not only does this image and theology elevate and challenge the assumption that some (the pastor or religious professionals) should be the ministry service providers, but it elevates the work of those who may not normally be seen as elevated. Commentator, Boykin Sanders, of the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology, notes that some believe the listing of the gifts corroborates a hierarchy of gifts. However, he asserts that the list inverts the assumptions of the Corinthian church and levels the playing field.7
Like all written or oral communication, this passage uses certain literary tools to relate its theological point. The “Body of Christ” is a figure of speech that does work. The work it does is to describe and portray a rather abstract and esoteric theological idea in quite tangible and graspable word pictures. However, there are always limits to the use of figures of speech. We gain in vividness but such pictures resist closure—resist resolution. Differing body parts have differing work to do. There is not, however, a direct connection between ministry X and person Y such that Jacob = musician = elbow (guitar strumming being the connection). This also does not comment on if these various parts/ministry folk are volunteer or part-time with other gigs—given Paul’s writing on working for a living or being compensated for ministry elsewhere (as well as other historical and sociological data) it seems that very few folks would be doing this professionally as primary employment in the time of the New Testament. The image does not capture that many church folks have more than one gift or role within the community. People are more complex and have more functions than, say, a toenail. It merely says we are part of the body and that we shouldn’t try to be something else. As the little jingle goes from a video that our 3-year-old watches, “You can be more than one thing.”
I got thinking about this concerning the other passages, which deal with variations of knowing or knowledge.
Within organized religious structures the assumptions of understanding, knowing, and dispersing the knowledge have been heavily weighted and enforced towards people a lot like me—white, cis-male, straight, married, able-bodied, ordained, with advanced theological education. By officially or unofficially limiting who the church hears from we deprive the community the benefit of hearing all that the Spirit is speaking. To gain more understanding and to more faithfully and rightfully live, I need others.
The Body of Christ is made up of many members–the Spirit-led community. Each has an important window into the life of the Divine-the way of Jesus. This does not mean that we cannot reasonably disagree and make a case for a particular understanding or practice. It does mean that we can learn and gain insight—especially from those who often have been not heard or intentionally shut out. This community of Spirit-led Christ-followers needs all members to function well. We cannot minister well or discern well if we are not walking in unity.
Let us hear the Spirit speak through all!
Nathan Hosler is a pastor at the Washington City Church of the Brethren. For his employment, he directs the Office of Peacebuilding and Policy (the Washington Office) for the Church of the Brethren denomination. He has a BA in Biblical Language, MA in International Relations focusing on religion and peacebuilding, and a PhD in Theological Studies (working in theological ethics). Nathan likes to run long distances, bike commute in Washington DC, cook and try foods from around the world, and create and/or collect art.
- Bishop K. H. Ting, God is Love, (Cook Communications Ministries International: Colorado, 2004), 199-200.
- “War,” Annual Conference, https://www.brethren.org/ac/statements/1970-war/.
- Church of the Brethren Inc., the Annual Conference of the Church of the Brethren, Brethren Volunteer Service, and Bethany Theological Seminary have no official polity, policy, or statements affirming or condemining the People’s Republic of China (中华人民共和国) or the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). For more on the Church of the Brethren’s long history of missionary work in China and their current partnership with You’ai Care, see Fan, Jiayang, Peter Hessler, and Ed Caesar. “China’s Struggles with Hospice Care.” The New Yorker. Last modified March 26, 2020. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/04/06/chinas-struggles-with-hospice-care.; Kenley, David, and Peter Depuydt. “THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT: A SILENT RELIC FROM CHINA’S CHRISTIAN PAST.” Journal of Asian History 44, no. 1 (2010): 51–69.; Kenley, David, and Peter Depuydt. “THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT: A SILENT RELIC FROM CHINA’S CHRISTIAN PAST.” Journal of Asian History 44, no. 1 (2010): 51–69.
- Luke 4:18-19.
- Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teaching of Plants, (Minneapolis: Milkweed Editions, 2020), 19-20.
- Joseph Pathranpankal, “1 Corinthians,” in Global Bible Commentary, eds. Daniel Patte, J. Severino Croatto, Nicole Wilkinson Duran, Teresa Okure, Archi Chi Chung Lee, (Abingdon Press: Nashville, 2004), 444.
- Boykin Sanders, “1 Corinthians,” in True to Our Native Land: An African American New Testament Commentary, eds. Brian K Blount, Cain Hope Felder, Clarice J. Martin, and Emerson B. Powery, (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2007) 297.