chad

I am often both alarmed and fascinated by the political machinations of the Church. It is a macabre sort of fascination as the Gospels are quite clear that political machination is not the job of the Church....the problem is as human beings in society we are very good at politics.

James and John in today's Eucharistic Gospel ask for favour from Jesus. The verses we are given offer a sharp contrast - first Jesus says he will be handed over to suffering and death and in the next few verses the brothers are hatching a political scheme to be in the political elite of the kingdom Jesus is bringing. I am always surprised at this point that Jesus does not throw his hands up in the air and say rather abruptly - are you just not paying attention to anything here....what have I just said....they are going to kill me.

But the desire for earthly power and influence is a powerful motivator for many people both inside and outside the Church. I am of the opinion that structure is a good thing for the people of God - we simply cannot all do everything and so levels of authority and skill keep us in some sort of order. It all goes a bit wrong when the authority and skill is used as power to hold back or oppress.

Chad, whose day it is today, was a Bishop in the 8th Century which both politically and religiously in England was a time of turmoil. Two great forces in Early British Christian life clashed - the Church of Rome and the Celtic Church. They were different in approach and style - although the underlying message was the same. The Church of Rome won out and Roman practices were gradually introduced into Celtic communities - although not always as fast as later historians would like to make out. It was not an overnight transformation and Chad seems to have held out against Roman practices to some extent.

Political leaders would also have been tugging at the monk and then bishop. In an age of rapidly changing political fortune the Church became an increasingly powerful ally to court. The temptation on its leaders was huge - promises of riches and safety could be bought with loyalty to a monarch.

Things have not really changed so much. Jesus challenges James and John by asking them whether they can be baptised as he was and drink of the same cup. Of course, they reply. We can wonder how often they later looked back on that conversation and how they felt about it as they faced the task of evangelism in a hostile and dangerous world.

The thing that characterises real Christian mission is that it knows where it comes from. The disciples today are still journeying to their real starting point which is the cross and resurrection of Jesus. The early British saints were often monastics, covering themselves in and around with a life of prayer and study - people with strong and deep spiritual roots. As an aside it is said that Chad would fall on his face in prayer during extreme storms to pray for his people - this might seem a bit extreme given the English weather but it is an interesting insight into how he really did see God in all things - not on some vague and romantic way but in tough and uncompromising spirituality which pressed on towards Jesus.

We are called to a mission that starts in the truth of the Gospel, not in a self-seeking politics. The truth of the Gospel is that we will be asked to truly enter into who Christ is and this might not be a comfortable place to be - but it is the right place to be - a place where God is in all and through all. It is hard to get trapped into power and selfishness when we develop this view of God's hand and God's love in all creation.