Bishop William Temple
11/6/2013
The Rev Roger Hungerford
I come to you in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit…
A central tenet of Anglicanism is via media where we seek the middle ground.
This concept is not about taking the easy way or compromising which means
everyone settles for less. Rather it is embracing a dialectic attitude where we
live and struggle in the midst of the tension of two opposing ideas or positions
seeking a synergistic solution that moves us toward the higher ground. Via
media involves accepting paradox and seeking solutions to dilemmas. Living in
the tension and seeking the higher ground is what true leadership is about. That
is where Christ is calling us to lead our communities. Truly living into via
media means that we, as a church, are going to be in the forefront of issues. We
will be promoting transformation. We seek to make the Kingdom of Heaven a
little more real in our world.
That is precisely what Archbishop William Temple did in the early to mid
1900s. As Archbishop of Canterbury, he lived and guided the Church of
England during times of significant social change – industrialization,
urbanization, and World War I and II. He lived and moved among aristocracy
and advocated and served the poor. He believed very strongly that every person
was sacred. He lived and promoted the social gospel movement. He advocated
for workers’ rights. He worked for cooperative efforts among churches and
denominations.
He was blessed with the ability to understand and clearly explain both sides of
an issue. As such he was an excellent mediator. But he was first and foremost a
proponent of sharing the gospel in very tangible ways. He shared the gospel
with his voice, with his hands and his political efforts. He believed in and lived
out the words we heard from Ephesians “that through the church the wisdom of
God in its rich variety might be made known to the rulers and authorities.”
Our lessons for today are that all people are scared and that we as we can and
where we are wewwerpo need to share the gospel in very tangible ways.