Guardian or Steward...

It seems that people of faith generally position themselves in one of two groups.  One could be called the “Guardians of Orthodoxy.”  The word “orthodoxy” means “right belief,” so the guardians of orthodoxy guard or protect what they consider right belief.  Call the beliefs doctrines, distinctives, creeds, or statements of faith.  Whatever else they may be, they are theological lines in the sand beyond which the guardians and the adherents will not step.

            Sooner or later emerge those who are chief among the guardians of orthodoxy.  They might be called theologians, dogmatists, popes, bishops, or the ordained.  These chief guardians station themselves along a precept perimeter to defend the doctrine. Those inside the prescribed perimeter who begin to inquire about issues beyond the perimeter are quickly corrected.  If they, in fact, step over the theological line in the sand, they might be called heretics, apostates, extremists, or unbelievers.  Persistent inquiry beyond the perimeters of orthodoxy might result in expulsion from the group.   Such expulsion has been called excommunication, “churching,” or “turning out.”

            Persons who are outside the guarded fence lines of “right” belief may be called pagans, infidels, the unchurced, or the unsaved.  If they agree to the right belief of those on the inside, they are allowed to become adherents; if not, they are doomed.

            While guardians of orthodoxy might be needed, the big question is this: Who defines what is right belief?  A fundamentalist Baptist in south Alabama would draw her lines in the sand very close in, while a liberal Episcopalian from Boston might draw his lines in wider, more inclusive arcs.  A modernist believer from California will have vastly different belief perimeters than a traditionalist believer on the East coast.  Who defines orthodoxy?  Who sets up the belief perimeters?

            Well, I don’t know who defines orthodoxy.  I know how I define it for me, but another’s faith statements will be different.  The danger and the temptation is that we begin to argue about the orthodoxy and miss a deeper relationship with the One about whom we formulate our beliefs.  Or, worse, as we debate orthodoxy, we forget orthopraxy—right practice.  In other words, we behave badly while arguing about what is right and wrong belief.

            While I don’t have a final answer to the dangers of being a guardian of orthodoxy, I have found a more satisfying way to live my faith.  I choose to be among the second group of believers.  Rather than being a guardian of orthodoxy, I’m trying to be a “Steward of the Mystery,” as the Apostle Paul admonished the Corinthian Christians.  

The Mystery is…well…I don’t really know, because if I could define the Mystery, the Mystery would no longer be a mystery. I can say that I have experienced the Mystery.  I can say that I have particular beliefs about a special revelation of the Mystery whom I try to follow.  I can also say that I feel my calling is to be a good steward or manager of the Mystery.  I confess that I often fail what I perceive my calling to be, but part of the Mystery is the wonder of grace.

            Stewards of the Mystery do more gazing than guarding, less mastering of the Mystery and more musing about it.  You won’t find a steward of the Mystery standing guard along a fence line of doctrine.  You might find him or her sitting on a hillside gazing at a sunset.  Rather than protecting a precept perimeter, you might find a steward of the Mystery pondering the questions of suffering or wondering about the miracles of life.  A steward of the Mystery may be found looking into the face of another human being and finding there a hint, a slight reflection, of the Mystery itself, so that the other person becomes one who teaches rather than one who needs to be informed and then corralled into the perimeters of orthodoxy.

            A guardian of orthodoxy tries to protect “right” belief, while a steward of the Mystery pays attention.  A guardian of right belief stands guard in fear of encroachment into or escape out of the perimeter, while a steward of the Mystery ponders the obvious.  Maybe the Mystery doesn’t draw lines in the sand but draws persons into the Mystery’s presence in order to give joy, strength, courage, and hope.

            The Mystery will provide the protection, do the drawing, decide the doctrine, and guard the Mystery’s own.