In the everyday world around us, including the media, it is possible to trace the hand of God. The movement of his hand is often surprising. We are experiencing a hard dose of divine reality therapy. The image of the church in mainstream Australian society is being reduced blow by blow before our very eyes. There can be no doubt that this is a time for the shaking of the foundations (Hebrews 12:25-29). It is God who is bringing to light things which have been done in secret (Luke 12:2-3).
To those who have not been “born again” (John 3:3) distinctions between the kingdom of God and organised religion, or between nominal and real Christians are hardly meaningful. What is happening before our eyes is that the meaning of “Christianity” is changing. It no longer conjures up respect, stability and morality. The church is no longer automatically perceived as one of the pillars of society. Perhaps this is how it should be.
Media sharks and opposition politicians have been circling the Governor General and former Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane, Peter Hollingworth, calling for his resignation. What is strung out for all to see is a sorry history of clergy and others who have perpetrated various sexual offences over a number of years which, it is alleged, Dr. Hollingworth failed to act upon appropriately. Meanwhile, on the third page of The West Australian newspaper (26/2/02) is a photograph of a Catholic priest being beaten outside a court in Bunbury in relation to indecent dealings with a child.
Typical of the back to front nature of the kingdom of God, that which threatens the reputation of the people of God can become the occasion for a spiritual transformation. As the privileged position of “Christianity” is put more and more to death, God’s purpose is that the presence of Jesus enter the void where our social standing and prestige once dwelt. It is a new time for the power of the gospel to be made manifest. But, this will only happen as we turn away from every other source of security to find in Christ the one and only true foundation (1 Corinthians 3:10-11).
Sexual abuse, by the nature of the damage it does to the victim and the high rate of re-offence by the abuser is a litmus test of the values and power of the gospel (Romans 1:16). Is the gospel of Christ powerful enough to bring both community forgiveness and healing to the offender? It is this sort of power to change lives (rather than buildings on the landscape or positions of privilege) that is the evidence that Jesus is the Son of God (John 20:30-31). When the “worst of sinners” become whole then all the world will be forced to stand up and look.
With respect to wider community, paedophiles and the like have become almost the last class of “untouchables” left in our broader society, people beyond forgiveness. Vilification against others on the grounds of culture, gender and sexual preference is no longer publicly acceptable. Prostitution also is practically legitimised. With few others to point the finger at, child abusers have become a concentration point, in some senses scapegoats, for a whole lot of repressed anger that needs a safe target.
Christians cannot entertain these attitudes. Jesus said: “Judge not so that you may not be judged. For with the judgement you make you will be judged”(Matthew 7:1-2). It needs to be made clear to the wider community by the body of Christ that there are no exceptions to the rule of God’s unconditional forgiveness. Whilst this does not mean naivety, it does mean compassion for the “worst of sinners” in our own ranks. The unashamed acceptance (not condoning or tolerance) of perverts and others within the Christian community will surely increase the unpopularity of “Christianity”. It is however only this attitude which can bring about a real revival of genuine Christian spirituality in our city and nation.
God does not have power to heal the deepest evil because he is “omnipotent”, God has power to heal even the deepest evil because he has embraced it, taken it into himself, overcome it and defeated its power in the cross (2 Corinthians 5:21). This is the action of pure love; it is this sort of radical intimacy that is able to heal the sex offender. And, not only the sex offender, but also all those relationally starved persons, inside the church and out, driven by their emotional deprivation, to seek ways of filling the void in their hearts, ways which are destructive both to themselves and others.
It is indeed, as some are telling us, a time for deeper humility, intercession and repentance. But these actions need an objective. Can I suggest that the objective comes into view as we consider our attitude to “the worst of sinners” and ask God to bring an experience of forgiveness to our hearts. Then, but only then, as we move more and more beyond the world of “Christianity,” will the church possess the radical intimacy of the healing love of Jesus where sin cannot remain hidden and the power of his presence to transform even the “worst of sinners” is released throughout our city.