Lambeth Day 1 - 7/17/08

Canterbury, England
Lambeth Conference 2008

After the first full day of the Lambeth Conference, it is the juxtaposition of two quite powerful experiences that impresses me the most. One is that of the singing in worship, both under the twin-spired blue tent that houses our plenary gatherings, and in Canterbury Cathedral where we are spending the first two and a half days in retreat, led by Archbishop Rowan Williams. Whether we are singing African chant or Anglican hymnody, the sound is tonally rich and exquisitely beautiful, its harmonies filling the vast space above and around us, lingering long after each voice is silenced. This common voice, comprised of more than a thousand voices, is deep and pure and secure, a vivid audio image of the power and beauty of collaborative response to God.

The second experience is that of saying together the Lord’s Prayer, something we do a number of times each day, and each in our native tongue. It is prayed quietly and humbly, as if no one else is present, and while it is corporate prayer, it is profoundly individual. Obviously, there is no attempt to find a common pace, no impetus for any consciousness of where the person next to you is in recitation. While it, too, is the sum of its parts, it is anything but harmonious. The result is an extraordinary sound, a powerful and deep rumble that grows to a tangible strength and then fades into silence. After the first couple of times, I simply listened and allowed it to overwhelm me like the sound of a subway train passing underground somewhere very nearby. I could make out individual syllables of languages I could not possibly identify, all moving forward in their unique and independent ways, carrying meaning that is held between the petitioner alone and God. It is one of the most authentic utterances of humanity I have ever heard, leaving my prayer focused on God’s infinite ability to hear individually each of the beloved and to treasure who each genuinely is.

The juxtaposition of these two experiences presents a powerful metaphor for the Communion and what God is continually offering us therein. By God’s grace we can be at the same time both uniquely different and woven together into a powerful and beautiful song. In this way does God value and affirm each one of us, even as we may appear a living contradiction to another, and bring us together in a harmony not of our own making, to be the very body of Jesus.