Blog by the Rev. Dr. Neil Mancor , June 2nd 2020

As if 2020 couldn’t get any stranger – and we are only half-way through. There is a palpable sense of outrage at witnessing a historic Church and a Bible being used for a political stunt in ways antithetical to their true purpose and meaning. Then a rare but powerful rebuke from a Bishop to a President and the words ring out all over the world: I am outraged.

Rarely do words like “blasphemous” and “abomination” ring as true as they do right now. One of the reasons we read the Scriptures is because they are God’s living word to us. As Anglicans, we do not pretend to understand every word of the Bible or how it all applies to us and our lives. Indeed we struggle together to make meaning of the sacred text. We do not hold fast onto literalistic readings that turn theological story into established fact. But we do love the Scriptures. We read them with devotion at every service. We preach them with passion and (hopefully) intelligence at every service. We study and seek to draw out their meaning. But we do not misuse them.

Over the weeks of the pandemic I have been blessed to be involved in regular Bible studies throughout the week. It has been a joy to gather with other believers to open God’s Word and find nourishment for the journey. For me, the Scriptures are an essential part of my life of prayer, for it is in the Scriptures that God is revealed to us through Jesus Christ. Pressing into this God helps make sense of my life and this world and this time we are in. There is a purity and beauty about the Scriptures. Psalm 19 says The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous. The Scriptures are magnificent, pure and righteous. They are a source of all that is good and right.

Which is why it was such a gut wrenching thing to see a Bible being waved around as a political stunt. Truly an abomination. All the more because that same holy text boldly declares that all humankind is created in the image and likeness of God and an African American man was murdered. His name is George Floyd. He was created in God’s image and the texts we call sacred demand justice.