A couple of months ago, a Stations of the MDG’s liturgy was made available to Episcopal Parishes. It is an interesting service calling us to be mindful of the poor and hungry. Nothing wrong with that. The implication, of the timing of the release of this liturgy, is that it is for use during Lent. I have no real problem with this. The Exhortation to a Holy Lent, read Ash Wednesday, The Litany of Penitence and The Great Litany all recognize sin against God and sin against one another. A world where the haves have so much, and the have-nots have so little certainly knows sin. We should make good use of the resources at our disposal to live fully into Jesus’ vision of a present Kingdom.
That said, I have carefully placed the MDG Stations at the bottom of a stack of material. I will revisit them another time. I want Lent to be about “the days of our Lord’s passion”. Hopefully, our observance of these days will change all our days.
There are probably better times of the year to emphasize the MDG’s. For me, It is not about right or wrong, as much as emphasis.
A quote from the article might well illustrate the source of some confusion:
"There has been a little controversy about the Stations of the MDGs," said Luke Fodor, network coordinator for the church's relief arm.
"At Episcopal Relief and Development, we're here to just take care of problems. We're not interested in theological discussions or politics in the church. We're to take care of the least of these, and that's our mandate. We [at ERD] didn't create this; we produced it for churches to use as they see fit."
I would hope the relief agency of the Church would be a little interested in theology. Care for the victims of a broken and sinful world matters so much. Can’t we place this endeavor in a theological context in the life of the church? Ironically, the creation of the Stations liturgy seeks to do that, but the clash with Lent undermines the attempt. I love ERD. I love the MDG’s. I just wish we could execute this all a little better, and have it dovetail with the Gospel, rather than seem in competition. Maybe, it is time for a theological discussion? Or, if you are not interested in theological discussion, maybe, you should stay out of the liturgy business?
Stations of the MDG's
