As a theology nerd, I have some favorite “theological sentences.” Among them are these: “the cross is steady while the world turns;” and “God is the difference beyond all difference.”
Linn Marie Tonstad
First, “the cross is steady while the world turns.” These words form the motto of the Order of the Carthusians, a religious community in the Roman Catholic tradition, founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084. Then the second, “God is the difference beyond all difference.” These words were written a few years ago by the Yale theologian Linn Marie Tonstad, and they have become personally and academically very important to me.
During my time in education chaplaincy, I began a Ph.D. on how a chaplain in a religiously and culturally diverse school might articulate what it means to be a Christian whilst caring for persons of different faiths and, furthermore, a variety of walks of life. Tonstad’s work has had a profound effect on the academic and church world in how we talk about difference in identity and spirituality. And her writing has informed much of my own work especially as I transition back to parish life while continuing my studies. For, difference in faith and spirituality, and difference generally, is not confined to chaplaincies or educational institutions but is evident even among communities which profess a shared creed, and especially, to use that word again, in times of transition. And I think this is something to hold onto.
Thus, I find myself overjoyed and full of gratitude following our parish’s annual meeting last Sunday. Getting to share a room with friends in such a celebratory and hope-filled way was beyond a gift. We celebrated the gifts and joys of a community which truly cares for one another. We looked ahead to the future with aspiration. And indeed, we continually give thanks for a community which has navigated immense transition with compassion, grace, and hospitality.
Of course, amidst such celebration, like many others I have also been personally impacted by the anxiety and uncertainty of what is happening in the wider world in recent times. And I hasten to add that this not political statement as such; for I know, following conversations I’ve had in our parish over the last few weeks, that, for all of us, regardless of where we follow the lines, this is not an easy time. Especially as someone who, again like many, lives a life which occupies and attends to multiple countries, identities, and vocations—being a priest is complicated—I would go so far to say that the word “transition” denotes not so much a passage in life, but a description of the way life just always is.
So, this brings me back to my two theological sentences: “the cross is steady while the world turns;” and “God is the difference beyond all difference.” One of the greatest gifts that a community like ours can offer is to be a place where, first and foremost, our attention is on God, and our worship of that God, through which we can begin to understand, speak, but more importantly live what it means to find stability in an ever-changing life. And second, to be a place where we allow that very God to remind and show us continually that difference, even transition, is not always a problem but is always a reality. And one which, in itself, both reflects and attests to the difference that is our shared life in the heart of a God who is transcendent and goes beyond all difference, yet who is intimately present to us and in the midst of our shared lives.
The Rev. Edward Thornley
Rector of The Episcopal Parish of St. John the Evangelist