An alert reader asks:

Why did you include all of those “non-churchy” things in your article about the 500th anniversary of 1517?

Answer:

Dear Kind reader,

Thank you for your perceptive question. We are called to love God and (like God) to love all that is good in the universe, from the diligence of the scholar to the courage of the Conquistador to the delicate colors of the rose.  This love is not a resigned acceptance of the whole world, good and bad.  This love is active, seeking to honor what is good and protect it from what is not.  We can admire an explorer’s courage without approving his cruelty. Distinguishing right from wrong may be hard, but God has given us clues in the Ten Commandments and elsewhere.  And it is good to know that God not only seeks to protect what is good, he seeks (by his unmerited gift) to make us worthy of what is best: life with him forever.  The church is an institution dedicated to helping everyone live into God’s gift.  That is what was meant by the suggestion that we reflect on all the many things that happened in 1517 to the greater glory of God.

Remember, this Sunday at 9:10am we continue to examine the catechism and ask what our faith asks and requires of us. We discuss these questions, not only in an Anglican context, but within the context of God’s creation and God’s Kingdom presence.

Henry VIII was 26 and already King. He would soon start his own “Reformations”. More to come…