Bishop John’s Charge July 2024: Conformation versus Transformation

Bishop John’s Charge: July 2024

Conformation versus Transformation.

Romans 12:2

Do not conform, but be transformed. From being children, we to learn conformation. “Give me a child until he is seven and I will give you the man”. So said Aristotle. Formation and lessons in formation begin early in his opinion. We can argue about the age that might happen, is it seven, is it ten, is it twenty? But we can’t really argue with the process.

With more years under our belts, we develop a consistency that becomes ‘us’. Before the age of seven, kids try out lots of ‘new ways of being’, then they plateau and settle into patterns which feel right for them. We work out the boundaries of our existence, what we are and what we are not capable of achieving as humans and we live within these confines. We have a human eye view of the world. We have a limit to what we can do.

We see our limitations reflected in the lives of scores of people when we read the Bible. We see it in the surprise of an old man Abram and in the cynical laugh of an old woman Sara when God promises a son Isaac. We see it in Moses when he says he cannot go to speak to Pharoah, when he is tired exasperated again and again trying to lead the Israelites. Elijah just wants to die. Jeremiah is too young. Ezekiel, nobody listens to him, and so on and so on and so on, down to the disciples and Thomas’ unbelief - until I actually see this risen Lord, I won’t believe it, because in this world dead men do not rise from the dead.

But we also see time and again stories of conformation being turned into stories of transformation. The sick, the blind, the outcast, the greedy, the wilful, the careless the violent and hate filled. All transformed. Saul, who himself lived a strict Pharisaical rule of conformation, while on the road to Damascus, had the transforming power of God burst in upon his life and he was never the same again. So much so that here in his letter to the Romans, he urges us also to allow our lives, our very beings to be transformed, so that we too may live this same life.

“And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:18

Paul teaches that transformation comes through contemplation. Not leisurely contemplation of the scenery of life, but rather deep, reflective thought on this God who reveals himself in the form of the man Jesus, who empowers and dwells with us in the form of the Holy Spirit and who draws us as our Father into the kingdom he has prepared for us.

The good news is that transformation does not happen in a vacuum. It’s not a selfish act. Transformation we are told, makes us whole. We, not I, become the body of Christ, a reflection of his Glory in the world. Knitted together we become whole, presenting ourselves as a living sacrifice of love to the world. But it’s not easy. Like babies we have to learn to live within this body we call church, to function as a whole, to coordinate our movements and use all our talents for the glory of God. Together we grow into God’s likeness.

Somebody commented the other day, “Do you remember when you used to refer to your left and your right knee, now as you get older you refer them as your good and your bad knee?” It’s not always easy living in this body of Christ. We can feel conflicted or restricted just like we do in everyday life. But here’s the difference: my bad knees are getting worse, they are a sign of aging, they are not a sign of transformation they are a sign of deformation. A sign of the temporal nature of my physical body.

In the spiritual realm the converse is true. Those who with open faces seeking transformation can look to the eternal, a constant growing from glory unto glory, from better to even better. In our unity we can attempt to show the world an image, although poor one, of what heaven might look like. As Paul wrote to the Christians in Corinth, “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12).

It is our task, as the people of God, as a diocese, as ministry areas, as churches, to reflect to the world what we know to be true. If we have a Charge then we would find it very difficult to better the path that a transformed Saul suggests to us, reminding us that Christ is all and in all:

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in Glory.

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:1-17).