Faithfulness, for real

Fr. Frank Alagna, in an open letter to Presiding Bishop Jefforts-Schori (+Katharine has been recommending a "pause" in inclusion of GLBT folks, to placate the so-called "orthodox" in the worldwide Anglican Communion):

... [A] commitment to the requirements of justice and inclusion represent no less a strict understanding of the biblical tradition and the main stream of its ethical tradition. Justice is, in fact, the overarching ethic of the Judeo-Christian tradition. We are biblically taught, and similarly schooled by the best of the church's tradition, that there is no love without justice, there is no peace without justice, and there can be no real union or communion without justice. The fact that Jesus had much to say about justice and inclusion and was relatively silent about sexuality should always give us pause as we presume to articulate the gospel's non-negotiables.

I am of course thinking about "pro-lifers" and Republicans in the South Dakota State Legislature being so sure-footed on their particular moral pedestals. An honest political processes that promotes good values simply doesn't happen without dialogue and respectful disagreement. You don't have a monopoly on faithfulness just because your faith led you there and you proudly close your ears once you've arrived. After all, you may even be, well, wrong.