Called to Serve

The Brotherhood of Saint Gregory is a Christian Community of The Episcopal Church, its Communion Partners, and the worldwide Anglican Communion, whose members follow a common rule and serve the church on parochial, diocesan, and national levels. Members — clergy and lay, without regard to marital status — live individually, in small groups, or with their families. They support themselves and the community through their secular or church-related work, making use of their God-given talents in the world while not being of the world. The trust that all labor and life can be sanctified is summed up in the community’s motto: Soli Deo Gloria, To God Alone the Glory.

Flexibility is crucial in the ministry of the Brotherhood. Each member is encouraged to develop his gifts and talents under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the care and direction of the community. Brothers work in parishes as liturgists, musicians, librarians, artists, visitors to the poor and the sick, administrators, sextons, teachers, guild members, and clergy. On diocesan and national levels, brothers serve in a number of administrative and pastoral capacities. Many of those in secular employment continue the servant theme, and work as teachers, nurses and administrators. The aim is always to follow Saint Gregory the Great as “servants of the servants of God” — whether in church or society.

Read the Brotherhood’s quarterly newsletter, The Servant

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Revisiting John 4

by Tobias Stanislas Haller, BSG

The story of the Samaritan woman in the fourth chapter of John’s Gospel has [recently] formed a part of the readings at Evening Prayer... This has led me to reflect once again on that curious middle: the question of the woman’s husbands.

I have long felt that when Jesus says, “The one you have now is not your man,” he is referring to himself.

Most of the commentaries put the focus of this section of the encounter on the woman and her moral status. Arguments are raised as to whether the rabbinic “three husband rule” applied to Samaritans — or even if it was a rule. Allegorical interpretations also come to play: reflective of a supposed pantheon of five Samaritan deities — the sixth being the God of Israel imperfectly accepted. Even further afield an allegory of the five senses as opposed to the sixth sense of the Spirit has been suggested.

All of this seems rather far from what appears to me to be going on in this encounter. First of all, this is John’s Gospel — an intense theological work rather than a mere historical record. In addition, certain key words and phrases with emphatic meanings in John’s language show up in the passage in question — not just in the part about the husbands, but throughout the pericope. Crucial among these words is one used by Jesus in his response to the woman: Now.

Second, the whole passage is about Jesus — note how he keeps turning the conversation back to himself. In a way it reminds me of the joke about the actor at the cocktail party, who after going on and on about himself, finally says to his host, “But enough about me. What did you think of my performance?” On this ground alone a detour-with-badinage into the woman’s marital life seems quite beside the point if in the end it does not turn back to Jesus — as do the surrounding passages that make up this dominical sandwich.