It was the spring of 1852. John Laing was nearing the completion of his studies at King’s College, Toronto. For four years he’d been working toward his Bachelor’s degree and studying for the ministry. He’d worked hard, he’d done well in his studies, and he’d given every indication that he would be a fine priest in the Church of England. With exams over and graduation just days ahead, only one task remained: he had to sign the 39 Articles of Religion. This document summarized the faith of the Anglican Communion. Signing was a requirement to both graduate from this Anglican institution and be ordained an Anglican priest. By doing so he’d signify that those 39 articles summarized both the Christian faith and his own faith. As I imagine the scene, the rest of his classmates had already signed. But John had found any number of reasons for delaying. He still had a paper to write. He still had an exam to study for. He was going to sign this afternoon, but he and his sweetheart, Eliza Smith, had decided to go for a walk and talk about their future. He’d sign tomorrow, or maybe the next day.
Why was he so hesitant to sign? Clearly he wasn’t sure that he believed all 39 articles. He wasn’t sure they expressed the essence of the Christian faith.
Maybe the problem was Article 21, which said that Church Councils can be called only by the decree of the Crown. That’s like saying that the General Council of the United Church can be called only by the Prime Minister or the Governor General. Perhaps he was beginning to think that civil authorities had no such jurisdiction over the Church of Jesus Christ.
Or maybe it was Article 37, which states: “It is lawful for Christian men, at the commandment of the Magistrate, to wear weapons, and serve in the wars.” Again, it could’ve been a question of the civil authority verses either ecclesiastical authority or the authority of one’s own conscience. Maybe one who is a follower of the Prince of Peace must reserve the right to refuse to participate in particular wars, or perhaps in all wars, regardless of what the Magistrate says.
For whatever reason, John Laing had put off the day when he would sign the 39 Articles. Until finally he could delay no more. He sat down at a desk in the Principal’s office. The parchment containing the 39 Articles was before him. The quill in his hand was poised over the paper. He couldn’t sign. This was not the Christian faith as he understood it. He placed the quill back on the desk. And in so doing he forfeited his graduation from Kings and his ordination in the Church of England,
Have you ever made a bold and unpopular decision? A decision, perhaps, that was contrary to conventional wisdom or counter to peer pressure? But you made the decision anyway. Because your conscience, or your intuition, would not allow you to do otherwise.
The people of God are called again and again to make such decision. Because, you see, our lives are guided by a Higher Authority: an authority above that of the opinion of our peers; an authority above that of conventional wisdom; an authority above that of even legislatures and parliaments. And a Christian has to follow the wisdom of that Higher Authority: as revealed in the scriptures, or the decisions of Church Councils, or one’s own conscience. That’s what John Laing did when he refused to sign those 39 articles, and he left the Church of England, and was ordained in the Free Presbyterian Church. Shortly thereafter, he became the second pastor of this congregation.
If Presbyterians have believed anything over the centuries, they have believed in the Sovereignty of God. The One who sits enthroned in heaven is the Higher Authority whom Christians are called to obey: even when the laws of God conflict with the laws of the city or province or nation; especially when the laws of God conflict with the laws of the land.
Moses knew about this; because of course the doctrine of the Sovereignty of God has its roots in what Christians call the Old Testament, written hundreds of years before the time of Jesus. Moses knew about the call of a Sovereign God to confront the civil authorities of the world when civil law is at odds with God’s law. That’s why Moses went to Pharaoh and said, “Let my people go.” He went to the King of Egypt, who had enslaved the Hebrew people, and said, “God has sent me to demand the end of your oppression and the liberation of my people.”
But before Moses could declare the Word of God in the courts of Pharaoh, Moses had to hear that Word. That’s what happened when Moses saw that burning bush. He was looking after the sheep of his father-in-law, when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. Turning to look at whatever it was, he saw a bush that was burning, but it wasn’t being consumed. And Moses said, “That’s pretty weird. I think I’d better get out of this hot sun!” But then there was a voice that said, “Yo, Moses; listen up. You’re standing on holy ground. So you’d better take off your sandals and get comfortable, ‘cause I have something to tell you” (see Exodus 3:1-5).
What God had to tell Moses was that Moses in turn had to tell Pharaoh to cut loose the Hebrew slaves and give them their freedom. And Moses didn’t want to do that. I mean, it sounded like a suicide mission. Not even God was willing to guarantee success. If you read a bit further in the story in Exodus, God assures Moses that the Divine Presence will go with him into the courts of Pharaoh, but God doesn’t guarantee that Moses is going to get out of there alive (see Exodus 3:12). No wonder Moses tries to talk his way out of this mission; this thing that God is calling him to do.
But you know what? If God is sovereign, then you can’t escape you’re calling. If God is the ruler of nations, the One who orders Creation, and the Source of authority over your life, then you can’t get out of it. To be sure, you can spend you whole life running away from that calling, and perhaps you never will get around to doing it, but it will bug you to the end of your days. You’ll always have this nagging sense that you’ve missed the boat somehow, that there ought to be more to life than there is, and you’ll find yourself wondering, “What would’ve happened if I’d done such and such 30 or 40 or 50 years ago? As painful as it might be to confront Pharaoh, or refuse to sign a crucial document, or do something that will be very unpopular with your friends or your family or your peers, the pain of not doing it is often worse. The fire of God may well burn within your conscience; but like that ancient bush your conscience won’t be consumed, it will just burn. For years it may burn. Until you say, “Yes, God.”
Jesus, knew a lot about making tough decisions. After he’d made a name for himself with his preaching and teaching and healing, he made a trip back to his home town. If he expected a hero’s welcome, he was in for a rude awakening. As he walked among the folks with whom he’d grown up, they all said, “Who the heck does he think he is?! The young adults said, “This is our old friend Jesus.” The older folks said, “This is the kid we watched grow-up.” And they all said, “What makes him think he’s got authority to preach and teach and heal?” Jesus could’ve knuckled under to the pressure. Jesus could’ve thought, “Oops; I guess I’ve pushed things too far.” But he didn’t. He had to do what God had called him to do. Just like you. And just like me. So he shrugged his shoulders and said, “No prophet is welcome in his own town.” And he went on his way (see Mark 6:1-6). Some months later he advised his disciples to do the same thing, when he sent them out on their own mission of teaching and healing. He said, “Do what you have to do and go on your way, shaking from your feet the dust of the unholy ground where you were refused hospitality” (Mark 6:11).
As I contemplate both the Laing window and today’s scriptures, I hear the Spirit saying three things to us:
First: Don’t be afraid to make tough and unpopular decisions; or, be afraid but do it anyway. Like John Laing’s son, the Rev. Albert August Laing, who pastored the Presbyterian church in Thornbury in 1925, when Presbyterian congregations across Canada were voting on whether or not to enter the United Church. A.A. Laing had made his decision: he was going to be a minister in the new United Church. 70% of the Presbyterian congregations – including Knox Church in Agincourt – made the same decision: they would ensure that the United Church had strong Presbyterian roots. But the Presbyterian church in Thornbury voted against church union. And Rev. A.A. Laing made the tough decision: he answered God’s call to go into the United Church, and he found himself without a job; because, of course, his own congregation remained Presbyterian. With no income, his four children had to be farmed out to relatives. One of those four children was Marg Walker’s father, Bruce Laing. Life was rough for a while.
But there comes a point in all of our lives when you got to do what you got to do, no matter how unpopular or rough it may be. So, first of all, when God calls you to go in a bold, new direction, don’t be afraid to make those tough decisions.
Second: If God is really sovereign, then sometimes you have to disobey the civil authorities. If God is ultimately sovereign, then the Queen isn’t; neither is the Parliament or the Prime Minister. Those whom we elect to positions of civil authority are servants of God (see Romans 13:1-7), called to carry out God’s law of justice throughout the land and peace throughout the world; called to care for God’s Creation. And when they fail to carry out that responsibility, and when they pass laws which hinder even the Church from carrying out its responsibility as God’s servants, the people of God may be called to engage in acts of civil disobedience. One thinks of Bishop Desmond Tutu, and Nelson Mandela and their followers disobeying the unjust laws of the apartheid regime in South Africa. One thinks of Mahatma Gandhi, having been greatly influenced by the teachings of Jesus, practicing civil disobedience against the brutal forces of empire in India. One thinks of escaped slaves in the United States, and their friends in the Underground Railroad, blatantly disobeying the Fugitive Slave Law in the 1850’s. Those slaves had said to their Pharaoh, “We don’t care if you let us go or not; we’re leaving.” And they made their way to Canada. One thinks of members of the United Church who are being arrested in Tiny Township, north of Barrie, because the provincial government has approved the creation of a garbage dump above perhaps the most pristine aquifer in Canada. They’re occupying the site of the proposed dump, in defiance of the law, because their faith has told them to obey a higher law, which calls us to care for God’s Creation. Our Presbyterian forbearers, who opposed Crown and Parliament when they heard their Sovereign God calling them to do so, would’ve been proud! Our ultimate loyalty is to the Cross, not the Crown.
Third: Those who follow Jesus are called to seek peace. Jesus, after all, is the Prince of Peace. On the night of his birth the angels proclaimed, “Peace on earth, good will to all.” I’m inclined to think that it was especially that 37th Article of Religion – the one that gave the Crown the right to force the Christian to kill his brother in battle – that John Laing refused to sign. I’m thinking that because of the presence of the dove in our window this morning; the dove of peace with olive branch in mouth, which is part of the Laing family crest. John Laing knew that the 6th Commandment says, “Thou shalt not kill” (Exodus 20:13). John Laing knew that Jesus said, “Love your enemy, and if anyone strikes you on the cheek, turn to him the other cheek” (Matthew 5:38,44). John Laing knew the vision of Isaiah that nation shall not lift up sword against nation; neither shall they learn war anymore” (Isaiah 2:4). And John Laing knew that the God who has commanded these things has authority even over parliaments and prime ministers and princes. Those who follow Jesus are called to seek peace; even if civil authorities decree otherwise. Those who have accepted as the Lord of their lives the Son of God are bound by their faith to seek the peace of God: between nations, between neighbours, and within themselves. Those who make the tough decision to obey the Sovereign God, especially in the face of injustice and oppression sanctioned by the state in the name of empire, are ultimately peacemakers. Because when the dross of injustice has been consumed by the fire of the Spirit, the gold of righteousness will emerge. Then justice and peace will embrace. Amen.
Reflections on Our Presbyterian Roots
Celebrating the Life of the Rev. Dr. John Laing
Text: Exodus 3:2
Preached by Bruce D. Ervin
23 August 2009
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