This past Sunday morning, I was Mr. Church. I attend a pretty big Methodist church in Summerville, and I was the lay liturgist for the 8:45am service. That meant I explained and read the Old Testament lesson for the day, offered the corporate prayer, gathered and prayed over the tithes and offerings, and even gave the closing benediction. Then I walked over to the Sunday School wing of the church facility and taught Sunday School to a class of 30+ people.
And I did a good job. The pastor complemented my prayer from the pulpit. A couple of class members pulled me aside to thank me for the Sunday School lesson.
Boom.
Spiritual mission accomplished.
Of course, by the end of the day, I had gotten irrationally angry with my five-month old daughter when she wouldn’t stop crying. Then I had started an argument with my wife over something that deserved more time and thought than I had given it. And I spent most of the afternoon, not in spiritual devotion, but watching my beloved Chicago Bulls get shellacked by the Los Angeles Clippers.
Then I came into class week and talked about Sir Gawain.
The tension between external and internal virtue hasn’t gone anywhere in the past 600+ years. Christianity demands both from its believers.
Good motives don’t sanctify bad actions; the ends don’t justify the means. And good actions done for the wrong reason are suspect too; the means don’t justify the ends.
The more I teach SGatGK, the more I sympathize with Gawain. He’s in no-win situation, and at least he’s out there testing his virtue, discovering what his weaknesses are and attempting to rectify them. The rest of those Arthurian jokers are hanging out at Camelot cooling their heels. They adopt the girdle, but do they really know the sacrifice Gawain had to endure to wear that symbol? Gawain is a changed man inside and out. Only time will tell if the knights have the internal virtue to match their new outward symbol.
So here’s my personal takeaway: Mr. Church on Sunday morning? Good deal. Mr. Church on Sunday morning AND Sunday afternoon? Even better.