"A Miracle Has Occurred"

Tonight I'm working my fingers to the bone over at The Episcopal Majority, trying to capture the responses to the bishops' statement in the aftermath of Tanzania. Naturally, I'm trying to capture the giants of the blogosphere. But I have some friends helping me. And one of them pointed me to a blogger I had never seen before. Reflecting on the bishops' meeting, s/he said:

And oh my heavens, what a discussion that must have been. Tonight they issued four resolutions, a brief letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Primates' Standing Committee, and then a long statement that is so powerful, so moving, so stirring, so Declaration of Independence-y, so full of the Gospel ... I can't even describe it, but it's SO worth reading, even if you're not Episcopalian but simply appreciate good rhetoric. I tell you, a miracle has occurred . . . .

You know, there have been times in the last few years where I've almost thrown in the towel, where I've come close to deciding that church causes more grief than it alleviates, that any human institution is so inevitably and deeply flawed that one should simply avoid as many of them as possible and therefore being part of a church is just an invitation for heartache and disillusion. But sometimes, people can surprise you, and sometimes a group of people can actually fulfill the promise of Church. Sometimes miracles happen.

"A miracle has occurred." That's how I feel tonight. If the bishops of our church really do live up tomorrow to the words they issued tonight .... It will have been a miracle.