Edward King, Bishop of Lincoln

March 8th — Today marks the commemoration of Edward King, bishop of Lincoln, in the Church of England,  who died on this day in 1910. I have had a lifelong fascination with saints from the time I was a child, but I can’t honestly say that I would want to meet some of them face to face. There is a joke among the Jesuits that there is no fear in death of the judgement of God — but meeting their founder, St. Ignatius Loyola is an entirely different matter. When it comes to Bishop Edward King, his saintliness was not reflected in the way he felt or thought, but in the way he lived. Everywhere I turned in my search for Edward King, something new was revealed so for me he became very human, very enfleshed. He loved dancing, fishing, swimming and horseback riding. How wonderful it would have been to be one of students at Cuddesdon College or Oxford. He believed wholeheartedly in commending both work and play to God. Edward was an average student, which may be one way that he was able to reach and inspire so many. His academic challenges and his pure enjoyment of living may have helped to cultivate in him a humility and a love for others. He prepared his students for the priesthood in the contemporary world by encouraging them to reach back to the past, to the early Church Fathers like Ambrose, Basil and Gregory the Great and to read the sermons of Augustine and Bernard. This was  important foundational work,  But nothing was as important as a life rooted in prayer, and a deep compassion for others.  He is described by  one writer as “the most loved man in Lincolnshire.” This wasn’t because of his long list of credentials or his teaching. He was loved because he practiced what he taught, reaching out to those who were on the margins, even comforting the condemned in prison and advocating for the voiceless of his day.
Bishop Edward King lived a simplicity that is reflected in the prayer offered by Jesus in Matthew’s gospel. Some  refer to it as the “Lord’s Prayer” and others call it “The Our Father” but regardless of what we choose to name it, Jesus is reframing what it means to be in relationship with God, what it looks like when people live in obedience to the two great commandments to love God and love one another. Notice that he prefaces this prayer by telling his listeners what prayer  doesn’t look like. This pattern actually runs throughout much of  Chapter 5 in Matthew’s gospel, “You have heard that it was said…” but you heard wrong, or somehow the teaching had been mishandled or distorted along the way. And in Chapter 6 he begins by telling  his followers what prayer does not look like. It isn’t about making a spectacle, “so that they may be seen by others.” It is about praying “to your Father who is in secret.” In the actual gospel passage that was read today Jesus counsels his listeners to avoid using many words, “as the Gentiles do” when they are praying.  Keep it simple. On the surface it almost seems that Jesus is saying that there is a danger in public worship and in liturgies.  What is it about private prayer and an economy of words that places us more authentically before God? Maybe the real clue lies in his advice about giving alms, “do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.” The temptation is always present in us to look at ourselves in an effort to  curate our actions and our words, especially in relation to others, even when those actions and words are  directed to God.  Sometimes it springs from insecurity, and sometimes from a competitiveness but either way it can be toxic. 

In Jesus’ prayer the word “temptation” is sometimes used — “lead us not into temptation.” And in the New Revised Standard Version we read “do not bring us to the time of trial.” Many say, ‘well that can’t be right, God would not bring anyone to the time of trial.’ This is true that God would not bring anyone to ruin. God would not bring us to adultery, murder, stealing or any number of sins. Some other sin has to happen before any of these can be manifested in the human heart. The desire for God can morph quite easily into the desire for one’s own reflection. That fire that burns for God, without vigilance can consume us with the lust  for riches. Artists have a name for this in the world of graphic animation — it’s called an uncanny valley, somewhere that is not quite real and not quite synthetic. When a person finds themselves there, it is easy to fall prey to one’s own delusions of grandeur, even spiritual grandeur. Perhaps this uncanny valley is closer to the idea of a valley of the shadow of death because it is difficult to see the potential for danger. After all, how could attending Services, saying the Daily Office or helping the poor lead us into a time of trial? And yet, the psalmist reminds us of our dependence on God alone to be “saved from every trouble. ” Jesus tells us that one’s intention matter, what is in the heart matters. We need only look to the gospels collectively to see that Jesus considers spiritual transgressions the most egregious of all, and the source of so much injustice. 

That is what is so remarkable about Bishop Edward King. His generosity of spirit, we are told through the writings of those who knew him, was without guile and he was devoid of political acumen.  He was unattached to outward rituals, but was willing to conform to the religious practices of parishes that he visited. He was indifferent to form as long as prayer and the eucharist remained central to  the worship of God. In this case, that focus on God above all other things brought him to his own time of trial in the Church of England. He was tried in a church court for some traditional catholic practices that are quite common in the Anglican communion today. In the end Edward King was, thankfully vindicated, though this was not always the outcome for some in the past. The saints, the ones who put God first even before their own reputation, have found themselves humiliated, condemned and even destroyed in the court of human beings. And we have seen in these most recent days that the ones who put themselves first are more than happy to kiss religious icons and commit terrible crimes. 

May God grant us during this season of Lent the grace and strength to weather temptations and live in his love. Amen.