Day Thirty — Tuesday
Psalm 102
Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet unborn may praise the Lord.
19 that he looked down from his holy height, from heaven the Lord looked at the earth.
20 to hear the groans of the prisoners, to set free those who were doomed to die;
21 so that the name of the Lord may be declared in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem,
22 when peoples gather together, and kingdoms, to worship the Lord.
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams addressed the World Council of Churches General Assembly, Porto Alegre, Brazil, 19 February, 2006, speaking on the topic 'Christian Identity and Religious Plurality.' In his address, he first reminded the delegates that, as Christians, we identify ourselves by belonging 'in a place that Jesus defines for us' and that this place defined by Jesus shows us that 'the claim of Christian belief is not first and foremost that it offers the only accurate system of thought, as against all other competitors; it is that, by standing in the place of Christ, it is possible to live in such intimacy with God that no fear or failure can ever break God's commitment to us, and to live in such a degree of mutual gift and understanding that no human conflict or division need bring us to uncontrollable violence and mutual damage.
From here, you can see what you need to see to be at peace with God and with God's creation; and also what you need to be at peace with yourself, acknowledging your need of mercy and re-creation.' He also spoke about the role of Christ as the anointed king who gives us the power to accomplish what he asks of us and tied this to his point about our identity in Christ by adding: 'It can be put most forcefully, even shockingly, if we say that Christians identify themselves not only as servants of the anointed king but as Christ.
Their place in the world is his place.
By allowing themselves to be caught up into his witness and doing what his authority makes possible for them, in work and worship, they stand where he stands. The Christian Scriptures say that believers bear the name of Christ, that this name is written on their foreheads, that their life together is a material 'body' for the anointed king on earth.'