Genuine recognized authorities and lesser self-appointed gurus often tell us to consider the big picture, we are, more often than not, advised to take the wide-angle views. So often this is right and necessary. Still, occasionally, we need to take a close-up shot, bring the focus in on a specific that has much to teach us about the whole, about the big picture, about those wider angles. The big picture today is The Sunday. The wide angle of the church's worship right now is this, The Sixth Sunday of Epiphany with its own set of Lessons and Gospel. Those beloved Beatitudes. But tucked into these next few weekdays are a series of what we in the Church officially and foolishly call "Minor Feasts and Lesser Commemorations". Those tightly focused close-ups show in real life, in real lives, and real deaths, what is at stake, what the big picture is really about as it shows itself in these smaller-screen lives of ours. Abraham Lincoln, Absalom Jones, Janani Luwum, and of course, not on the calendar but in the classroom and on the news often, that devout son of a devout Anglican Clergyman, Charles Darwin. Lincoln, of the four the one not an Episcopalian, not anything really, in terms of a denomination, but so much, so very much, in terms of a man of faith--devout, deeply believing, unembarrassed to speak of his faith in public and unsurpassed in how he did that, the way he phrased it, the words he used, words have endured down to this day and many of them as ringingly and memorably as the very Scripture itself on which so much of his passion for justice and mercy and forgiveness were based, that "malice toward none", that "charity for all" that he declared and meant, and would have achieved had he lived. Another of this week's heroes, also cut down, murdered, shot, is Janani Luwum, that heroic and fearless Ugandan Archbishop from those glory days when the Ugandan Church concerned itself with the great things of God and the not lesser things of cultural prejudice and political hatred of the West and American values. In 1974 Janani Luwum became Archbishop of Uganda at a time of widespread terror, unleashed by the madman Idi Amin, now exposed fully in that current movie. When tension between Church and state worsened in 1976, religious leaders, including Archbishop Luwum, jointly approached Idi Amin to share their concern. They were rebuffed. But Archbishop Luwum continued to attend Government functions. One of his critics accused him of being on the Government side and he replied: "My conscience is clear before God that I have not sided with the present Government, yet while the opportunity is there I preach the Gospel with all my might. I have been threatened many times, but whenever I have the opportunity I have told the President the things the church disapprove of." In 1977, after an arbitrary killing of thousands, the Archbishop accused the government of abusing the authority that God had entrusted to it. Amin accused the Archbishop of treason, and seized him for military trial. Archbishop Luwum was not allowed to speak at his trial, and in an eerie echo of another trial, Idi Amin concluded by asking the crowd: "What shall we do with this traitor?" The soldiers replied "Kill him now". As he was taken away Archbishop Luwum turned to his brother bishops and said: "Do not be afraid. I see God's hand in this." His actual end is unknown, the Archbishop's supporters believe he refused to sign a confession, was beaten and abused, and finally shot. His body was placed in a sealed coffin and sent to his native village for burial there. The following June, about 25,000 Ugandans came to the capital to celebrate the centennial of the first preaching of the Gospel in their country, among the participants were many who had abandoned Christianity, but who had returned to their Faith as a result of seeing the courage of Archbishop Luwum and his companions in the face of death. Well known to all of us, and treasured especially by our African-American members, Absalom Jones, first African-American priest in the Episcopal Church, ordained in my own Philadelphia in the late 18th century. Born a slave in Delaware, he tought himself to read the Bible, later went to night school for theology and after being ordained, by an equally irrepressible Bishop William White, Jones bought his freedom at age 37. Though a priest, all white churches were closed to him, so he founded St. Thomas, the first for Americans of African Descent. His faith in the Good Shepherd and his loving commitment to this very church of ours had, he declared enabled him to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds and obstacles. He personified the indomitable spirit later sung about, We shall overcome. And last of all Charles Darwin. A source of as much great science as he is of current controversy. The man who gave us a scientific understanding of creation that is usually and mindlessly believed to confliction with a religious account of creation. The Episcopal Church believes that the Theory of Evolution testifies to the Creator's glory and bring honor and further majesty to God. The teaching of the Church is: • Resolved, That the 75th General Convention affirm that God is Creator, in accordance with the witness of Scripture and the ancient Creeds of the Church; and be it further • Resolved, That the theory of evolution provides a fruitful and unifying scientific explanation for the emergence of life on earth, that many theological interpretations of origins can readily embrace an evolutionary outlook, and that an acceptance of evolution is entirely compatible with an authentic and living Christian faith. Bennett Sims, Bishop of Atlanta commented to the full approval of his fellow bishops, "If the world is not God's, the most eloquent or belligerent arguments will not make it so. If it is God's world, and this is the first declaration of our creed, then faith has no fear of anything the world itself reveals to the searching eye of science." Darwin's gift more controversial than the others three perhaps, but equally important and equally precious, is that this dear Church of ours has always been unafraid of truth, and always believed fervently that all truth is of God he is the source of all truth and all truth all inquiry, all human learning and knowledge--scientific, literary, artistic, homespun all points to God, increases our awareness of him and deepens our appreciation for him as we step back and murmur in rapt wonder, "How manifold are thy works, O Lord, in splendor thou hast done them all!" The four tightly focused portraits show the big picture of the full breadth and scope of that Episcopal Church--its mission and vision, its theology and commitment in vivid, lasting, indeed unforgettable ways. A church of Passionate commitment to Justice, with liberty and equality for all, with malice toward none, with charity for all, an indomitable spirit that will overcome all odds and obstacles, sins and shortcomings; a passionate and compassionate advocate for full inclusion and fearless, even death-defying, indeed death-enduring defense of justice and righteousness, and a fearless, honorable, serene, and grateful acceptance and celebration of truth all truth, whatever the source, whoever the Seeker, however it is revealed and wherever it leads. For it leads, says our beloved Church to God, the God of truth the God of Justice the God of Peace the God of the Prophets, the God of love. It seems that perhaps those smaller screens show the big picture as never before.