Bishop James Mote
Perspective is a tricky concept at times. If you look at an object far away,for example, something quite large can appear very small. Whereas if you look at the same object up close, you discover how large it actually is. Time, also, depends on perspective. If you are at work waiting to leave for the day, time seems to just drag on and on and on. And yet, there are other dates that seemed like they were just yesterday and they were quite a while ago. So, it seems, with April 29th, 2016, we remember the Tenth Anniversary of the death of one of the true pioneers of what has come to be known as the Continuing Church movement. It was on April 29th, 2006 that Bishop James Orin Mote passed away. It is hard for me to believe that it has been ten years since we lost Bishop Mote. It seems like just yesterday that I was still in the company of Bishop Mote listening to his stories . . . . the same stories that I had heard him tell a thousand times before . . . but I would gladly listen to these same stories over and over again a thousand more times, if given the opportunity to do so. I was blessed, to say the least, to know Bishop Mote in his final years and to get to know such a pioneer of the Continuing Church movement. But more than that, I was blessed to know someone who truly was a Man of God, someone who dedicated his entire life to service of God and in the service of Christ's Church here on earth.
Bishop Mote was one of the original bishops consecrated after the Congress of St. Louis, when faithful Anglicans made the decision to leave the Episcopal Church. I would dare say this was not an easy decision to make for Bishop Mote, nor any of the others who made that fateful decision back in the late 1970's. Bishop Mote had been rector of St. Mary's Church in Denver, Colorado. He had been associated with that parish some fifty years. He first went there as a young priest and became curate of that parish when he was under the guidance of St. Mary's then-rector, Fr. Lehman. Bishop Mote would tell me so many stories of Fr. Lehman that I felt as though I knew Fr. Lehman personally. It's strange in the sense that now I tell stories about Bishop Mote in my sermons and talks that I give, and many people listening to me may get the same feeling . .. . that they knew Bishop Mote personally even though they never met him. We are affected by the people placed in our lives. People whom we have known . . . and laughed with . . . and cried with . . . and shared memories with . .. these people touch our lives; touch our souls; they directly or indirectly shape who we are . . . who we become. Bishop Mote certainly did that in my life.
Bishop Mote was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana. He was a faithful Anglican his whole life and had always wanted to become a priest. He was always active in church and would attend various liturgies and church-related functions. He served in World War Two as a chaplain's assistant. In fact, He was awarded the Bronze Medal for Heroism. The chaplain that Bishop Mote was serving under, along with Bishop Mote, stayed on the battlefield giving aid to the dying and also giving Last Rites to those who were dying. Despite the order to fall back, Bishop Mote and the chaplain stayed behind to give Last Rites to those dying on the battle field.
Bishop Mote was a true Anglo-Catholic. He attended Mass on a daily basis. He did this because he knew, without any shadow of a doubt, that Christ was truly present in the Body and Blood consecrated at Mass. He knew that it was there that he was close to Our Blessed Saviour. In my years of knowing Bishop Mote, this was certainly no different. Every day I would see Bishop Mote faithfully there at church, waiting for Mass to begin. In fact, I never knew Bishop Mote to arrive at "the last minute." Just the opposite, in fact, I would see Bishop Mote arrive an hour early, if not longer, so that he could pray and place himself in the Presence of Our Blessed Saviour. No matter how early I got to church myself, I could never get there before Bishop Mote. Bishop Mote always was there ahead of me sitting in his spot there in the second pew there on the epistle side of the church, meditating and praying before the Blessed Sacrament. So often, I would see Bishop Mote with his Rosary beads in hand praying and spending time with Our Lord and His Blessed Mother.
Bishop Mote often used the phrase, "Play Dirty and Pray!" Over the years I have reminded people of that saying, and many of the people that did not know Bishop Mote personally found that saying to be a bit peculiar and they may not know what he meant by it. Certainly, Bishop Mote was referring to the fact that when we pray, we have a powerful weapon. In fact, prayer is the most powerful weapon that we can ever possess. Because when we pray, we have the ear of God. When we pray, we are in contact with the Almighty. When we pray, we find ourselves in the presence of God Himself. And it is through prayer that we are in direct communication with Our Blessed Saviour. It is through this communication that we can voice our feelings to God, and we also hear what God has to say to us. So when Bishop Mote used that phrase, "Play dirty and Pray!," he was saying that we should use the most powerful weapon that we have, Prayer! Pray for yourself; Pray for others; Pray for the Church; Pray for the world; Pray!
Bishop Mote also showed me how to be a servant. When I was a newly ordained priest at St. Edward the Confessor in Indianapolis. I was scheduled to say two of the weekday Masses during the week. Very often on a weekday Mass, there would be no server. I remember when I was newly ordained and it was my turn to say the weekday Mass, I had no server. Bishop Mote came back to the sacristy and told me that he would be my server. For my part, I objected because I did not feel that it was right for a bishop to act as the server for a newly ordained priest. Honestly, though, the other reason I objected was due to embarrassment that I, as a newly ordained priest, might make some mistakes in saying the Mass. I felt that I could avoid all of this and just have Bishop Mote say the Mass and I would act as his server, which I had the distinct honour of doing so many times previously. Bishop Mote said in no uncertain terms that he would serve for me and I would say the Mass. This was not the only time that I ever had the opportunity to see Bishop Mote as a "servant." So often where there was a parish dinner or function in the parish hall, I would see Bishop Mote cleaning up the dishes or washing dishes. In so doing, Bishop Mote was imitating Our Blessed Saviour.
I was able to learn so much by knowing Bishop Mote. I feel that God truly blessed me by allowing me to know Bishop Mote in his final years. It is hard to believe that Bishop Mote has been gone for ten years now. I do not know where the time has gone. It seems like just yesterday that I was listening to his stories over and over again. It is said that we truly do not die if we are remembered by those who love us. This is certainly the case with Bishop Mote. All the things I learned from him . .. his attitude in life . . . his love of God . .. his service of God through the Church . . . his love of the Sacraments . . . all these things live on in me and I carry them with me not only in my life as a priest but my everyday life. Bishop Mote taught me how to be a better Christian and how to love God. This is certainly what God calls all of us to do: to lead others closer to God by not only what we say but also by how we live our life.
NOTE: If you look at Bishop Mote's marker at his gave, you will quickly notice that it simply says, "Anglican Catholic," and not "Bishop." Bishop Mote was humble and a true servant. Even in death, it says nothing about being a bishop . .. simply that he was an "Anglican Catholic."
