Traci Smith, a pastor who shares a monthly blog post, wrote this past week, “Is it just me, or are we all on edge lately? We have a lot to be overwhelmed about. This is a very tense election season. The stakes are high. Everyone has an opinion they’re trying to boil down to 140 characters and a bumper sticker. People are talking past each other, calling each other names, un-friending, making threats: If you vote for him I will unfriend you. If you vote for her, don’t expect to see me at Thanksgiving dinner. It’s loud.” (It’s raucous.) Smith writes, “As one who loves to help children and families find moments of peace and rest in their busy lives, I feel like my role in the conversation is to simply knock on the door and say: “Hey there. Take a deep breath.”
Traci Smith goes on to suggest certain spiritual practices for a nation caught up in a war of words.
First, she recommends some intentional times of fasting from social and other media. Unplug. Disconnect. Turn off the television or radio. Leave the smartphone behind. I don’t know about you, but after watching two weeks of political conventions, I was ready to watch some sports or read a novel or take a walk in the woods. It is helpful to take a break from media, to shut out all those voices vying for our attention, especially those voices who are in the business of making a profit by garnering our attention and affecting our emotions.
Second, Smith recommends spending time in face-to-face conversations with others. The nuance of face time, with the recognition of body language and tone, is so different from posts, tweets and email. Third, she says, take regular Sabbath time for yourself, to think for yourself, to share with God with what weighs heavy on your heart, to listen for what the Almighty God may be whispering to you. And finally, she recommends, after doing those things, spend time making the effort to listen to others who think differently than you do. Such practices could help keep today’s discussions in perspective. Such practices could remind us to be civil, and to maintain, and even build, relationships across the potential barriers that may divide us.
These are tense times.
Matt McMahan suggested the other day that we have turned some sort of corner. In world events and national conversations, we have turned a corner we did see coming. In church life, we seem to be turning a corner as well. We know where we have been, we realize that the present is transitional, but no one can tell us where we will be in five or ten years.
It is natural when we are holding on around a corner to be filled with anxiety, fear, and tension. What is the biblical recommendation in such times? As Moses turned the corner to go back to Egypt to face Pharoah, to seek to free his people, the voice of the Lord cried out to Moses: Be not afraid. I am with you.
As Jeremiah turned the corner to enter into his calling as a prophet of the Lord, even as a young man, the Lord’s word to him was: Be not afraid, do not say you are too young. I will give you the words to say.
Joshua told his people on the eve of entering the Promised Land, at the corner of what was and what would be: Be strong! Be courageous! The angel said to Mary and to Joseph as they turned the corner into marriage and parenthood: Be not afraid. This child is God’s will for you. Jesus told his disciples when they left behind their former lives, when turned the corner, and began to follow him: Rejoice and be glad! even in those times when you will find yourself persecuted and reviled for my sake.
Challenging times, difficult circumstances, and yes, even persecution, are expected as normal consequences of following Jesus Christ. In the gospel of John 16:33, Jesus claimed: “In the world you will face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!” In II Corinthians 3:12, Paul purported: “Indeed, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”
In the biblical worldview, to face suffering because Jesus is considered a privilege. For the early martyrs who died for the sake of faith, there was no greater honor than to suffer and even die for the sake of the gospel message. Nearly all of the original disciples died a violent death for the sake of their faith. The martyrs of the first centuries of the Church were routinely rounded up and jailed. Some were fed to the lions in the arena if they did not pledge their allegiance to Caesar as Lord. Emperors like Nero, Caligula, and others were said to have covered Christians in tar, set them on fire, and use them as living torches to light their evening garden parties.
What scars do you and I have from standing up for our faith? When was the last time someone criticized you because you were trying to follow the path of Jesus?
Sir George McLeod helped found the Iona community in Scotland in 1938. The express purpose of the community was the renewal of the church. Speaking in Austin, Texas some years ago, the Scottish pastor claimed that his concern about the church of his day was that “there was nothing about it which made the world want to crucify it.”
Think about that.
Is there anything about today’s church that makes the powers that be want to crucify it?
My brother-in-law once said that if an 8-year-old doesn’t have skinned up knees in the summertime, he or she is probably not trying hard enough. It might be said that if an individual Christian, or a particular congregation, is not facing some form of persecution, literally or figuratively, for what they believe, for what they stand for, they may not be trying hard enough. I suppose it could be said that if a preacher is not ruffling some feathers or stepping on some toes from time to time, he or she may not be preaching Jesus.
To be honest, I am tired of conversations that break down every topic into an either/or choice. You are either liberal or conservative. You believe either this way or that way. You are either for us or against us.
My world and my thoughts are not that simple. Not every issue is meant to be boiled down to a competition and choosing up sides.
I wish that our political leaders and, yes, our religious leaders as well, would lift the conversations to a higher realm. Jesus often said “you have heard it said of old, but I say to you…” I wish more Christians would seek to raise the level of conversation above either/or, above liberal or conservative, above Democrat or Republican, to the higher plane of shared humanity, and to the higher plane of the righteousness and justice of Jesus Christ.
Most churches tend to lean one direction or the other. Some churches will focus on the righteousness aspect, right living, sexual ethics, moral code. Other churches focus more on the justice aspect, fair treatment under the law, justice in the courts, issues of poverty and wealth. But in the Old Testament, righteousness and justice, tsedakah and mishpot, are paired some 122 times. In the Christian church, there should be no separation, there should always be an emphasis on both justice and righteousness.
Part of being conservative, I suppose, is being concerned with righteousness, right living, as defined by Holy Scripture and interpreted by the traditions of the Church over the centuries. Part of being liberal is being concerned with justice, with the needs of the poor and the oppressed, standing with the least, the lowest, and the lost. I have never wanted to serve a church where everyone thought the same thing or voted the same way, as if such a church ever existed. I, personally, need to listen to others to gain a clearer understanding of what I believe. I need to hear other perspectives in order to recognize my own blind spots.
I remember an illustration my father gave 36 years ago during an election season. He said something like this: If you are conservative because you want to hold fast to and conserve the values and traditions of old, values and traditions that engender life and faithfulness and love of God, if you want to be conservative because you’re careful by nature, and value fiscal responsibility, good, so be it. But if being a conservative means that your fists are so tightly closed that you are not open to change or generosity, if being conservative means that you hold tightly to passed down prejudices or hold fast to resources with no willingness to share for the common good, then not so good.
If being a liberal means being open-minded, being aware of and interested in new movements of the Holy Spirit, if being liberal means generosity of spirit and of resources, good, so be it. But if being a liberal means a laissez-faire attitude about morality, or a lack of any respect for history and traditions, or running fast and loose with other people’s lives or resources, allowing things of value to slip through your fingers, then not so good.
The goal of Christian worship have never been to reaffirm our beliefs as Democrats or Republicans or even as patriotic American citizens. The task and goal of worship is to seek first the kingdom of God and God’s righteousness. The wording of our bicentennial goal for this congregation is no accident:
Every child of God – belonging to God and God’s people, engaging in Christ’s mission, and being transformed by the movement of the Holy Spirit.
Occasionally, what we believe and hold fast will be confirmed and strengthened by what we hear and experience in worship, but from time to time, as we sing hymns of faith, as we listen to sacred texts of Scripture, we just may find that our solidly held attitudes and beliefs are transformed by God’s grace. “You have heard that it was said of old,” Jesus said, “but (today) I say to you…”
The days of persecution for Christians have not come to an end, not even in this country of supposed tolerance and acceptance. Genuine loyalty to following Jesus Christ in this day and time will ultimately bring some form of persecution. So Jesus encourages us, as he encouraged his original followers, as he encouraged those who would lay down their lives for the sake of the gospel message.
First, he said: In this world you will have tribulation. As my follower you will eventually find yourself in trouble with the powers that be.
Second, he said: Be not afraid. Fear not, but rejoice and be glad when you are persecuted for my sake.
Third, he said: I am with you. I will always be with you, and even in the midst of strife and tribulation, my joy will be in you.
So, friends, do not lose heart. The slight momentary afflictions you may face for standing up for what you believe, or for allowing yourself to be transformed by God’s grace, are preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure. We look beyond what can be seen to what cannot be seen. What can be seen today, this year, is only temporary; what cannot be seen, the coming kingdom of God, is eternal and will last forever.
Amen.
Rev. Dr. Todd Speed
Decatur Presbyterian Church
Decatur, Georgia
July 31, 2016
