"Not the End of the World"
Luke 21:5-24
During the long, long months
of the political campaign, many of us looked forward to it finally being over. We were weary of the rhetoric—some of which
was hateful. Some people on either side
described in apocalyptic terms how catastrophic it would be if the wrong
candidate won.
The passages we heard today from Luke and Isaiah were
given to us by the lectionary. “When you hear of wars and
insurrections, don’t be terrified….Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom
against kingdom… there will be dreadful portents and great signs from
heaven….they will arrest you and persecute you.
They will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be
brought before kings and governors because of my name….”
By the time Luke wrote his gospel around 85 CE, the
Temple had already been destroyed, in 70 CE.
So for Luke’s readers, what Jesus says here is more a reflection on the
Temple’s destruction than a prediction of it.
Luke uses the destruction of this magnificent temple to make a statement
on the impermanence of human achievement and institutions.
“Don’t be terrified,” Jesus says.
En
After
the election, a few of my Facebook friends posted sentiments like “It’ll be
Ok.” “Your side lost—better luck in 4
years.” “Stop whining and move on.”
But
this time, it feels different. A lot of
people are afraid, because of things that were said during the campaign, and
because of the increased incidence of hateful harassment and intimidation since
the election.
The election results show how divided our country is, and
also how frustrated people have been with politics as usual. No matter which way the election turned out,
half of the people in the country would have been unhappy.
Even if your candidate won—no political leader is a messiah
who will save us, or solve all the problems of our society, regardless of what
they may have promised. Political
solutions are only partial solutions, at best, and they involve
compromise.
In
our time, we have such divisiveness between red and blue, rich and poor, rural
and urban. How do we unite and find
common ground and work together for the common good?
Both
Secretary Clinton and President Obama gave good speeches after the election and
talked about how in our democracy we value “the peaceful transfer of power” and
about the need for unity, and I commend them for that.
But
I think it’s clear that we won’t be able to just “move on” without some
significant work that leads over time to healing and reconciliation in our
society. That can’t happen without
dealing with injustices that have been uncovered.
There’s
a meme that’s being shared on Facebook that says: “Things
are not getting worse. They are getting uncovered.” This
election cycle has uncovered the racism, sexism, and nativism that has always
been present in our society but was partially hidden-- to persons of privilege--
in recent decades under the covers of political correctness and
multiculturalism. It’s painful for a lot
of us to see these “isms” more fully exposed.
We’re in a time of crisis. I’ve been reminded that the Chinese character
that represents “crisis” has a dual meaning that includes both danger and opportunity.
So
I wonder: what if we understood what’s
going on as not only challenges, but also as an opportunity? An opportunity for our society to change for
the better, to live more fully into a future in which there is true freedom and
justice for all?
Are we discerning a call for the church to be more fully the
church? Now, when I speak of the church, I’m not
speaking of church as a place you go or something you attend or agree
with. I’m talking about a beloved community in which we find love
and comfort and hope and challenge—and through which we are sent out to bring
the love, and hope and truth of Christ to a broken and hurting world.
So, what does it look like for us to be the church?
I’ve had conversations with some of you in the past few
days, after the election. Many of us
have been working to understand and to process our emotions, including fear for
loved ones and neighbors and for those who are most vulnerable. Some of you have said you want to do
something to make things better. But
what do we do?
In the days following September 11, 2001, our Muslim
neighbors had reason to fear for their safety.
So Littlefield and other churches and organizations in the community put
up signs on their doors that proclaimed, “This is a hate-free zone.” Because we let them know we were a safe
place, some of our neighbors asked to come in and pray, and they’ve felt safe
and welcome here ever since.
We’re being the church when we hold our summer Peace Camp
and when we host interfaith worship services to build bridges of understanding.
When we’re being church, one of the things we can each do
is to foster one or more authentic friendships with someone who is completely different, a friendship that goes beyond
superficial pleasantries to honest conversations about what it’s like to live
in our society as a Muslim or an African-American or a GLBT person. Develop a friendship that’s deep and trusting
enough that, during a tough time, after a crisis that affects your friend, you
can ask, “So how are you doing-- really?”
For me, personally, this means continuing to develop
relationships with people who are different, and also being in conversation
with old classmates, friends, and extended family who live in rural areas and have
never had a relationship with a person of color or a Muslim. It can be hard work. I think of it as a spiritual discipline to be
very respectful and patient with people whose political views are very
different from mine. Over the past
couple of months, I’ve had some Facebook conversations with friends from my
past that I think were significant, and hopefully transformative in some small
way.
Many
commentators have been observing how the level of civil discourse has deteriorated
in our society in recent years. It can
feel uncomfortable to talk about tough topics with people who disagree, but
it’s something we can learn and practice.
I think the church, where we’re commanded to love one another
unconditionally, should be a safe place to work on this. Could we do this—with God’s help?
I believe we
don’t have to be afraid. I believe the
words of our Presbyterian Brief Statement
of Faith: “In a
broken and fearful world, the Spirit gives us courage to pray without ceasing,
to witness among all peoples to Christ as Lord and Savior, to unmask idolatries
in Church ad culture, to hear the voices of peoples long silenced, and to work
with others for justice, freedom and peace.”[1]
So what are some practical ways we can choose faith over
fear? If we see the safety of a
vulnerable person or group in jeopardy, how will we respond? What are some hopes we have for the future of
the church? For the future of our nation? This is something we need to be praying
about… and talking about with one another.
Some of the
writers I’ve been reading this week pointed out that they needed to write their
weekly columns before the election results were known, but regardless of who
won, the gospel is the same. Our faith teaches us that God loves us with a
love that is greater than our understanding.
We have God’s promise that God will be with us.
The most basic commandment is to love God completely and
to love your neighbor as yourself. The
Bible exhorts us to “weep with those who weep.” It doesn’t say we get to judge whether they should be weeping. We don’t have to understand fully the depth of
somebody’s fear or grief to empathize with them and show compassion and
solidarity.
We are called to go out into the world, to proclaim the
good news. Our friends, our neighbors,
and our nation need us to be authentic, grace-filled, hope-bearing, truthful
people.
I believe part of being grace-filled people involves
giving people who are having a hard time the space and time to feel whatever
they’re feeling, whether it be anger or grief or whatever. We need to encourage one another in hope and
remember that even from prison, the apostle Paul was able to write, “I can do all things through Christ who
gives me strength.”[2]
When Representative John Lewis talks about his journey as
a civil rights leader, we hear a hard truth:
that the work of justice is not a sprint. It’s a marathon. As the Rev. Dr. Blaire Monie writes, “justice will not be won by one election,
nor will it be defeated by one election.
We need to double-down and stand on the side of those who are
marginalized by a society of privilege.”[3]
Blair reminded me of the wisdom of Reinhold Niebuhr, “Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved
in our lifetime. Therefore, we must be
saved by hope. Nothing that is true or
beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of
history. Therefore, we must be saved by faith. Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be
accomplished alone. Therefore, we are saved by love. No virtuous act is quite as virtuous from the
standpoint of our friend or foe as it is from our standpoint. Therefore, we must be saved by the final form
of love, which is forgiveness.”
Through the prophet Isaiah we hear God saying, “I am about to create new heavens and a new
earth. The former things shall not be
remembered or come to mind. But be glad
and rejoice forever in what I am creating…”[4]
Imagine it: God
invites us to be co-creators with God and one another. Imagine the possibilities, when we choose to
respond in love and presence, to find and work for ways to lift up the
brokenhearted, to do the work that will let the oppressed go free.[5]
Imagine a place where all are invited
to live in fullness of life and joy, a place where all can flourish, where all
can enjoy the work of their hands, where all can live together in peace and
wholeness.
We can rejoice because we are active participants with
God in this ongoing act of creation, as we work together to create a beloved
community in which we are all invited to live together in the fullness and
goodness of God.
Thanks be to God!
Rev. Fran Hayes, Pastor
Littlefield Presbyterian Church
Dearborn, Michigan
Nov. 13, 2016
[1]
“Brief Statement of Faith” of the Presbyterian Church (USA), 1991.
[2]
Philippians 4:13
[3]
The Rev. Dr. Blaire Monie, in a Facebook post on November 12, 2016.
[4]
Isaiah 65:17-18
[5]
Luke 4
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