Politics and St. Cross
As I was at Beach Mass for VBS last Sunday, I was unable to directly address the tragedy of violence in our nation. Such political violence as was witnessed last Saturday at a political rally is antithetical to the Christian life. Period! Always! And I am aware that the political strife that is felt on both sides of the aisle is compounding with every news cycle. St. Cross has long held to the understanding that politics cannot divide us. I don't disagree, and such relationships take time, listening, effort, work and most of all prayer. Not prayer for someone to believe as you do. Rather prayer to understand and see the humanity of each other. There is no greater work we can do for our nation at this moment than to care for our neighbor, no matter the color of hat that they wear. As I write that sentence, which some may think is trite, I would encourage you to google Heineken's beer commercial about bridging the political divide. Caring for our neighbor is perhaps one of the most fundamental political acts we can engage in.
Through the years I have had people remark that they don't want to have politics in church. I understand the sentiment, yet our faith absolutely should inform our politics. Jesus WAS political, to say the least. As we engage in this political season, as we engage the world around us as Christians, we need to do so prayerfully. We DO need to ask how our faith informs our decisions, or not. There is no right answer to how prayer and faith shape our political decisions.
I am urging all of our members as we practice faith and politics hand in hand, as citizens of the United States, to engage in some spiritual disciplines, especially in the next few months.
1) Prayer. Prayer for our leaders. Pray for our nation. Pray for your neighbor.
2) Listen. Listen to the concerns, hopes and fears of EVERYONE. Just listen.
3) Be kind. It is so easy to fall into righteous indignation, which only harms relationship. Be kind and honor the humanity in everyone you meet.
4) Love. Practice the way of love. Love your neighbor. Love always wins.
There will be more to come on resources that will be available as we move toward our presidential election in November.
Yours in Christ,
Rev. Rachel+
