To the Community of Saint Paul’s Church,
Today I read this article by the Rev. Lowell E. Grisham, retired rector of St. Paul’s Church in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Far better than my own, Lowell’s words speak to all of us during these times. The article appeared in the Northwest Arkansas edition of the Democrat-Gazette. I hope that you find encouragement and hope in his words.
“In church last Sunday, in-person and online, we read a portion of a letter from death row. The writer expects to spend the rest of his life in jail and then to be executed. And he’s just learned that two friends are fighting and creating a bitter division in the outside community that he loves so much. From this dark place, he writes:
'Rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to everyone... Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds.'
The writer is the early Christian leader Paul. He’s under profound personal threat and limitations, facing a corrupt judicial system. And the little church that he founded in Philippi is coming apart at the seams with divisions not unlike our Republican-Democrat polarizations. He tells his friends to 'stand firm,... rejoice,... do not worry,' and he tells them to be gentle with one another (Philippians 4:1-9). That seems like very good advice today in our world, buffeted with the pandemic, climate change, unemployment, racism and an atmosphere of division and mistrust.
In this election season, what if we made a conscious choice to think about things that are true, honorable, just, pure, pleasing, and commendable? What if, every time something negative or depressing seeks our attention, we choose instead to look for any excellence, to focus on anything worthy of praise, and to think about these things?
What we feed will grow. If we feed anger and suspicion, it will grow. If we feed goodness, it will grow.
With a bit of self-discipline, we can resist the voices that try to provoke our anger and division. We can put up a defensive radar and block the false values – the gods of pride, prestige, power and self-centeredness.
In another of his letters, Paul commends to us the fruit of the Spirit – 'love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.' And he asserts, 'Against such things, there is no law' (Galatians 5:22-23). How differently might we approach this election if we were nurturing our own thoughts and hearts by practicing these virtues and resisting the false values? Maybe, like Paul, we might become able to 'Rejoice!' in the midst of our own anxiety, challenges, and fears.
When Paul writes the divided church in Philippi, he doesn’t scold the two leaders of the conflict. From his chains, he writes, 'My brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord..., my beloved. I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord.' And he tells the community, 'Help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the good news.' He says that their 'names are in the book of life.'
Democrats and Republicans have struggled together in the work of building this great nation. Help these parties! Help them to embrace from their different perspectives the things that are true, honorable, just, pure, pleasing and commendable. If there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Jesus told us to 'love your neighbor as yourself' and to 'love your enemies.' To be able to love, we first must be able to recognize that we are related. Every person is a part of the whole. If the coronavirus has taught us anything, it is that 'We are all in this together.' Paul uses the image of the Body. 'The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I have no need of you'' (1 Corinthians 12:12f).
Compassion and empathy are gateways to understanding. Can we listen to one another in order to understand what each of us needs? Philosopher - Theologian Howard Thurman noted how Jesus 'could feel the sparrowness of the sparrow, the leprosy of the leper, the blindness of the blind, the crippleness of the cripple, and the frenzy of the mad.' As we approach this election, we need to have compassion and empathy for those who differ from us. We need to recognize and acknowledge their fears and anxieties, and listen respectfully in order to repair broken trust.
What we feed will grow. If we feed anger and suspicion, it will grow. If we feed goodness, it will grow. If there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
