Two roads diverge

Two conventions took place last week. 

The first, the Republican National Convention (RNC), convened with no discussion of aspirational party platform, instead endorsing the actions and agendas of President Donald Trump.

The speakers’ list included a couple who gained national notoriety for brandishing guns at a protest group, and the Secretary of State, speaking in apparent defiance of the Hatch Act and his own express directions to Department of State employees.

While much of the convention was virtual, the President’s acceptance speech on the White House lawn stirred concern from ethics advisors and election watchdogs.

The other convention, also virtual, had far less publicity. The Convention on Founding Principles (CFC) was pulled together very quickly and ran concurrently with the RNC, from Monday to Thursday evening.

 

While the RNC affirmed no platform, the highlight of the CFC was a statement of principles,

hammered out as the convention began by delegates from across the country. The goal was to reclaim and restate principles that once enlivened the Republican party. The conveners were primarily Republicans stepping away from their party’s continued support of Donald Trump. Their declaration of principles begins with a rejection of  that direction: 

For too long our politics, and the Republican party specifically, have abandoned the principles on which our nation is built. The health and prosperity of our free society depends on its principles, and leaders who endeavor to live up to them. When our leaders fail to honor these foundational ideals, it is incumbent upon the citizens to reaffirm our commitment to them, and to hold the powerful to account.

The full declaration includes 13 statements that echo words of the Declaration of Independence, but clarifying their meaning for the 21^st century. 

• We explicitly condemn racism, including white supremacy.
• We support measures that ensure the accountability of those who execute the powers of government, including law enforcement and those who hold elective office.
• We support measures that strengthen electoral competition, such as fair redistricting and ranked-choice voting.
• The government must ensure that our electoral system is protected against interference not only by foreign actors such as Russia or China, but against potential domestic interlopers as well.

Reading through the principles, I found myself saying YES!

• Separation of powers.
• Affirmation of checks and balances.
• independent judiciary.
• Seeking truth and embracing facts.
• Insistence on integrity, honor and service.
• Welcoming all people seeking safety.
• Rejection of cruel, inhumane treatments such as family separation, child imprisonment, and denial of aid. 
• Promotion of free trade and an end to cronyism, isolationism, and trade wars that hurt small business, labor, and consumers.
• Prudent spending and reduction of the national debt.
• Responsible management of our public finances, lands, the environment, and natural resources.
• Commitment to sustain and conserve our natural resources, and protect the environment.
• Affirmation of free speech and free press.
• Fact-based policies that promote public health and safety, including the assurance of basic healthcare for our most vulnerable. 

As one branch of the Republican party has careened away from principles into a cult of personality, this group courageously insists on integrity, compassion and rule of law, and on country over party.

 

One of the speakers was Charlie Dent, seven-term Republican Congressman from Pennsylvania. In 2017, he chose not to run again, citing toxic polarization in Congress. He recently endorsed Joe Biden, saying

This isn't about left or right. It's about right or wrong, stability vs instability, security vs insecurity, normal vs abnormal. . . . I never thought in my wildest dreams a Republican president would be up there defending the confederacy or confederate symbols. It's just beyond belief for me.

Dent repeated some of the same points on the first night of the CFC, lamenting the harm done to our economy and national security by our president’s infatuation with power:

Diplomacy, defense and development are all essential to advance our interests. Our country has been a beacon of hope to people throughout the world. It’s up to us to maintain that vision of inclusion. But that is something we’ve lost.

Other speakers included 

• Former BI Director James Comey, fired by Trump in May 2017
• Former CIA director Michael Hayden
• Former US Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez
• Former Republican Governor of New Jersey Christine Todd Whitman
• Former Chair of the Republican National Committee Michael Steele
• Former Republican Congressman from David Jolly

John Kingston, who ran as a Republican candidate in 2018 for the US Senate seat held by Elizabeth Warren has since founded Christians Against Trumpism & Political Extremism.

I’ll be returning to convention speakers in the weeks ahead as I work through issues of concern to Christians in this and every election.

My thoughts will be shaped by comments from Mark Galli, former editor of Christianity. He spoke about the moral complexity of leadership and his disappointment in our current president, but also reminded his listeners: when we’re treated as the enemy, as followers of Christ, we can’t respond in kind.   

The most important moral trait of a political leader, especially in times of deep conflict, is that they not use power for vengeance, but for justice grounded in mercy. It’s a refusal to treat others with whom one disagrees as enemies, but only as opponents. It is to remember that even our opponents are created in the image of God and despite their views and projects that we find unsavory, they still retain an inherent dignity we are called to respect.

We are wise to remember that Donald Trump is also made in God’s image, as are all his advisors, as are Republicans who have sold their souls to sidle up to power, as are white supremacists emboldened by his contempt of others, as are those evangelicals, my brothers and sisters in faith, who talk about Mr. Trump in Messianic terms.

We will not have any right to take up leadership in any capacity . . . if in achieving a strategic victory we simply seek to punish the losers. Bearing as they do the imprint of divine dignity, we respect them still, not because they are right, but in spite of the fact that we believe them wrong, catastrophically wrong in some cases. We do so with the hope of healing a nation afflicted with the pandemic of polarization and helping us once again to become a people whose pursuit of justice and truth is ever tempered by mercy.

His speech is worth watching in full (linked below).

As we think of political things, it’s worth pausing to consider what emotions rise in us.

Fear?

Anger?

Sadness?

Prayer?

Two roads diverge in our nation, in the Republican party, in the life of the Christian church.

Will we take the road of fear and anger?

Or will God’s mercy show us a road to wisdom and a way to heal the griefs that divide us?

Angelina's Appeal

Charalambos Epaminonda, Cyprus

No one gives up power without a fight.

Except the one “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather . . . he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross." (Philippians 2)

 

Jesus demonstrated what it is to give up power and privilege and invited his followers to do the same. That passage from Philippians 2 was preceded by this instruction from Paul: 

In humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.

Jesus set aside power as he went to the cross, but also as he washed his disciples’ feet, and as he cooked fish for his friends after the resurrection.

 

He told his followers: 

Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Matthew 20) 

Track through history and it’s not hard to find times when the Christian Church ignored those words completely. This may be one of those times, as a tragic majority of white Evangelical Christians align themselves with protective power rather than sacrifice comfort to serve the needs of global refugees and poor urban communities.

 

It’s never hard to find religious groups misusing scripture to justify an unjust status quo. Fortunately, it’s also possible to find times when faithfulness to Christ’s call to love, serve and give up power changed the course of history.

 

This week we’re celebrating the passage of the 19th Amendment affirming women’s right to vote. That event was the culmination of decades of work begun in large part by Quaker men and women.

 

The King James Bible, commissioned by King James in 1604, democratized the use of scripture, making it available to the common people in a language they could understand. George Fox and other early Quakers took that work even further, insisting that the Holy Spirit would bring the words of scripture alive in the hearts of men and women, allowing all to interpret and apply scripture appropriate to the challenges of each day.

 

Quaker apologist Robert Barclay explained in 1676:

This is the great work of the Scriptures and their service to us, that we may witness them fulfilled in us, and so discern the stamp of God’s Spirit and ways upon them by the inward acquaintance we have with the same Spirit and work in our hearts. (Apology, Proposition III, Sect. V.) 

One early principle, drawn from Acts 2, was that all are equally called to ministry, equally invited to speak and serve: 

In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.

Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.

History demonstrates imperfect application of that scripture and others like it, but also shows that Quakers led the formation of abolitionist societies in England and colonial America.

 

Quakers were also a driving force in women’s suffrage. The Declaration of Sentiments, a formative suffrage document shared at the historic Seneca Falls Convention of 1848 was written by Quaker women. Most of the initial signers were Quaker women and their husbands.

 

Amazing what can happen when people commit to reading scripture and wait together for the Holy Spirit to apply it.

 

And amazing how much scripture was used to push back against both the movement to end slavery and the effort to give women the vote.

 

Elaine Weiss, author of The Woman's Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote, described the way opponents "use[d] religion as a cudgel to beat the suffrage movement." Religious leaders insisted that allowing women to vote would violate Biblical teaching and damage the moral health of the nation.

 

I’m thankful for those faithful followers of Christ who led the way in both abolition and women’s suffrage despite the opposition they faced from others who claimed to share their faith.

 

I’m thankful for their example of setting tradition aside and listening instead to the voice of the Spirit.

 

I’m longing and listening for such voices today, voices reminding us that as followers of Christ, our job is to apply ALL of scripture, through the Holy Spirit’s guidance, in the complex political issues of our day.

 

Angelina Grimké Weld, an abolitionist and early voice for women’s rights, grew up as an Episcopalian in South Carolina, studied the Bible on her own from her early teams, and insisted on holding Sabbath classes for her family’s slaves. She converted to Presbyterianism at 21, continuing to hold classes and adding Sunday services. In her early 20s she began speaking out against slavery in her own home and in her church. The church responded with Scripture affirming slavery, and officially expelled her when she was 29.
 

Angelina then became a Quaker and eventually moved to Philadelphia, where she became a teacher, became active in the growing abolitionist movement, and eventually met and married abolitionist Timothy Weld.  With her husband and her sister Sarah, she wrote American Slavery as It Is, an encyclopedia of slave mistreatment, an important addition to abolitionist literature.  (Side note if you’re looking for good books to read: she appears as a prominent character in Sue Monk Kidd's novel The Invention of Wings.)

 

I’ve been wondering how to speak, as a Christian, with Christians friends who label quickly, judge harshly and brandish scripture against any view not their own. I’m struck by the wisdom of Grimké Weld, who in her early thirties wrote An Appeal to the Christian Women of the South. It was published and widely distributed by the American Anti-Slavery Society. In some places it was well received. In others it was publicly burned.

 

I find it offers advice for this deeply divided time.  Its tone is loving and respectful and it assumes a shared love of scripture and shared determination to obey God’s leading.

 

Most important, it encourages her readers to make up their own minds, rather than be swayed by tradition or religious leaders. She asks them to 

1. Search the Scriptures daily, whether the things I have told you are true. . . The Bible then is the book I want you to read in the spirit of inquiry, and the spirit of prayer. Even the enemies of Abolitionists, acknowledge that their doctrines are drawn from it. . . . Read the Bible then, it contains the words of Jesus, and they are spirit and life.

 

2. Pray over this subject. When you have entered into your closets, and shut to the doors, then pray to your father, who seeth in secret, that he would open your eyes to see whether slavery is sinful, and if it is, that he would enable you to bear a faithful, open and unshrinking testimony against it, and to do whatsoever your hands find to do, leaving the consequences entirely to him, who still says to us whenever we try to reason away duty from the fear of consequences, "What is that to thee, follow thou me." . . . There is great encouragement for prayer in these words of our Lord. "Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it to you"—Pray then without ceasing, in the closet and the social circle. 

She encourages women to withhold judgement until scripture and the Holy Spirit confirm the truth, then speak and act on behalf of that truth, even if opposition is strong and sacrifice is needed.

 

Her own life provides an example of sacrificial work on behalf of slaves, freed slaves, poor women and children, anyone in need of an education or a caring advocate. 

 

Last week was the Democratic Convention, with the historic nomination of a woman of color as a vice-presidential candidate. Faith leaders from a mix of traditions shared their support for candidates and platforms.  

 

The Republican Convention starts tomorrow, with even more faith leader scheduled to speak.

 

I think of Angelina’s appeal and pray that followers of Christ will consider candidates, platforms, even parties, in light of the full range of Scripture: Proverbs, Psalms, prophetic books, teachings of Jesus, epistles to the early churches.

Some questions:

• Do character and compassion matter?
• Should power be used on behalf of the poor, or to further the goals of the rich?
• Do leaders serve, or insist on being?
• Do we insist on truth, and seek it earnestly, even when it contradicts our preference or party?

Join me in holding fast to scripture, in spending time in prayer.

Join me in speaking and acting even when it hurts.

 

We have some rough weeks ahead.

May God’s word and Spirit shape our hearts.

Listening with the God who Hears

For years I thought silence had to do with shyness. That may sometimes be true. More often, I’ve learned, silence is the final recourse of those who given up hope of being heard. It takes years to tunnel back up from the dark, hidden places of those who have been silenced. Sometimes words break out in poetry, or song, or prayer.

Sometimes silence wins.

 

I grew up third of four, with brothers older and younger, living in the care of our grandmother, who did her best to feed and clothe and supervise and keep the house clean. My grandfather was mostly distant but rattled doorknobs now and then to remind us he’d rather not have children in the house. There was little interest there in hearing me talk.

My church, on the fundamentalist side of evangelical, believed women and children should be seen and not heard. They had verses and church polity to back that up. At school I was the odd kid: wearing hand-me-downs in a wealthy town where most of my classmates had complete new wardrobes several times a year.  I lived in six different places in high school, went to three different schools. It was all too hard to explain, so I stopped trying. By the time I reached college I had burrowed deep into silence. “Quiet” was a word often used to describe me.  

 

Three passages gave me hope in my own long journey back to speech.

 

There’s Hagar, the slave girl, mistreated by Abraham’ wife Sarah, running away from harsh treatment, invited into conversation with the angel of the Lord. She concludes God is the God who sees, but the name she’s instructed to give her son, Ishmael, Ishmael, is a combination of el and shama, “God hears” or “God listens .” (Genesis 16).

Many centuries later a Samaritan woman, outcast in her own town, ventured alone to draw water in the middle of the day. She found herself talking at the well with a stranger in a conversation that went from talking about water to talking about streams of eternal life. By the end she felt heard, known, and ready to talk to everyone in town about this amazing stranger who dared to talk with her. (John 4)

 

And then there’s Lydia, praying with a few other women along the river outside Phillipi. Paul shared his faith with them, and Lydia believed, invited him and his companions to her home, urged them to agree when they seemed to hesitate, and has since been known as the first Christian convert in Europe. The brief account in Acts makes clear: Paul thought women were worth talking with, and when invited to a Gentile woman’s home, he allowed himself to be persuaded. (Acts 16)

 

This blog, since the start, has been in part an attempt to explore what I’d left too long unsaid, but also to attempt to hear other voices too often ignored and to see the real meaning of words misused by those with power to shape the conversation.

 

In our current political arena the need to hear becomes ever more important.

In our political debates, those with most experience interrupting are usually the winners. As policy agendas take shape, those who have held power longest arrange the rules to ensure their perspectives and priorities are always heard first.

 

In my work on redistricting reform, God has given me amazing opportunities to speak, but also opened opportunities to listen to many whose voices have been ignored.

I think of focus groups in rural parts of our state, where I heard stories of homes lost to rising property taxes, savings lost to unexpected illness, generations who moved away for good because of lost jobs and opportunity. 

I think of conversations in diners and coffee shops in depressed towns across our state. Of meetings in battered community rooms in urban neighborhoods.

 

Most recently I’ve been listening to stories from communities harmed by mass incarceration.

 

Just before the pandemic turned the world upside down, I met for breakfast with a man sentenced to life in prison as a result of his presence at a fatal crime committed on his 16th birthday.

 

Pennsylvania’s harsh mandatory sentencing laws have yielded the largest juvenile lifer population in the world. The US is the only nation that sentences children to life without parole for crimes committed before turning 18. At the end of 2016, there were 2,310  juvenile lifers in our country. 517 of those, almost 1 in 4, were in Pennsylvania prisons. 

 

In 2012 the Supreme Court banned mandatory life terms for juveniles and many states quickly made that ruling retroactive. PA did not. In 2016 the Supreme Court stepped in again, ruling that the 2012 decision was retroactive to those sentenced before 2012. That meant resentencing finally became possible for all PA’s juvenile lifers. In the past four years, 399 PA juvenile lifers have been resentenced. 163 have been released.

Robert Saleem Holbrook
The Appeal, May 2, 2020

Robert Saleem Holbrooke was one of those. He spent 27 years in prison before his release in 2018. During that time, he helped found several organizations to support the rights of the incarcerated people. He also sued the state for censuring inmates’ mail and infringing on their right to speak. 

 

I met with him at the request of one of our Fair Districts PA volunteers working on prison gerrymandering reform. Afterward, Robert invited me to be part of a loose coalition of individuals and organizations looking for ways to call attention to death by incarceration (life without parole) and the misuses of solitary confinement in Pennsylvania prisons.

 

On Zoom meetings this summer, I’ve listened to men who spent years in prison, talked with mothers whose children have been locked away for years, met young adults concerned about unrestrained use of force by police and prison guards.

My husband worked for Prison Fellowship for 14 years, from 1983 to 1997. We were immersed in scripture about God’s concern for those in prison: 

He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free. (Psalm 146:7)

 

The Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners (Isaiah 61:1-3)

 

Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.

(Hebrews 13:3) 

One of the concerns of the group I’ve been listening to is that they find ways to share their stories. Yes, they did something wrong. But they were wronged as well. And a culture eager to punish the poor yet willing to shrug at wrongs done by the rich is on the wrong side of God’s call to do justice and love mercy.

 

There are some chances In the weeks ahead to hear some voices not often heard. The first is a  virtual film screening on Tuesday, August 18, (y to 8:30 pm) with three short films focusing on women serving life sentences at Muncy state prison. Afterward the films, Naomi Blount, the subject of the second film will lead a conversation about the need to end vengeful and punitive sentencing in Pennsylvania. You can see a  short trailer here trailer and  register here to receive the link for the screening.

 

The second will be a Zoom event on September 3: Stories from Inside PA Prisons, sharing recorded voices of people who have experienced solitary confinement and confinement circumstances under the COVID lockdowns. As the promo for the event says: 

Since 2015, the use of solitary confinement for more than 15 days has been classified as torture by the United Nations. Yet as of January 2020, the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections houses almost 2,500 people in solitary, and stays lasting multiple years are common.

People currently inside PA prisons report feeling extreme loneliness, anxiety, and paranoia and report having panic attacks and suicidal thoughts when in solitary confinement. 

Psalm 20: says “You will listen, O Lord, to the prayers of the lowly;  you will give them courage. You will hear the cries of the oppressed and the orphans; you will judge in their favor, so that mortal men may cause terror no more.”

Too often we see safety, order, crime, punishment from our own perspective.

Too often we listen to voices that say we should fear, punish, build walls, protect our own. 

Can we learn to listen to other voices, even when they’re uncomfortable to hear?

Can we reach out to those whose stories are far more painful than our own?

I pray that God opens our hearts to love those he loves, to hear those he hears, to seek justice and mercy for those who have been judged most harshly.

 

Two voices to consider now:

One from trauma healing work done by the American Bible Society, Whitney’s current employer.

And one from Prison Fellowship and the streets of Philadelphia. 

Do Not Be Daunted

This week I’ve been waiting for results of a Covid-19 test. Several days of intestinal symptoms put me on a telemedicine call which ended with referrals for a mix of tests, guidance for what to do if symptoms change or worsen, advise on what to eat and drink. Plus instructions to quarantine until test results are received. 

No fever, no cough, no difficulty breathing. Covid-19 has a long list of symptoms with constantly changing theories about why a disease that causes respiratory distress could also cause blue toes, weird rashes, severe diarrhea, dangerous blood clots and lingering exhaustion. We’re living in the middle of a global research project.

 

It’s been ten days since my first symptoms, five days since the tests and I’m still waiting. For the Covid test I was told it could be 7 to 10 days. Even the others are taking longer than normal. Now I’m hoping to be back to full health before any test results come.

 

A Fortune article asks why Covid-19 testing in the US is plagued with delays and inconsistencies, beginning with this: “It didn’t have to be this way.”

 

Many other nations have same-day testing, flattened curves and a clear path to reopening schools and businesses. The US was once a leader in medicine, health care, national planning. Now, the US death toll is mounting far higher and faster than any other nation and many, like me, wait days, sometimes weeks, for test results.

 

According to that Fortune article, 

There’s no single party at fault for our current diagnostic dilemma and the devastating toll this virus has wrought on American life. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) botched the job at the earliest stages with a COVID test that just didn’t work. Many individuals in the U.S. have fumbled their responsibility to wear masks and socially distance, exacerbating the problem. Political leaders have given the nation wildly divergent advice on the best way to approach the kind of pandemic we have not seen in more than 100 years.

 

These various failures are inextricably linked and feed a vicious cycle. If you’re looking for someone to blame, it’s not so much a straight line as it is a constellation of culprits. 

Set blame aside for a minute and grieve with me. 

Over 160,000 deaths in the US. That’s more than 50 times the deaths on 9-11. While some dispute that number, data experts say the actual total death toll is likely higher “due to limited testing and problems in the attribution of the cause of death.” 

Factor in the long-term health damage to some survivors.

Factor in people who die of other illnesses from delayed medical care caused by justifiable fear of Covid-19 contagion.

Add the millions struggling with anxiety, depression, anger. 

 

Add the staggering economic costs. Jobs lost. Businesses closed. Mounting debt. Rising health care expense.

 

Some of this was unavoidable with a strange new disease and a global pandemic.

 

But some: it didn’t have to be this way.

 

Consider the confusion and frustration caused by conflicting, politically-driven narratives and directives.

 

Consider the time and lives lost due to lack of proper equipment, lack of proper planning, lack of unified effort to put testing and policies in place.

 

On a very personal level: consider the relationships harmed by conflicting responses.

 

How did wearing of masks become a partisan divide?

 

How did attempts to keep us safe become a point of bitter argument?

 

This morning my husband Whitney texted me a passage from his morning reading, Isaiah 8:11-13: 

The Lord has given me a strong warning not to think like everyone else does. He said, “Don’t call everything a conspiracy, like they do, and don’t live in dread of what frightens them. Make the Lord of Heaven’s Armies holy in your life. He is the one you should fear. He is the one who should make you tremble. He will keep you safe.” 

That’s the New Living Translation. I’ve been puzzling over that passage today, reading it in different translations, each with a slightly different nuance.  I like this from the Contemporary English Bible:

The Lord took hold of me with his powerful hand and said: I'm warning you! Don't act like these people. Don't call something a rebellious plot, just because they do, and don't be afraid of something, just because they are. I am the one you should fear and respect. I am the holy God, the Lord All-Powerful! Run to me for protection. 

What would mean to not think like everyone else, not act like the people around us?

 

What would it mean to set aside conspiracy theories, set aside accusations?

 

What would it be like if we all set aside attempt to blame and worked together to protect the weakest among us and to find wise solutions that work for us all?
 

It might be helpful to acknowledge here that our two-party system is broken. Both sides bend the rules to gather power. Both pocket money from special interests and stir division to maximize votes. 

Whether we see it or not, we are all harmed.

 

The norms of representative government are undercut when political leaders undermine elections for their own partisan interest, but the harm goes way past elections and loss of trust in elected officials.

 

When we swallow the partisan narrative, we allow politicians to manipulate us, to frighten us, to divide us.

 

This has huge implications for our economy, our communities, our health.

 

We’re seeing that now with Covid-19. 

 

It doesn’t have to be this way.

 

There are structural changes needed to push back against the two-party divisions. But far more important, we need a change of heart. How do we serve each other in this time, rather than insist on our  own perspective?  How do we act as agents of mercy, rather than fuel division?

 

No person, no party Is solely to blame. No person or party will heal us.

 

The Lord of Hosts, the God of the universe, invites us to put our trust in him. And then to live in the way he calls us: not with anger, fear, accusation, but with love.

 

From my own reading this morning, an ancient Hebrew comment on Micah 6:8.  

Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world's grief. Do justly now, love mercy now, walk humbly now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it. (Pirkei Avot 2:16)

I’ll be holding both passages in my heart as I wait for test results and prepare for the week ahead.

Whose Side Is God On?

Barack Obama's eulogy, John Lewis' funeral;
Atlanta, Georgia, July 30, 2020

Whose side is God on? 

What ARE the sides?

 

Who defines them?

 

On Thursday President Barack Obama delivered a 45 minute eulogy at the service for Congressman John Lewis, a eulogy structured around James 1:2-4: 

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 

Obama shared the story of Lewis’ journey into political involvement, his perseverance in the face of violent opposition and repeated arrest, his refusal to fall into hatred or violent response, his maturity, compassion, and determined prophetic, joyful witness.

 

Along the way Obama acknowledged that Lewis’ struggle for a just, beloved community continues:

• Lewis’s journey began in response to mistreatment of his people. That mistreatment continues, as seen in the death of George Floyd.
• Lewis was beaten on Petis Bridge as he engaged in peaceful protest. Men and women continue to be beaten as they engage in peaceful protest.
• Lewis worked to expand the right to vote, to ensure equal access under the law for every person. That work continues, with constant opposition. 

I found the eulogy incredibly moving, and appreciated the thoughtful use of scripture, the honor paid to “a man of pure joy and unbreakable perseverance.” How much we need leaders like John Lewis: humble, faithful, willing to serve decade after decade at great cost to themselves.

 

And how much we need thoughtful, disciplined leaders like Barack Obama, willing to tell the tell the story in a way that highlights faith, grace and the need for prophetic witness in a difficult, fractured time.   

But of course, the outcry from some corners was immediate.

Sean Hannity called the eulogy a “divisive, politically charged, and frankly, at times, mean-spirited speech filled with statements not based in truth or reality.”

From Fox News host Tucker Carlson:

Barack Obama, one of the sleaziest and most dishonest figures in the history of American politics, used George Floyd's death at a funeral to attack the police.

Imagine if some greasy politician showed up at your loved one's funeral and started throwing around stupid partisan talking points about Senate procedure.

Who decides what's partisan?

I’m reminded of a passage from Joshua 5: 

When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or our adversaries? 

He said, “Neither, but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped.

We’ve been taught, in this current fractured landscape, to see everything as one side or the other: are you for us or our adversaries?

Are you liberal or conservative? Left or right? Blue or red? Every word, every action, every idea is relegated to one side or the other.

Appropriate oversight of police.

Rules about use of force.

 

Adequate funding of public education.

 

Clean air.

 

Clean water.

 

Fair elections.

 

A functional, adequately funded postal service.

 

Research-driven policy.

 

Fiscal oversight.

 

Competent professionals with experience and expertise. 

How did those become partisan issues?

How did we get to the place where views other than our own are self-righteously dismissed as “partisan” rather than heard and considered?

How did evangelical Christians become aligned with a point of view that labels rather than listens?

 

So Joshua’s questions: Is God for us or our adversaries?

Neither. He is present, active, and the ground where he stands is holy.

 

Some of the critique of Obama’s speech addressed his mention of partisan gerrymandering. He didn’t mention either party, but in recent years Republicans have been most effective in capturing seats through distorted districts. The evidence of this is visible in Republican reports and statements by Republican leaders. Some Republicans have acknowledged that gerrymandering is wrong. Others assume any attempt to ensure fairly drawn districts is a partisan effort to advantage Democrats.

 

In my own work to ensure fair districts in Pennsylvania, I’ve worked with legislators from both sides of the aisle who believe gerrymandering is a blight on our electoral system, as did Ronald Reagan.

But I’ve also attracted my own partisan trolls, who have call me a far-left liberal, a socialist crazy, and gang leader of the criminal enterprise, “Democrat Districts.”  Not to worry: I’ve also been attacked from the other side as naïve and dangerous in my insistence that some Republicans can be trusted.

 

Real problems and real solutions are neither red nor blue. This current pandemic doesn’t care what party we belong to. Death is death, no matter who encounters it.

 

I’ve had friends ask me: how do we navigate this space as followers of Christ? How do we keep from getting labeled, pulled into pointless arguments?

Most important: how do we make clear that as Christians we stand for something other than the Republican party platform? How do we say, with clarity and grace: our God is not defined by those who claim God for their side?

 

Silence is not an effective strategy.

 

When in doubt I have only two defaults: examination of the life of Christ, and constant prayer for wisdom.

 

The example of Jesus is always instructive: he stood, always, on the side of the poor, the accused, the marginalized, the weak. He spoke up on their behalf in ways that offended and confounded the powerful. He upended the narrative of those who claimed to speak for God and insisted on an unexpected alternative.

 

Jesus refused to see people as the enemy, to endorse the divisions of his day: sin is the enemy. Grace and love are the solution. No one group is immune to sin. Anyone who calls out for grace, who turns toward love of God and neighbor, is welcome.

 

So -we navigate this space by refusing to judge people: there are faithful Christians across the political spectrum. There are also hypocrites and pretenders. There are people who want to do right yet are trapped by political systems, snared by partisan media, led by misguided leaders.

There are people of integrity who sometimes fall short. There are people with no integrity at all who sometimes do good because it serves their own ambitions. There are men and women wrestling with their own history, their own heritage, the burdens of their own complicated situations.

 

We can judge actions. We can judge ideas. But Jesus told us again and again: don’t judge people. So listen with love and look for common ground.

 

I memorized James 3: 17-18 years ago, and return to it often:

But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

As a parent I learned that what works well with one child may be totally wrong for another. In youth ministry I learned that any seemingly chance conversation can be an occasion for harm or incredible grace. I’ve learned to pray for wisdom as I start my day, as I encounter conflict, as conversations take unexpected turns.

If I’m not sure I should say something, I’ll often leave it unsaid, then go back and pray, think, journal out what I would say if given another chance. Sometimes that chance comes quickly. Sometimes never.

 

Even this blog is part of that ongoing prayer for wisdom.

 

What a different world this would be if we would listen and love, if we would refuse to repeat judgements that label and divide.

 

And what a different world if all who claim to follow Christ would be pure in intention, gentle in response, open to reason, motivated by mercy, willing to listen to all sides before coming to conclusion.

 

And what a different world if those who claim to speak for Christ would speak as agents of the kingdom Jesus asks us to envision: a righteous world where the hungry are fed, the sick are healed, the prisoners released and the powerful stoop to serve the weak.

 

I pray it would be so.