Sermon for Pentecost 9B, 21 July 2024

Mary Cushing, Candidate for the Vocational Diaconate

St. Thomas Episcopal Church, McLean, VA

“For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us.” Eph 2:14

That verse, v. 14 from our second reading, was written about two thousand years ago. The writer was probably Paul, and the addressees were Gentile members of the early church in Ephesus in what is now Turkey. The hostility that Paul referred to was the ill will that existed between those Gentiles and the local Jewish community.

Despite the vast difference in time and place, I consider Paul’s words to be just as relevant for us today given our country’s current political climate. In place of Gentiles and Jews, we have red Republicans and blue Democrats. Is there a dividing wall? Check. Hostility? Absolutely. A person would have to be living under a rock or a Pollyanna to think otherwise.

The situation is awful. It’s driving even people who are normally level-headed to despair. One such level-headed person is a good friend of mine who is an experienced political observer (not a politician, just an observer). After the attempted assassination of former President Trump, this friend texted me to say that she has decided to avoid any political news until election day. She has already decided how she’ll vote, and she will definitely vote—she just won’t follow the news. Her emotional equilibrium is at stake. She aims to avoid despair.

The reading from Ephesians is good news in that regard, because it tells us that such despair, and the hostility that drives it, do not, and will not, have the last word. Jesus made that possible. Hear again what Paul says: “For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us.” Paul goes on to say that Christ came to “create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross.” Christ makes reconciliation possible. Christ calls us to be reconciled.

That’s good news! Yay! But of course, next comes the sticky question of just how we go about reconciling. It’s easier said than done, for sure, but not impossible. I’d like to propose a three-step approach that we can start with.

The first step is to recognize that each of us actually does have the capacity to do something. There’s a quote on this point that I’ve had hanging on my refrigerator for some time. The quote is by Edward Everett Hale, a 19th-century writer and Unitarian minister. Hale said, “I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.” 

• We’re not powerless. We do have the capacity to temper despair and hostility, even if just among family and friends. That capacity only grows when we have Jesus in mind.
• Jesus is with us to support and guide us. It’s what we hear in today’s Gospel, which says that when Jesus saw the crowd, he “had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.” Jesus is with the people who need guidance and support.
• Jesus also provides strength. Elsewhere in Scripture, Paul reminds us that we “can do all things through Christ, who strengthens” us. (Phil 4:13)

And so, I propose that recognizing that we’re not powerless is the first step. That awareness helps temper the despair.

The second step is to recognize that every single person we encounter is a beloved child of God. Even the person who most raises our political hackles is—somehow!— still beloved of God. We need to treat them accordingly.

• That doesn’t mean we can’t disagree. It doesn’t mean that we need to be silent. What it does mean is that the way we engage needs to be the way of Jesus: the way of love.
• Such a loving approach means extending others some grace. In non-church-y words, that means giving them the benefit of the doubt. People in “the other” political camp probably aren’t loony or brainwashed. For the most part, they arrived at their positions the same way “we” did, by a thoughtful process.

Those first two proposed steps are more about adjusting our frame of reference, first to be more hopeful about possibilities and second to be more Christ-like in how we approach others.

The third step is about following through and taking action. Whatever that action is, it should be based on hope instead of despair, and it should look like discipleship.

My friend who has decided to boycott the news has already figured this part out. In lieu of following the news, she plans to focus on extending kindness and compassion to others over the next few months.

As for me, I’m going to resist the impulse to call the politicians whom I dislike “absolute idiots” and “obnoxious jerks.” It sounds trite—almost like I’m making a New Year’s resolution—but such language only contributes to the toxic atmosphere. Such labels also are demeaning, even dehumanizing. I’ve come to realize that when I use words like that, I break a promise that I made in the baptismal covenant, which is to “respect the dignity of every human being.” I can do better than that. I need to do better than that.

And for all of us, of course, prayer is another action we can take. Let’s pray for an end to hostility and strife. Let’s pray that through God’s grace we learn to hear and respect our neighbors. We can even pray for “that person,” the one whom we most dislike, and lift them up to God, entrusting them to God’s care and guidance.

I’ll recommend one final action, which is the official position of the Episcopal Church: when election day finally comes, please do go to the polls, and please “vote faithfully.” Remember that we are Gospel people, which means we follow Jesus’ command to love our neighbors. Consider which candidates best promote that love when you decide whom to support. Remember to still love people on the other side. And later, if it turns out your candidate loses, don’t despair. It’s not the end of the story. Reconciliation is still possible, because God is here to love, guide, and strengthen us.