For today’s Rector’s Rambling I am going to share a statement from the Episcopal Church’s House of Bishops (below), which has been meeting in Texas this week. Their “Word to the Church,” was unanimously approved and it addresses the violence that this presidential election cycle has unleashed. While they are careful not to single out a single candidate, it is clear that their concern is most notably reflected in one particular candidacy, which has become the target of many Americans, both inside and outside of that candidate’s party.

Images of violence at political rallies, and the encouragement of such behavior by someone seeking the highest office in this land are indeed troubling. A single comment could be seen to have been a slip-up; one failure to condemn, an oversight; one incident at a rally, an anomaly. And yet as this campaign season continues, such things are not a series of one-time flubs of the sort we have seen on many a campaign trail. These represent a pattern. These represent a tactic. It is a worldview and a political mindset that I never expected to see rise to such prominence in the land of the free, where all men (and women) are created equal. I wanted to think that some of the hatred shown towards one another in the previous century and before was no longer possible here. I was wrong.

As many have noted, these fears and concerns about this movement are not political, they are moral. Condemnation is bi-partisan. It is not a case of dealing with outsider vs. insider politics either. We can blame “the establishment” for anger over poor leadership, but the establishment is not to blame for the violent tendencies we’re seeing. Each of us has to be responsible for our own behavior and our own actions. It is possible to come at the establishment as an outsider without vitriolic language and veiled threats towards entire groups of persons. Anger can be a wonderful tool for change. It can be channeled to positive change and progress; it can also be channeled towards violence and division. This is an issue of decency and an appeal to the best ideals of our nation. Our bishops have rightly included language from our baptismal covenant, reminding us that as followers of Christ we are to strive for justice and peace, to respect the dignity of every human being, and to seek Christ in all persons. If we filter political speeches through this set of expectations, do they resonate? Or do they clash?

If our nation is going to lean one way or the other, towards dignity, peace, respect, and love, or towards violence, hatred, division, and fear, I want it to be the former. We’re not perfect. Our system of government is not perfect. Our leaders are not perfect. But neither are we. We’re broken and battered and God still loves us and seeks the good in us rather than getting stuck on our faults. Jesus came to show us what this love looks like, despite our sinful ways. He came into a world of violence, hatred, division and fear and showed us what dignity and peace and respect and love looks like. And the mob, which fed off of violence, hatred, division, and fear, ultimately killed him for it. Perhaps Lent is a good time to look inward at how the Spirit moves in our hearts as we choose our political candidates. If we need to repent what we find, this is certainly a good time to do it. My prayer is that we will seek out and identify a candidate who will best be able to lead us while displaying and sharing the gifts of dignity, peace, respect, and love.

Tom+

Holy God throughout the ages you have called men and women to serve you in various ways, giving them gifts for the task to which they were called and strengthening and guiding them in the fulfillment of their calling; in this free land you share with us that great responsibility and enable us to choose those who will serve you in positions of leadership and various offices of government. Help us in so choosing to seek those who have an understanding of your will for us, a commitment to justice, a concern for those in greatest need, a love of truth and deep humility before you; Send your Spirit among us that we may be guided in the choices we make so that your will may be done on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.
~Christopher Webber

The House of Bishops of The Episcopal Church, meeting in retreat, unanimously approved the following Word To The Church.

Holy Week 2016

"We reject the idolatrous notion that we can ensure the safety of some by sacrificing the hopes of others.”

On Good Friday the ruling political forces of the day tortured and executed an innocent man. They sacrificed the weak and the blameless to protect their own status and power. On the third day Jesus was raised from the dead, revealing not only their injustice but also unmasking the lie that might makes right.

In a country still living under the shadow of the lynching tree, we are troubled by the violent forces being released by this season’s political rhetoric. Americans are turning against their neighbors, particularly those on the margins of society. They seek to secure their own safety and security at the expense of others. There is legitimate reason to fear where this rhetoric and the actions arising from it might take us.

In this moment, we resemble God’s children wandering in the wilderness. We, like they, are struggling to find our way. They turned from following God and worshiped a golden calf constructed from their own wealth. The current rhetoric is leading us to construct a modern false idol out of power and privilege. We reject the idolatrous notion that we can ensure the safety of some by sacrificing the hopes of others. No matter where we fall on the political spectrum, we must respect the dignity of every human being and we must seek the common good above all else.

We call for prayer for our country that a spirit of reconciliation will prevail and we will not betray our true selves.

The Episcopal Church House of Bishops met in retreat March 11 – 15 at Camp Allen Conference Center in Navasota, TX.