by Rev. Dr. Jim Warnock
I like what the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 12, a passage we read on the 15th Sunday after Pentecost. I’ll quote it here.
“Some judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike. Let all be fully convinced in their own minds. Those who observe the day, observe it in honor of the Lord. Also those who eat, eat in honor of the Lord, since they give thanks to God; while those who abstain, abstain in honor of the Lord and give thanks to God….
“Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.”
Paul is talking about former pagans who continued to celebrate their traditional feast days and also to eat meat that had been sacrificed to idols. Many other followers of Jesus felt this was wrong, that it gave far too much credence to the old pagan practices. These sentiments produced furious debates in the early Christian gatherings, and Paul feared the potential consequences of an ugly disagreement. He always worked to avoid schisms.
We have similar situations in our lives today. I’m thinking of the Episcopal debate over human sexuality which I witnessed firsthand in my first parish, All Saints’ in Long Beach, California. The Diocese of Los Angeles was deeply divided between those supporting gay marriage and those opposed.
Both sides engaged in harsh, unfair rhetoric against their opponents. When four conservative parishes, including my own then former church, left the diocese, the Bishop immediately dropped a lawsuit on them. There had been people in those churches who did not want to leave, but instead of reaching out to them, the lawsuits guaranteed that walls arose and conversation ceased. Millions of dollars were wasted in legalities that came to no final conclusion, and enmity remains to this day.
We experience division in our own society. As fire department chaplain I was called to a house where a death had occurred. The man opening the door wore a MAGA hat. I am personally deeply opposed to MAGA and all it represents. All of that came to mind when I saw him, but I couldn’t act on my feelings. The man was grieving, and my call at that point was to offer comfort. That’s what I did.
There is a strong human tendency to demonize others. Faced with opposition, this is often a first response. Paul knew this when he wrote in the 1st Century, and human nature hasn’t changed since. As Paul wrote, even today that cannot be our way. We are called to spread God’s love to those around us no matter our differences.
This is not to say that we can’t disagree. People in debates come with presuppositions. Those arguing in the Church, in our society, develop expectations of angry responses to their views. Don’t play to those presuppositions. Rather return anger with love. Disagree strongly (particularly in my case with MAGA), but do so in ways that confound expectations by respecting the humanity of people with whom you disagree. This is our calling as followers of Jesus. If we do this, somewhere the Apostle Paul will be happy and maybe we’ll see some positive changes in our world.