In an interesting essay, Holly Berkley Fletcher, who grew up in Kenya the child of missionary parents, states that the political crisis of polarization in America is a religious crisis, specifically of white Christians. She makes several suggestions for mainline Christians to address this question. However, I think the religious crisis we face is more complex than liberal white Christians being more open about their faith and how it impacts their lives.
Our religious-political polarization didn’t begin in the 60s but was clearly defined by that time when white Christians – and Jews – joined with religious leaders in the Black church to speak to legally enforced segregation. Religious opposition to the Vietnam War deepened the polarization as pastors and priests decried American policy.
Speaking of our faith is one thing, but as Jesus said, time and time again, it’s not what we say but what we do that counts. Most of us chafe uncomfortably when we are told to change our lifestyle or our basic attitudes. It’s always easier to be a Christian on Sunday than on Monday when the real demands of our faith are made.
Prayer for the Day
Listening to the parables on Sunday morning, O God,
We tell ourselves they are unrealistic in our time;
Nodding in agreement to the Gospel for the day,
We continue our lives as before come Monday.
But, you, O Lord, demand we live the lessons we hear,
Even as we chafe at your commands on how to live.
In the name of the One who calls us to task,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
I asked [Senator Edward Kennedy], “Where does this rabid concern about poverty come from?” And he looked at me like I was from Mars. And he said, “Have you never read the New Testament?”
Tom Oliphant, Boston Globe reporter
The greatest challenge of the day is how to bring about a revolution of the heart, a revolution that has to start with each one of us.
Dorothy Day, Christian social activist, pacifist (1897-1980)
And Jesus said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
Luke 12: 15