Fr Robert Hendrickson

Dear Friends in Christ,

It says something about the state of our national life that so much energy has already gone into what will happen with the Supreme Court and the impact on the election so soon after a woman of remarkable character has died. The stakes now have been made to seem so monumental on all sides that anytime something happens we’re immediately thrown into frantic rounds of anxious, angry, and antagonistic debate.

Much of this is media driven. Much is political expedience — it is expedient for politicians for us to be as angry and anxious as possible. But I think even more than these two sources is an internal dis-ease. Too much of our identity is now wrapped up in politics. Or, perhaps more accurately, too much of politics is now wrapped up in our identity.

Where once we had ideologically mixed neighborhoods, civic organizations, and political parties there is now a demand for purity that drives consensus out. This happens internally and externally. Internally, we are pushed more and more to have fewer and fewer positions or contradictions in our own value set. Externally there are demands from powerful interest groups to force parties to remain rigid in the face of possible compromise.

All of this leaves us more politically pure but ultimately more ineffective. We now spend literally billions of dollars on top of years of campaigning and I would not argue that our elections have gotten more informative, more enlightening, or more effective. We’re spending and spending on the things (advertising, organizing, and more) that divide us into smaller and smaller interest groups to be exploited. We’re spending less and less on things (civil society, education, arts, and more) that bring us together.

This emphasis on fracture is bigger than liberal or conservative. Its costs are being born not just by donors or taxpayers but by our souls. The anger, bitterness, and inability to see one another as worthy of love across difference is going to be our downfall. We’re going to have to re-discover what makes us more human, more connected, and more loving. We’re going to have to re-discover a common story and a shared sense of reality and purpose.

For Christians I think this starts with us re-centering our energy, love, and joy on Christ. That may mean we are active and lend our voice to political causes. In fact it probably demands it of us. But we see time and time again that when we place our hope on politics or politicians we will be disappointed again and again. Our savior and our salvation lie with Christ. He is the proof that love wins. In this angry time, when we are pushed to the brink and forget too often who we are, let’s never forget that our first identity is as the Body of Christ. However that means you will vote or give or volunteer — you are not who you vote for, how you donate, or who you make phone calls on behalf of.

You are the beloved of God and called to love. If we can hold that identity first and foremost it will change who we are. If we can see others as the same it will change how we love. That may just be the beginning of a re-discovery of what it means to be one with liberty and justice for all.

Fr Robert