Towards Grace (Part II)
How do you embody theories and theologies?
How do you balance truth and grace?
How do you try to bridge political differences?
These are questions that I think God is calling me towards. These are questions I hoped to explore further in the coming year.
Well, rubber met the road before I even turned on the engine to drive to New Orleans.
Trigger warning: aggressive comments about abortion and homosexuality to follow
As I was reaching out to raise support for my year as a YAV, I contacted a family that I knew from church growing up. I explained in my letter how I want to be a chaplain and I will spend the next year with the YAV program in NOLA before I go to seminary.
They responded, saying that they would not donate to YAV because it is associated with the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. They wrote:
"the PCUSA is no longer orthodox and now unrepentantly supports, and even promotes, sinful and destructive behaviors—taking the lives of the most innocent among us through abortion; open sexual perversion and the corruption of marriage; and even mixing false religions, such as Islam, with Christianity, a practice clearly forbidden by the Bible.
We have prayed about your request and given it thoughtful consideration. While we’d certainly love to support you in working with an orthodox missions or service organization, we most put God first and cannot support an organization that may be presenting or aligning itself with a church (little “c”) that has made itself comfortable following sinful world views and worse, presenting a false gospel. God calls us to do service work, such as supporting the poor and seeking justice, but we must do on His terms, not the world’s terms in opposition to Him."
Immediately, I was filled with emotion. I was angry. I was confused. I was hurt. I was frustrated.
I was angry at their dehumanization of women who have had abortions and of the queer community. I was confused because honestly what mixing of religions are they talking about? I was hurt at the implication that, broadly speaking, the PCUSA church is not and, personally speaking, I am not seeking God or the truth. That we put the world first, rather than God. That we are presenting a false gospel. I was frustrated at the clear divisiveness within the body of Christ that they perpetuated.
And I had no idea how to respond.
I want to fight their aggressive comments. I want to defend others. I want to defend myself.
But I know that none of those responses would actually be productive. They would cause further isolation and division. So how can I respond to them in a way that doesn't isolate them? That doesn't divide? But still honors my own perspectives and emotions? That advocates for the vulnerable?*
My college chaplain reminded me, "What would Jesus do? Jesus pissed off religious leaders all the time. You don't have control over whether what you say will be effective, all you can do is say it."
How do I respond to an aggressive and painful email in a way that embodies both grace and truth? And what difference does it make to my response that I don't have a close relationship with them?
Because the truth is that I don't know.
As I contemplated the email and tried to calm my emotions, my mind kept going to the following passage, which I honestly never understood:
How do you balance truth and grace?
How do you try to bridge political differences?
These are questions that I think God is calling me towards. These are questions I hoped to explore further in the coming year.
Well, rubber met the road before I even turned on the engine to drive to New Orleans.
Trigger warning: aggressive comments about abortion and homosexuality to follow
As I was reaching out to raise support for my year as a YAV, I contacted a family that I knew from church growing up. I explained in my letter how I want to be a chaplain and I will spend the next year with the YAV program in NOLA before I go to seminary.
They responded, saying that they would not donate to YAV because it is associated with the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. They wrote:
"the PCUSA is no longer orthodox and now unrepentantly supports, and even promotes, sinful and destructive behaviors—taking the lives of the most innocent among us through abortion; open sexual perversion and the corruption of marriage; and even mixing false religions, such as Islam, with Christianity, a practice clearly forbidden by the Bible.
We have prayed about your request and given it thoughtful consideration. While we’d certainly love to support you in working with an orthodox missions or service organization, we most put God first and cannot support an organization that may be presenting or aligning itself with a church (little “c”) that has made itself comfortable following sinful world views and worse, presenting a false gospel. God calls us to do service work, such as supporting the poor and seeking justice, but we must do on His terms, not the world’s terms in opposition to Him."
Immediately, I was filled with emotion. I was angry. I was confused. I was hurt. I was frustrated.
I was angry at their dehumanization of women who have had abortions and of the queer community. I was confused because honestly what mixing of religions are they talking about? I was hurt at the implication that, broadly speaking, the PCUSA church is not and, personally speaking, I am not seeking God or the truth. That we put the world first, rather than God. That we are presenting a false gospel. I was frustrated at the clear divisiveness within the body of Christ that they perpetuated.
And I had no idea how to respond.
I want to fight their aggressive comments. I want to defend others. I want to defend myself.
But I know that none of those responses would actually be productive. They would cause further isolation and division. So how can I respond to them in a way that doesn't isolate them? That doesn't divide? But still honors my own perspectives and emotions? That advocates for the vulnerable?*
My college chaplain reminded me, "What would Jesus do? Jesus pissed off religious leaders all the time. You don't have control over whether what you say will be effective, all you can do is say it."
How do I respond to an aggressive and painful email in a way that embodies both grace and truth? And what difference does it make to my response that I don't have a close relationship with them?
Because the truth is that I don't know.
As I contemplated the email and tried to calm my emotions, my mind kept going to the following passage, which I honestly never understood:
Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.
Philippians 1:15-18
If anyone has thoughts or answers or advice, I'm all ears. I fear I'm in for a lifetime of such tension. I have a passion and a heart for building bridges across lines of political difference, with no idea yet of how that is actually ethically and effectively managed.
*I recognize that, as a non-queer person, I am in a position to make these decisions without having to consider my own personal safety.
Update: I responded with a message about unity in the body of Christ. When they sent a response email, I had my friend read it first. When she told me that the email was filled with more hate, I deleted it without reading it.
Update: I responded with a message about unity in the body of Christ. When they sent a response email, I had my friend read it first. When she told me that the email was filled with more hate, I deleted it without reading it.
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