Sermons from Park Hill Congregational UCC Denver, Colorado Rev. Dr. David Bahr [email protected] December 9, 2018 “Kinder and Gentler” Luke 1: 68-79 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who has looked favorably on the people and redeemed them, 69 Who has raised up a mighty savior for us in the house of servant David, 70 as God spoke through the mouth of holy prophets from of old, 71 that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us. 72 Thus has God shown mercy promised to our ancestors, and has remembered their holy covenant, 73 the oath swore to our ancestor Abraham, to grant us 74 that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies, might serve the Lord without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness all our days. 76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins. 78 By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” The nation reflected this week upon the presidency of George Herbert Walker Bush, often in ways that, even if unintentional, so sharply contrast with the current president that, although his name was never mentioned at the National Cathedral, no one could mistake the two men. Presidential biographer Jon Meachum shared his eulogy with Bush prior to his death. Bush complained that it was “too much about me.”[1] Meanwhile, the current president sat brooding at that service, clearly unhappy it didn’t have enough “me” in it. Meachum described Bush’s code of life. Among other things: “Tell the truth. Don’t blame people. Try hard. Forgive.” We were told he sought to make our lives and the lives of all nations “freer, better, warmer, and nobler.” Causes larger them himself. Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulrooney called Bush courageous, principled and honourable.[2] Not to draw out too many more comparisons, but when Senator Alan Simpson said “hate corrodes the container that carries it,” nothing intentional or not could have been said more clearly.[3] How can we help but compare them? For example, their acceptance speeches when each was nominated at the Republication National Convention? With dark imagery and an angry tone, Trump portrayed the United States as a “diminished and humiliated nation and offered himself as an all-powerful savior” on behalf of law-abiding Americans.[4] By comparison, Bush said in his acceptance speech in 1988:[5]
The contrast is almost too obvious. But, not to suggest sainthood. One has to wonder what happened to kindness and gentleness and our better angels when it came to Willie Horton and the portrayal of black men.[6] That television attack ad remains one of the most racist things to have ever aired as part of a presidential campaign – or at least until two years ago. And then there is the regrettable fact that Bush replaced Thurgood Marshall with Clarence Thomas. On the other hand, he named Colin Powell the first African American Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.[7] When someone dies we tend to remember them in their best light; you might say, to white-wash their misdeeds,[8] but, once again, we not only mourned the death of a decent man this week but we continue to mourn the death of decency itself in the person of our nation’s commander in chief and his enablers.[9] But of course, as Christians we believe in redemption and resurrection. And that’s the real good news. What, however, does that call from us in between? The bulletin cover, songs and prayers, not to mention the big letters hanging on the banner in front of us, make it clear that today is Peace Sunday.
And that’s the line that really stuck with me this week. Not that peace is possible. But that peace is the way. Put another way, we could say that kindness is the way to kindness. Compassion is the way to compassion. Love is the way to love. In a world of people who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, starved for kindness, compassion, and love, we have to ask of ourselves: are we being kind, compassionate, and loving? John Pavlovitz, in his new book Hope and Other Superpowers, said, “I carry a heavy sadness seeing the cruelty that now seems standard issue, the sarcasm, snark, and verbal venom so regularly wielded. And I grieve the most when I notice it in the mirror.”[13] We cherish winning an argument over cultivating humility. We’d rather celebrate the accomplishment of blasting our opponents instead of understanding them. Bitterness is the opposite of kindness and if we want kindness to win, we have to be less bitter about the current state of our country. And, note to self, about our president. Jesus knows a little about that. He was not born into a time of peace. And he tried to teach peace during some of the darkest days while Israel was an occupied territory of Rome. Caesar did not tolerate threats to his absolute power. Any peace that may have existed was the result of violent repression. And things did not improve in the years after Jesus’ death. In fact, when the gospel of Luke was written, prophecies that the birth of the infant Jesus would bring about an era of peace would seem flat out wrong. By the time Luke wrote his gospel, Rome had completely crushed any hope of rebellion and destroyed the Temple.[14] And yet, or maybe for that very reason, Luke used the word peace more than the other three gospel writers combined. He used peace as bookends for his gospel – from Zechariah’s words in the first chapter that God will guide our feet into the way of peace to among the last words of Jesus to his disciples: “Peace be with you.” You have to wonder why those who first read the gospel wouldn’t have thought this talk about peace was just a false hope; or worse, a lie. There are many ways to define peace, but Luke’s purpose was clearly meant to contrast the peace of Christ with the peace of Caesar. The comparison couldn’t have been more obvious. Caesar governed violently by submission. In contrast, the peace of Christ is holistic, peace in one’s soul and in the world in a practical way. Much like how Ralph Bunche wrote that “peace, to have meaning for many who have only known suffering, must be translated into bread or rice, shelter, health, education, as well as freedom and human dignity.” Bunche was the first African American winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1950, resulting from his work with Arabs and Israelis.[15] Jesus, too, taught people both with his words and with loaves of bread and fish. Archbishop Oscar Romero had been preaching against the Caesar-like repressive force of El Salvador’s right-wing military government when they assassinated him in 1980.[16] He taught those sitting in the dark shadows that “Peace is not the product of terror or fear. Peace is not the silence of cemeteries. Peace is the generous contribution of all to the good of all.” By the way, now Saint Oscar Arnulfo Romero. I still sometimes wonder, is peace possible? And not just some time in the distant future but today? If you, like me, are skeptical at times, we have to remember that before Zechariah spoke his beautiful words he was mute – or at least he had been mute for the previous nine months because he did not believe the angel who told him that his wife would conceive a son. “How can this be,” he asked Gabriel? “It is not possible because we are too old.” And because he did not believe, he was made mute until the day his son was born. Similarly, Gabriel told Mary that with God, nothing is impossible. So, if the question isn’t whether peace is possible, then how? Not an emotion but the condition of wholeness for all parties. John the Baptist called upon people to prepare the Way of the Lord by repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Perhaps we need to look in the mirror in order to repent our complicity in escalation. My own complicity. And then, as with all repentance, to turn in a new direction. If we wonder if civility is forever dead, perhaps we need to remember that civility is the way to civility. Did decency die? Or is decency the way to decency. And kindness the means to kindness. And compassion the means to compassion. And love the only means to love. As Dr. King said, “One day we must come to see that peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but that it is the means by which we arrive at that goal.” Of a kinder, gentler nation, a thousand points of light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. [1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/12/05/george-hw-bush-got-hear-his-own-eulogy-before-he-died-his-reaction-was-priceless/?utm_term=.0a441845cd95 [2] https://nationalpost.com/opinion/full-text-brian-mulroney-delivers-stirring-eulogy-at-state-funeral-of-george-h-w-bush [3] https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/politics/a25412509/alan-simpson-george-hw-bush-funeral-eulogy-transcript/ [4] https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/22/us/politics/donald-trump-rnc-speech.html [5] https://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/09/us/the-1988-elections-bush-victory-talk-i-mean-to-be-a-president-of-all-the-people.html [6] https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/12/03/how-willie-horton-ad-factors-into-george-hw-bushs-legacy/?utm_term=.6ca6c2aa5a37 [7] https://www.apnews.com/52b46ee07c0b4b67a8b01f1acfb58d35 [8] https://verysmartbrothas.theroot.com/the-privilege-of-being-remembered-like-a-dead-white-man-1830821323 [9] https://johnpavlovitz.com/2018/01/12/good-people-dont-defend-bad-man/ [10] https://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/ [11] https://www.peacepilgrim.org/ [12] http://origins.osu.edu/review/there-no-way-peace-peace-way-aj-muste-and-american-radical-pacifism [13] John Pavlovitz, Hope and Other Superpowers, Simon and Schuster, 2018, Chapter 11 on Kindness [14] http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/jewishtemple.htm [15] https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1950/bunche/biographical/ [16] https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-oscar-arnulfo-romero/
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