DELIBERATELY DIVERSE | The Rev. Ron Smith
Editor’s note: Deliberately Diverse represents the individual thoughts of a group of Taylor friends who never completely agree about anything but enjoy diverse discussions.
Smith is this week’s guest columnist.
I grew up an Episcopalian formed in the Eisenhower years.
As a child, I was deeply immersed in Episcopal worship. But my understanding of civic religion was the same as my Catholic friends, my Jewish friends and anyone else I was likely to know.
Our beliefs were important in sustaining our commitment to become virtuous citizens of our democracy.
That meant we should be tolerant of what people believe as long as they were honest and industrious citizens of our common republic.
We were confident that any of the religious traditions we encountered would cultivate the virtues the founders of our republic thought were necessary to a democratic society.
To make this civic project work, we granted our fellow citizens an initial trust they were people of goodwill who deserved our respect.
That shared civic religion in which I was raised has diminished.
Empathy is no longer seen as necessary for good citizenship.
Respect for others is less evident in the way we interact with our fellow citizens. Love and charity to all, especially to the least powerful, seems to be going out of style. So in this holiday season when we are celebrating gratitude for God’s providence and God’s protection of our nation, we who have been raised in a gentler, more accepting religious climate find a new impetus to pull together, to trust one another and place kindness and gentleness as the center of our faith.
In Philippians we find a hymn in praise of Christ. Verse 4 starts: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say, rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near.”
The operative Greek word here, translated as “gentleness,” can also mean “yielding” or “kind.” It indicates the soft, warm and open response to the other, so different from the confrontational and harsh climate of our public discourse. This gentleness is seen as the proper quality of the heart in preparation for Christ’s return and rule.
Philippians continues with this exhortation: “Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
The stance Paul urges is gentleness accompanied by ideals he hopes we will build into our character: justice, purity, pleasantness, being worthy of praise— these are the ideals that he wants fixed in the minds of the faithful. This beautiful vision is possible through the transformation of the human heart.
It is to approach the world with kindness and charity to all.
American Christians in their various denominations need to recapture the dream we can all live together in mutual respect and affection in spite of differences of theology and political partisanship. It is bold indeed to trust in the good-heartedness of others. But it is that openness and boldness that will preserve our republic.
May our Christian virtues help in that task.
Smith is the associate priest at St. James’ Episcopal Church in Taylor. He can be reached at [email protected].
