Religion and Politics Sermon #4
“Christian Values, Common Values”
Rev. Cynthia O’Brien
September 28, 2008
Smith Memorial Presbyterian Church
Galatians 5:13
You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. 14 The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." 15 If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
Biting and devouring. These days, that make me think of some of our political campaigns. Accusations about how much they paid for leather office furniture or collectible golf club. These mailers – “He doesn’t care about your safety.” “He’s misrepresenting me.” I don’t think anyone will easily recover from some of the negative campaigning we’ve seen around here in recent years. The Lord says, stop biting and devouring each other.
Likewise, we are not to bite and devour each other in the church. It happens all the time in some churches, and it happens some of the time in all churches. We have to keep reminding ourselves: Love your neighbor as yourself. So here, Paul explains how we will do that.
Galatians 5:16
So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17 For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
Here is a list of sins to refresh our memory.
Galatians 5:19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
If you break them down, you’ll see the first three and the last two are about sex and self-indulgent partying. (Sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, drunkenness, orgies.) There are two about worshiping the wrong gods. (Idolatry and witchcraft.) Then there are eight sins that are offenses against the unity of the church. According to this list, one of the worst things you can do is sow discord in the body of Christ.
I knew a woman in a previous church who complained about everything. She attended the 8:30 service. She didn’t like the guitar music. She didn’t like the way we came forward for communion. I sat down with her and listened to he and tried to give her some options. Why not go to the 11:00 service? There are different musicians at the 11:00 service, and we use the trays to serv communion. She said, “No, I like to go at 8:30 so I can go out to breakfast at 9:30 with my friends from the Congregational Church.” Then she said, “They do everything just the way I like it at the Congregational Church. They do music right. They do communion right. All my friends go there.” And I discovered that when there had been a split in our church several years before, a group of married couples had left and joined the Congegational Church. The whole group left except this one lady and her husband, who had stayed at our church.
So I said, “It sounds like all your friends go to the congregational church and you prefer the way they worship, so have you thought of going to church there?”
She got this fiery look in her eyes and she said, “The church is the building, not the people, and no one’s going to run me out of my church!”
She was in a lot of pain. And as she held on to misguided values, she made herself and everyone else miserable.
Paul recommends living by the Spirit. What does it mean to live by the Spirit? Kind of an intangible term, it means living in a manner of which God would approve, asking God for wisdom, showing humility and deference to God.
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
When we are evaluating candidates for public office, we can benefit by applying this list of character qualities, because these are not exclusive to Christians. They describe the best of what humanity was made to be. Is the candidate patient, or does he make rash decisions? Is he good, or is he corrupt? Is he faithful, or does he betray trust?
One of the reasons to be a Christian is finding the strength to live this way.
24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other … Galatians 6:22 Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
When I’m thinking about who to elect, here’s one question I ask: Will she help me to carry each other’s burdens? I think about one of Jesus’ most important values: caring for the poor, healing the sick and releasing the oppressed. How does the candidate think that we should treat the least among us, from the unborn child to the homeless family? What is the plan to provide for public safety and to help people not become addicted to meth? Can she bring us together to do for our community what no individual or business can do by itself?
This is where I have to apply both Christian values and common values. Sometimes Christians identify one or two issues and test every candidate on those issues. It’s our right to do that, but it might not produce the best result. Take the race for county commissioner, for example, which is one I understand well. The County Commissioners are in charge of allocating money for social services, managing our jail system, bridges and libraries. My choice of a candidate should focus on the skills needed for those responsibilities. I should choose the one who can make the best decisions for the county at large and also make sure that East County gets its needed share.
3 If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, 5 for each one should carry his own load.
Here’s another value: personal responsibility, which is often held in contrast to public welfare. Let’s apply it to this question: How should we lift up the poor?
I’m painting with a broad brush now, to show you how two Biblical perspectives can be polarizing.
A conservative approach is typically individualistic. Here are some of the statements that would commonly come from a conservative.
Poverty is caused by individual failures or shortcomings.
If you are addicted to drugs, you should free yourself from it.
Transfom your heart, and don’t reoffend.
Marriages need strengthening, so spouses should be faithful to each other.
Parents should be more loving and responsible for their kids.
These solutions are largely an individualistic way of solving social problems. “Individuals can achieve if they get up and do it.”
A more liberal view might say that poverty is caused by unjust systems, and personal failings like alcoholism or teen pregnancy wouldn’t happen if it weren’t for the environment that people are living in. They would say, we need to fix the structures, address the injustices that force people to live in these conditions. They say, it takes a village, and we all need to be part of the solution Government helps us pool our resources and do more than we could do alone.
These two views have been polarizing. But the Bible, and Jesus in particular, advocates a mixture of both personal responsibility and community cooperation. Families, neighborhoods, schools, churches, city governments, state and national programs, all need to work together in a perfect balance, which is difficult to achieve but worth the effort.
Yesterday morning about 75 people from various churches showed up at the Gresham City Hall parking lot to help eradicate graffiti. We had about 10 from our church. There was a group from St. Henry with Father Charles, one from Columbia Life Center in Troutdale, a big group from a Hispanic church on 181st, and more. One person I know had invited a family member to come help, and this relative had said, “Why would I want to take my Saturday morning to do that?” Why? Because it’s the right thing to do.
Cathy Harrington is the city employee who is in charge of graffiti. When she got up to speak to the group and give us our assignments, she was really choked up with emotion at how many people had come from the churches to help. It was a beautiful thing.
Galatians 6:7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
Most everyone believes this: You reap what you sow. Do good in this life and it will generally come back to you in this life, and in the life to come.
9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
We have been promised eternal life, so Paul says “let’s keep doing good.” while we have opportunity. There is some time left – before we’re too sick to do anything, before we die, before Jesus returns. Let us do good to all people, especially to our family of believers.
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Religion and Politics: How Should a Christian Vote?
Religion and Politics # 3
“How Should a Christian Vote?”
Isaiah 55
Rev Cynthia O'Brien
Smith Memorial Presbyterian Church
ISA 55:6 Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.
ISA 55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way
and the evil man his thoughts.
Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.
ISA 55:8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the LORD.
ISA 55:9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Romans 11-12
RO 11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
RO 11:34 "Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?"
RO 11:35 "Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?"
RO 11:36 For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.
RO 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Here’s a story from Ed Dionne Jr. of the Washington Post. It was Election Day, and Mrs. O’Reilly was being taken to the polls by her son. Mrs. O’Reilly always voted straight Democratic. Her son, a successfu member of the upper middle class had become an Independent and voted for many Republicans.
They had a routine every election day. He asked his mother ho she would vote. As always, she answered “Straight Democratic.” The son was exasperated. He said, “Mom, if Jesus came back to earth and ran as a Republican, you would vote against him.” She snapped back at him, “Aw, hush, why should He change his party after all these years?”
I promised I would not try to answer the question, “Who would Jesus vote for?” and that I wouldn’t endorse any specific candidates from the pulpit. In a way, I wish I could, because I know most of the local candidates, or at least I’ve met them. But my goal today is to answer the question, How Should a Christian Vote?
Which presupposes that we are actually involved, whether we vote in a booth or by mail, we make the effort to register to vote and we actually do it. In my younger days I sometimes let an election slide by because I didn’t think my vote mattered. Or I just didn’t know who to vote for. For a couple of years I simply voted no on everything that would cost money. In all those instances, I was wrong.
A Christian’s most important citizenship is in the kingdom of God, but we are also to follow Jesus’ call to love our neighbor. We don’t just honor the government, we get to help choose the government. That is an awesome and godly task.
How should a Christian vote?
Let’s consider these words from Scripture. In the Old Testament, the prophet Isaiah
said,
ISA 55:8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the LORD.
ISA 55:9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
This is one of my favorite scriptures. It speaks of the mystery of God’s ways and reminds me that I do not have God all figured out. This is the God that Abraham Lincoln spoke of, when he said,
“Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right.”
This is why it’s dangerous to say things like “The GOP is God’s own party” or “Jesus is a liberal.” It’s more important to say, with humility, “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so God’s ways are higher than our ways.”
But we still have to make decisions, and God does give us guidance. So we take the rest of the Isaiah text to heart:
ISA 55:6 Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.
How should a Christian decide? Here is the answer: Prayerfully and thoughtfully.
When I’m making decisions, whether it’s on candidates or issues or any personal decision, that’s a time to seek the Lord and ask God to guide me. You may have prayed for wisdom or guidance. Sometimes you don’t feel like you get an answer and you have to decide whether to wait, or make the best decision you can. One missionary I knew said that if she didn’t get an answer, she waited and didn’t even make the decision until she was sure she knew what was right. Others say, God has placed his Holy Spirit in you and because of that, you’ll make a good decision. What’s important is that we seek God and call on him and ask him to help us.
There’s a promise in the Bible about that. James 1:5 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. Another favorite verse is Jeremiah 33:3: 3 `Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.' We can trust God to help us make choices.
CHILDREN come up for a story. I am giving each of you a one dollar Presidential coin. This coin has these words on it. In God we trust. During the Civil War, in 1861, people in the United States were fighting each other, the northern states verses the southern states. Many people turned to God, prayed to God for peace and asked God for help. And some said that it was important for the United States to show our faith in God by putting something about God on our money. So the Secretary of the Treasury arranged for these words to be on our coins: In God we trust.
When you look at your money, remember that we trust in God, and you can trust God to love you and help you.
If that weren’t already on our money, it would never be put there today. Times are changing. Our nation is a more pluralistic society than it was 100 years ago or even 50 years ago. But that doesn’t change our foundation as Christians. We are still citizens of the kingdom of God. We still have the freedom to make decisions informed by our faith. So we pray when we are making any kind of decision, and we ask God to guide us.
Then there’s another part of deciding. We decide prayerfully, but we also decide thoughtfully. We learn all we can before we make our decision.
There’s an old Middle Eastern saying: “Trust Allah, but tie up your camel.” The less colorful version of that saying, and less correct is “God helps those who help themselves.” But I prefer the one about the camel. You place your trust in God, and you also do the responsible thing. So let’s say you are hiring a new employee for your business. You might pray and ask God to help you select the best person. But you also read the resumes, check the references and interview people. When you come down to the decision, you’ll probably make a good decision, because you have done the research and you have asked God to guide you.
Many people want to educate themselves about the candidates, but they don’t know how to do it.
I was at the bank the other day and I told the teller about the sermon that I was working on. She said she’s having a really hard time with all those horrible TV commercials. I told her to turn off the TV. Because those ads are largely designed to give you a negative view of their opponent, rather than solid information you can use to make an informed decision. Campaigns use them because, unfortunately, they work.
I saw one of our elected officials on Friday who is running for re-election, and I said “Thank you for running a positive campaign rather than negative ads, even though your opponent attacked you.” And my friend was really upset and said, “Well, some of those statements were outright lies, so now we have to answer it.”
Outright lies? How can that BE? It’s on television, isn’t it? :-) We have a responsibility to test everything we read and everything we see on television to find out whether it’s true.
So when we vote, we vote prayerfully, trusting God to guide us, and thoughtfully.
RO 11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!
RO 11:34 "Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?"
RO 11:35 "Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?"
RO 11:36 For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.
Next week I’ll preach on the values that are most important for our common life, and how we can live out our values in such a way that our community will be better because you and I live here.
“How Should a Christian Vote?”
Isaiah 55
Rev Cynthia O'Brien
Smith Memorial Presbyterian Church
ISA 55:6 Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.
ISA 55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way
and the evil man his thoughts.
Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.
ISA 55:8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the LORD.
ISA 55:9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Romans 11-12
RO 11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
RO 11:34 "Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?"
RO 11:35 "Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?"
RO 11:36 For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.
RO 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Here’s a story from Ed Dionne Jr. of the Washington Post. It was Election Day, and Mrs. O’Reilly was being taken to the polls by her son. Mrs. O’Reilly always voted straight Democratic. Her son, a successfu member of the upper middle class had become an Independent and voted for many Republicans.
They had a routine every election day. He asked his mother ho she would vote. As always, she answered “Straight Democratic.” The son was exasperated. He said, “Mom, if Jesus came back to earth and ran as a Republican, you would vote against him.” She snapped back at him, “Aw, hush, why should He change his party after all these years?”
I promised I would not try to answer the question, “Who would Jesus vote for?” and that I wouldn’t endorse any specific candidates from the pulpit. In a way, I wish I could, because I know most of the local candidates, or at least I’ve met them. But my goal today is to answer the question, How Should a Christian Vote?
Which presupposes that we are actually involved, whether we vote in a booth or by mail, we make the effort to register to vote and we actually do it. In my younger days I sometimes let an election slide by because I didn’t think my vote mattered. Or I just didn’t know who to vote for. For a couple of years I simply voted no on everything that would cost money. In all those instances, I was wrong.
A Christian’s most important citizenship is in the kingdom of God, but we are also to follow Jesus’ call to love our neighbor. We don’t just honor the government, we get to help choose the government. That is an awesome and godly task.
How should a Christian vote?
Let’s consider these words from Scripture. In the Old Testament, the prophet Isaiah
said,
ISA 55:8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the LORD.
ISA 55:9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
This is one of my favorite scriptures. It speaks of the mystery of God’s ways and reminds me that I do not have God all figured out. This is the God that Abraham Lincoln spoke of, when he said,
“Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right.”
This is why it’s dangerous to say things like “The GOP is God’s own party” or “Jesus is a liberal.” It’s more important to say, with humility, “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so God’s ways are higher than our ways.”
But we still have to make decisions, and God does give us guidance. So we take the rest of the Isaiah text to heart:
ISA 55:6 Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.
How should a Christian decide? Here is the answer: Prayerfully and thoughtfully.
When I’m making decisions, whether it’s on candidates or issues or any personal decision, that’s a time to seek the Lord and ask God to guide me. You may have prayed for wisdom or guidance. Sometimes you don’t feel like you get an answer and you have to decide whether to wait, or make the best decision you can. One missionary I knew said that if she didn’t get an answer, she waited and didn’t even make the decision until she was sure she knew what was right. Others say, God has placed his Holy Spirit in you and because of that, you’ll make a good decision. What’s important is that we seek God and call on him and ask him to help us.
There’s a promise in the Bible about that. James 1:5 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. Another favorite verse is Jeremiah 33:3: 3 `Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.' We can trust God to help us make choices.
CHILDREN come up for a story. I am giving each of you a one dollar Presidential coin. This coin has these words on it. In God we trust. During the Civil War, in 1861, people in the United States were fighting each other, the northern states verses the southern states. Many people turned to God, prayed to God for peace and asked God for help. And some said that it was important for the United States to show our faith in God by putting something about God on our money. So the Secretary of the Treasury arranged for these words to be on our coins: In God we trust.
When you look at your money, remember that we trust in God, and you can trust God to love you and help you.
If that weren’t already on our money, it would never be put there today. Times are changing. Our nation is a more pluralistic society than it was 100 years ago or even 50 years ago. But that doesn’t change our foundation as Christians. We are still citizens of the kingdom of God. We still have the freedom to make decisions informed by our faith. So we pray when we are making any kind of decision, and we ask God to guide us.
Then there’s another part of deciding. We decide prayerfully, but we also decide thoughtfully. We learn all we can before we make our decision.
There’s an old Middle Eastern saying: “Trust Allah, but tie up your camel.” The less colorful version of that saying, and less correct is “God helps those who help themselves.” But I prefer the one about the camel. You place your trust in God, and you also do the responsible thing. So let’s say you are hiring a new employee for your business. You might pray and ask God to help you select the best person. But you also read the resumes, check the references and interview people. When you come down to the decision, you’ll probably make a good decision, because you have done the research and you have asked God to guide you.
Many people want to educate themselves about the candidates, but they don’t know how to do it.
I was at the bank the other day and I told the teller about the sermon that I was working on. She said she’s having a really hard time with all those horrible TV commercials. I told her to turn off the TV. Because those ads are largely designed to give you a negative view of their opponent, rather than solid information you can use to make an informed decision. Campaigns use them because, unfortunately, they work.
I saw one of our elected officials on Friday who is running for re-election, and I said “Thank you for running a positive campaign rather than negative ads, even though your opponent attacked you.” And my friend was really upset and said, “Well, some of those statements were outright lies, so now we have to answer it.”
Outright lies? How can that BE? It’s on television, isn’t it? :-) We have a responsibility to test everything we read and everything we see on television to find out whether it’s true.
So when we vote, we vote prayerfully, trusting God to guide us, and thoughtfully.
RO 11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!
RO 11:34 "Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?"
RO 11:35 "Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?"
RO 11:36 For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.
Next week I’ll preach on the values that are most important for our common life, and how we can live out our values in such a way that our community will be better because you and I live here.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Religion and Politics: "We Reject the False Doctrine"
Religion and Politics Sermon #2
"We Reject the False Doctrine"
Rev. Cynthia O'Brien
Smith Memorial Presbyterian Church
September 14, 2008
1PE 2:4 As you come to him, the living Stone--rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him-- 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For in Scripture it says:
"See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame."
1PE 2:7 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,
"The stone the builders rejected
has become the capstone, "
1PE 2:8 and,
"A stone that causes men to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall."
They stumble because they disobey the message--which is also what they were destined for.
1PE 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
1PE 2:11 Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
1PE 2:13 Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, 14 or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15 For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. 16 Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. 17 Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.
If you believed that the leader of your country were doing something horribly wrong, would you say something? Or would that be unpatriotic?
A few years ago, the Dixie Chicks were on tour in London. Thy had the No. 1 country single and their upcoming world tour was sold out. Lead singer Natalie Mines made an off the cuff remark in London. It was the night before the U.S. invasion of Iraq. She didn’t want her country to go to war and didn’t want people to die. She said she was ashamed that President Bush was from her home state of Texas.
There was a huge uproar. Country music fans boycotted their music right off the radio. Someone wrote a letter to Natalie saying she should just shut up and sing, or something bad would happen to her. The Dixie Chicks were pretty much in exile for about three years, and while they were off the radio they continued to write music and each of them had a couple of kids. Then two years ago they released an album which chronicled the the things that had happened to them. They sang about all the anger and hatred that came at them because they expressed their opinion.
Now imagine if it weren’t her country music fans unleashing all this hatred on her. Imagine if it were her church, saying she wasn’t patriotic and she wasn’t being a good Christian.
If you believed that your country were doing something horribly wrong, would you say something? And if you did, would you be considered unpatriotic? Or even unChristian?
I want to tell you the story behind the Barmen Declaration. This story is largely drawn from this book “Presbyterian Creeds” by Jack Rogers. You can read the declaration online or I have some copies of it in the narthex. It is one of the nine confessions that the Presbyterian Church has adopted over the years as statements of what we believe.
In the early 1930’s, Germany was politically unstable. Adolf Hitler and his socialist party were rising to power, and many Christian churches thought that he was going to bring renewal, including spiritual renewal. Hitler talked about history and traditions. One minister said that this was a gift from God. A movement of churches was formed called the “German Christians.” The German Christians adopted values that were similar to the national Socialist Party – anti-Marx, anti-Jew, for racial purity and “positive Chrisitanity.”
The German Christians had their first national convention in 1933. Their slogan was, “The State of Adolf Hitler appeals to the Church an the Church has to hear his call.” That year, a unified State church was established. Ludwig Müller, a member of the Nazi party, was elected to be the first Reich Bishop. The new church constitution placed two restrictions on the clergy: (1) A clergyman must be politically reliable and (2) a clergyman must accept the superiority of the Aryan race. Hundreds of clergy accepted these demands.
But there were many pastors who did not agree. One was Martin Niemoeller.
Martin Niemoeller had been a German U-boat commander in World War I. He was known as the Scourge of Malta. He was intensely patriotic. In the early years of the Nazi regime, he organized the Academic Defense Corps, which was an armed student nationalist organization. He studied theology and became a Lutheran pastor, and in 1931 he became pastor of an influential church in Berlin.
Niemoeller and some other church leaders believed that it was wrong for Hitler to bring all the churches together into one state church under his rules, so they formed the Pastors Emergency League to oppose the Unified National Church. Niemoeller wrote to all the German church leaders. He reminded them of the Scriptures and the confessions of faith. He said that the cult of Aryanism was a violation of Christian teaching. He relentlessly spoke out against Hitler.
Karl Barth and Dietrich Bonhoeffer joined him. Barth wrote more letters and papers pointing out that the German Christians were wrong. Many pastors read the letters and were convinced to leave the state church and joined the Pastors Emergency League. This angered the Reich bishop. He worried that if pastors preached about the Nazi’s spiritual errors, they would soon question other Nazi policies. So the Reich bishop issued a decree: Clergy may not discuss any politics or matters of controversy in the pulpit.
On the same day, 320 elders and ministers met in Barmen. They said that faithful ministers could not refuse to preach in the realm of politics "when politics violated the deepest principles of faith." They continued to meet, and approved the Barmen Declaration, which Karl Barth had drafed. The declaration outlined the false doctrines of a Nazi controlled State Church.
The Barmen declaration has six statements from Scripture. After each scripture, there is a statement of belief, and then a false doctrine of the German Christians.
The statements are easier to read on paper than to listen to, so I’ll just give you one of them. Listen for the Scripture, the statement of belief, then the rejection of false doctrine:
First a Scripture.
8.16 - 3. "Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body [is] joined and knit together." (Eph. 4:15,16.)
Here’s the statement of belief.
8.17 The Christian Church is the congregation of the brethren in which Jesus Christ acts presently as the Lord in Word and sacrament through the Holy Spirit. As the Church of pardoned sinners, it has to testify in the midst of a sinful world, with its faith as with its obedience, with its message as with its order, that it is solely his property, (in other words that the church belongs ONLY to Jesus Christ), and that it lives and wants to live solely from his comfort and from his direction in the expectation of his appearance. (in other words, until he comes again.)
Now, the rejection of the German Christians’ doctrine.
8.18 We reject the false doctrine, as though the Church were permitted to abandon the form of its message and order to its own pleasure or to changes in prevailing ideological and political convictions.
Barth mailed a copy to Hitler immediately.
The Nazis began to actively persecute the Confessing Church, while more Germans signed on with Hitler’s Aryan Nation swept over Germany. The Confessing Church stood pretty much alone against Third Reich. Niemoeller was seized by the Gestapo in 1937 and spent 7 years in concentration camps. Bonhoeffer was hanged. Barth managed to return to his native Switzerland.
Niemoeller was one of the first ones to speak out against the Nazis, but after the war, he shared in the guilt of the German people. He spoke about how they could have done more, and he is he one who wrote these words:
In Germany they came first for the communist, andI didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a jew. then they came for the trade unionists, and I ddn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they camefor the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up.”
After he was released from Dachau in 1945 he preached before a gathering of German church leaders. He said, “We have no right to pass off all guilt on the evil Nazis… We the church failed.”
He went on to be a founder and president of the World Council of Churches. At age 89 he marched in Hamburg to protest the arms race. People continued to criticize him for his pacifism. But he always used to say, “Live according to the Gospel without fear, or fail.”
"We Reject the False Doctrine"
Rev. Cynthia O'Brien
Smith Memorial Presbyterian Church
September 14, 2008
1PE 2:4 As you come to him, the living Stone--rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him-- 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For in Scripture it says:
"See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame."
1PE 2:7 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,
"The stone the builders rejected
has become the capstone, "
1PE 2:8 and,
"A stone that causes men to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall."
They stumble because they disobey the message--which is also what they were destined for.
1PE 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
1PE 2:11 Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
1PE 2:13 Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, 14 or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15 For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. 16 Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. 17 Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.
If you believed that the leader of your country were doing something horribly wrong, would you say something? Or would that be unpatriotic?
A few years ago, the Dixie Chicks were on tour in London. Thy had the No. 1 country single and their upcoming world tour was sold out. Lead singer Natalie Mines made an off the cuff remark in London. It was the night before the U.S. invasion of Iraq. She didn’t want her country to go to war and didn’t want people to die. She said she was ashamed that President Bush was from her home state of Texas.
There was a huge uproar. Country music fans boycotted their music right off the radio. Someone wrote a letter to Natalie saying she should just shut up and sing, or something bad would happen to her. The Dixie Chicks were pretty much in exile for about three years, and while they were off the radio they continued to write music and each of them had a couple of kids. Then two years ago they released an album which chronicled the the things that had happened to them. They sang about all the anger and hatred that came at them because they expressed their opinion.
Now imagine if it weren’t her country music fans unleashing all this hatred on her. Imagine if it were her church, saying she wasn’t patriotic and she wasn’t being a good Christian.
If you believed that your country were doing something horribly wrong, would you say something? And if you did, would you be considered unpatriotic? Or even unChristian?
I want to tell you the story behind the Barmen Declaration. This story is largely drawn from this book “Presbyterian Creeds” by Jack Rogers. You can read the declaration online or I have some copies of it in the narthex. It is one of the nine confessions that the Presbyterian Church has adopted over the years as statements of what we believe.
In the early 1930’s, Germany was politically unstable. Adolf Hitler and his socialist party were rising to power, and many Christian churches thought that he was going to bring renewal, including spiritual renewal. Hitler talked about history and traditions. One minister said that this was a gift from God. A movement of churches was formed called the “German Christians.” The German Christians adopted values that were similar to the national Socialist Party – anti-Marx, anti-Jew, for racial purity and “positive Chrisitanity.”
The German Christians had their first national convention in 1933. Their slogan was, “The State of Adolf Hitler appeals to the Church an the Church has to hear his call.” That year, a unified State church was established. Ludwig Müller, a member of the Nazi party, was elected to be the first Reich Bishop. The new church constitution placed two restrictions on the clergy: (1) A clergyman must be politically reliable and (2) a clergyman must accept the superiority of the Aryan race. Hundreds of clergy accepted these demands.
But there were many pastors who did not agree. One was Martin Niemoeller.
Martin Niemoeller had been a German U-boat commander in World War I. He was known as the Scourge of Malta. He was intensely patriotic. In the early years of the Nazi regime, he organized the Academic Defense Corps, which was an armed student nationalist organization. He studied theology and became a Lutheran pastor, and in 1931 he became pastor of an influential church in Berlin.
Niemoeller and some other church leaders believed that it was wrong for Hitler to bring all the churches together into one state church under his rules, so they formed the Pastors Emergency League to oppose the Unified National Church. Niemoeller wrote to all the German church leaders. He reminded them of the Scriptures and the confessions of faith. He said that the cult of Aryanism was a violation of Christian teaching. He relentlessly spoke out against Hitler.
Karl Barth and Dietrich Bonhoeffer joined him. Barth wrote more letters and papers pointing out that the German Christians were wrong. Many pastors read the letters and were convinced to leave the state church and joined the Pastors Emergency League. This angered the Reich bishop. He worried that if pastors preached about the Nazi’s spiritual errors, they would soon question other Nazi policies. So the Reich bishop issued a decree: Clergy may not discuss any politics or matters of controversy in the pulpit.
On the same day, 320 elders and ministers met in Barmen. They said that faithful ministers could not refuse to preach in the realm of politics "when politics violated the deepest principles of faith." They continued to meet, and approved the Barmen Declaration, which Karl Barth had drafed. The declaration outlined the false doctrines of a Nazi controlled State Church.
The Barmen declaration has six statements from Scripture. After each scripture, there is a statement of belief, and then a false doctrine of the German Christians.
The statements are easier to read on paper than to listen to, so I’ll just give you one of them. Listen for the Scripture, the statement of belief, then the rejection of false doctrine:
First a Scripture.
8.16 - 3. "Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body [is] joined and knit together." (Eph. 4:15,16.)
Here’s the statement of belief.
8.17 The Christian Church is the congregation of the brethren in which Jesus Christ acts presently as the Lord in Word and sacrament through the Holy Spirit. As the Church of pardoned sinners, it has to testify in the midst of a sinful world, with its faith as with its obedience, with its message as with its order, that it is solely his property, (in other words that the church belongs ONLY to Jesus Christ), and that it lives and wants to live solely from his comfort and from his direction in the expectation of his appearance. (in other words, until he comes again.)
Now, the rejection of the German Christians’ doctrine.
8.18 We reject the false doctrine, as though the Church were permitted to abandon the form of its message and order to its own pleasure or to changes in prevailing ideological and political convictions.
Barth mailed a copy to Hitler immediately.
The Nazis began to actively persecute the Confessing Church, while more Germans signed on with Hitler’s Aryan Nation swept over Germany. The Confessing Church stood pretty much alone against Third Reich. Niemoeller was seized by the Gestapo in 1937 and spent 7 years in concentration camps. Bonhoeffer was hanged. Barth managed to return to his native Switzerland.
Niemoeller was one of the first ones to speak out against the Nazis, but after the war, he shared in the guilt of the German people. He spoke about how they could have done more, and he is he one who wrote these words:
In Germany they came first for the communist, andI didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a jew. then they came for the trade unionists, and I ddn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they camefor the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up.”
After he was released from Dachau in 1945 he preached before a gathering of German church leaders. He said, “We have no right to pass off all guilt on the evil Nazis… We the church failed.”
He went on to be a founder and president of the World Council of Churches. At age 89 he marched in Hamburg to protest the arms race. People continued to criticize him for his pacifism. But he always used to say, “Live according to the Gospel without fear, or fail.”
Thursday, September 11, 2008
The Barmen Declaration: Evangelical Statements
Theological Declaration of Barmen
The Theological Declaration of Barmen 1934 is a statement of the Confessing Church opposing the Nazi-supported "German-Christian" movement. The "German Christians" who were hostile to the Confessing Church combined extreme nationalism with anti-Semitism. The Barmen Declaration specifically rejects the subordination of the church to the state. Rather, the Declaration states that the church "is solely Christ's property, and that it lives and wants to live solely from his comfort and from his direction in the expectation of his appearance." The Declaration was mostly written by Reformed theologian Karl Barth, but was also crafted in part by other Confessing Church leaders, including Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Its ecumenical nature can be seen by its inclusion in the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) - Wikipedia
Part II. Theological Declaration Concerning the Present Situation of the German Evangelical Church
8.05 According to the opening words of its constitution of July 11, 1933, the German Evangelical Church is a federation of Confessional Churches that grew our of the Reformation and that enjoy equal rights. The theological basis for the unification of these Churches is laid down in Article 1 and Article 2(1) of the constitution of the German Evangelical Church that was recognized by the Reich Government on July 14, 1933:
Article 1. The inviolable foundation of the German Evangelical Church is the gospel of Jesus Christ as it is attested for us in Holy Scripture and brought to light again in the Confessions of the Reformation. The full powers that the Church needs for its mission are hereby determined and limited.
Article 2 (1). The German Evangelical Church is divided into member Churches (Landeskirchen).
8.06 We, the representatives of Lutheran, Reformed, and United Churches, of free synods, Church assemblies, and parish organizations united in the Confessional Synod of the German Evangelical Church, declare that we stand together on the ground of the German Evangelical Church as a federation of German Confessional Churches. We are bound together by the confession of the one Lord of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.
8.07 We publicly declare before all evangelical Churches in Germany that what they hold in common in this Confession is grievously imperiled, and with it the unity of the German Evangelical Church. It is threatened by the teaching methods and actions of the ruling Church party of the "German Christians" and of the Church administration carried on by them. These have become more and more apparent during the first year of the existence of the German Evangelical Church. This threat consists in the fact that the theological basis, in which the German Evangelical Church is united, has been continually and systematically thwarted and rendered ineffective by alien principles, on the part of the leaders and spokesmen of the "German Christians" as well as on the part of the Church administration. When these principles are held to be valid, then, according to all the Confessions in force among us, the Church ceases to be the Church and the German Evangelical Church, as a federation of Confessional Churches, becomes intrinsically impossible.
8.08 As members of Lutheran, Reformed, and United Churches we may and must speak with one voice in this matter today. Precisely because we want to be and to remain faithful to our various Confessions, we may not keep silent, since we believe that we have been given a common message to utter in a time of common need and temptation. We commend to God what this may mean for the interrelations of the Confessional Churches.
8.09 In view of the errors of the "German Christians" of the present Reich Church government which are devastating the Church and also therefore breaking up the unity of the German Evangelical Church, we confess the following evangelical truths:
8.10 - 1. "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me." (John 14.6). "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. . . . I am the door; if anyone enters by me, he will be saved." (John 10:1, 9.)
8.11 Jesus Christ, as he is attested for us in Holy Scripture, is the one Word of God which we have to hear and which we have to trust and obey in life and in death.
8.12 We reject the false doctrine, as though the church could and would have to acknowledge as a source of its proclamation, apart from and besides this one Word of God, still other events and powers, figures and truths, as God's revelation.
8.13 - 2. "Christ Jesus, whom God has made our wisdom, our righteousness and sanctification and redemption." (1 Cor. 1:30.)
8.14 As Jesus Christ is God's assurance of the forgiveness of all our sins, so, in the same way and with the same seriousness he is also God's mighty claim upon our whole life. Through him befalls us a joyful deliverance from the godless fetters of this world for a free, grateful service to his creatures.
8.15 We reject the false doctrine, as though there were areas of our life in which we would not belong to Jesus Christ, but to other lords--areas in which we would not need justification and sanctification through him.
8.16 - 3. "Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body [is] joined and knit together." (Eph. 4:15,16.)
8.17 The Christian Church is the congregation of the brethren in which Jesus Christ acts presently as the Lord in Word and sacrament through the Holy Spirit. As the Church of pardoned sinners, it has to testify in the midst of a sinful world, with its faith as with its obedience, with its message as with its order, that it is solely his property, and that it lives and wants to live solely from his comfort and from his direction in the expectation of his appearance.
8.18 We reject the false doctrine, as though the Church were permitted to abandon the form of its message and order to its own pleasure or to changes in prevailing ideological and political convictions.
8.19 - 4. "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant." (Matt. 20:25,26.)
8.20 The various offices in the Church do not establish a dominion of some over the others; on the contrary, they are for the exercise of the ministry entrusted to and enjoined upon the whole congregation.
8.21 We reject the false doctrine, as though the Church, apart from this ministry, could and were permitted to give itself, or allow to be given to it, special leaders vested with ruling powers.
8.22 - 5. "Fear God. Honor the emperor." (1 Peter 2:17.)
Scripture tells us that, in the as yet unredeemed world in which the Church also exists, the State has by divine appointment the task of providing for justice and peace. [It fulfills this task] by means of the threat and exercise of force, according to the measure of human judgment and human ability. The Church acknowledges the benefit of this divine appointment in gratitude and reverence before him. It calls to mind the Kingdom of God, God's commandment and righteousness, and thereby the responsibility both of rulers and of the ruled. It trusts and obeys the power of the Word by which God upholds all things.
8.23 We reject the false doctrine, as though the State, over and beyond its special commission, should and could become the single and totalitarian order of human life, thus fulfilling the Church's vocation as well.
8.24 We reject the false doctrine, as though the Church, over and beyond its special commission, should and could appropriate the characteristics, the tasks, and the dignity of the State, thus itself becoming an organ of the State.
8.25 - 6. "Lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age." (Matt. 28:20.) "The word of God is not fettered." (2 Tim. 2:9.)
8.26 The Church's commission, upon which its freedom is founded, consists in delivering the message of the free grace of God to all people in Christ's stead, and therefore in the ministry of his own Word and work through sermon and sacrament.
8.27 We reject the false doctrine, as though the Church in human arrogance could place the Word and work of the Lord in the service of any arbitrarily chosen desires, purposes, and plans.
8.28 The Confessional Synod of the German Evangelical Church declares that it sees in the acknowledgment of these truths and in the rejection of these errors the indispensable theological basis of the German Evangelical Church as a federation of Confessional Churches. It invites all who are able to accept its declaration to be mindful of these theological principles in their decisions in Church politics. It entreats all whom it concerns to return to the unity of faith, love, and hope.
The Theological Declaration of Barmen 1934 is a statement of the Confessing Church opposing the Nazi-supported "German-Christian" movement. The "German Christians" who were hostile to the Confessing Church combined extreme nationalism with anti-Semitism. The Barmen Declaration specifically rejects the subordination of the church to the state. Rather, the Declaration states that the church "is solely Christ's property, and that it lives and wants to live solely from his comfort and from his direction in the expectation of his appearance." The Declaration was mostly written by Reformed theologian Karl Barth, but was also crafted in part by other Confessing Church leaders, including Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Its ecumenical nature can be seen by its inclusion in the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) - Wikipedia
Part II. Theological Declaration Concerning the Present Situation of the German Evangelical Church
8.05 According to the opening words of its constitution of July 11, 1933, the German Evangelical Church is a federation of Confessional Churches that grew our of the Reformation and that enjoy equal rights. The theological basis for the unification of these Churches is laid down in Article 1 and Article 2(1) of the constitution of the German Evangelical Church that was recognized by the Reich Government on July 14, 1933:
Article 1. The inviolable foundation of the German Evangelical Church is the gospel of Jesus Christ as it is attested for us in Holy Scripture and brought to light again in the Confessions of the Reformation. The full powers that the Church needs for its mission are hereby determined and limited.
Article 2 (1). The German Evangelical Church is divided into member Churches (Landeskirchen).
8.06 We, the representatives of Lutheran, Reformed, and United Churches, of free synods, Church assemblies, and parish organizations united in the Confessional Synod of the German Evangelical Church, declare that we stand together on the ground of the German Evangelical Church as a federation of German Confessional Churches. We are bound together by the confession of the one Lord of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.
8.07 We publicly declare before all evangelical Churches in Germany that what they hold in common in this Confession is grievously imperiled, and with it the unity of the German Evangelical Church. It is threatened by the teaching methods and actions of the ruling Church party of the "German Christians" and of the Church administration carried on by them. These have become more and more apparent during the first year of the existence of the German Evangelical Church. This threat consists in the fact that the theological basis, in which the German Evangelical Church is united, has been continually and systematically thwarted and rendered ineffective by alien principles, on the part of the leaders and spokesmen of the "German Christians" as well as on the part of the Church administration. When these principles are held to be valid, then, according to all the Confessions in force among us, the Church ceases to be the Church and the German Evangelical Church, as a federation of Confessional Churches, becomes intrinsically impossible.
8.08 As members of Lutheran, Reformed, and United Churches we may and must speak with one voice in this matter today. Precisely because we want to be and to remain faithful to our various Confessions, we may not keep silent, since we believe that we have been given a common message to utter in a time of common need and temptation. We commend to God what this may mean for the interrelations of the Confessional Churches.
8.09 In view of the errors of the "German Christians" of the present Reich Church government which are devastating the Church and also therefore breaking up the unity of the German Evangelical Church, we confess the following evangelical truths:
8.10 - 1. "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me." (John 14.6). "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. . . . I am the door; if anyone enters by me, he will be saved." (John 10:1, 9.)
8.11 Jesus Christ, as he is attested for us in Holy Scripture, is the one Word of God which we have to hear and which we have to trust and obey in life and in death.
8.12 We reject the false doctrine, as though the church could and would have to acknowledge as a source of its proclamation, apart from and besides this one Word of God, still other events and powers, figures and truths, as God's revelation.
8.13 - 2. "Christ Jesus, whom God has made our wisdom, our righteousness and sanctification and redemption." (1 Cor. 1:30.)
8.14 As Jesus Christ is God's assurance of the forgiveness of all our sins, so, in the same way and with the same seriousness he is also God's mighty claim upon our whole life. Through him befalls us a joyful deliverance from the godless fetters of this world for a free, grateful service to his creatures.
8.15 We reject the false doctrine, as though there were areas of our life in which we would not belong to Jesus Christ, but to other lords--areas in which we would not need justification and sanctification through him.
8.16 - 3. "Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body [is] joined and knit together." (Eph. 4:15,16.)
8.17 The Christian Church is the congregation of the brethren in which Jesus Christ acts presently as the Lord in Word and sacrament through the Holy Spirit. As the Church of pardoned sinners, it has to testify in the midst of a sinful world, with its faith as with its obedience, with its message as with its order, that it is solely his property, and that it lives and wants to live solely from his comfort and from his direction in the expectation of his appearance.
8.18 We reject the false doctrine, as though the Church were permitted to abandon the form of its message and order to its own pleasure or to changes in prevailing ideological and political convictions.
8.19 - 4. "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant." (Matt. 20:25,26.)
8.20 The various offices in the Church do not establish a dominion of some over the others; on the contrary, they are for the exercise of the ministry entrusted to and enjoined upon the whole congregation.
8.21 We reject the false doctrine, as though the Church, apart from this ministry, could and were permitted to give itself, or allow to be given to it, special leaders vested with ruling powers.
8.22 - 5. "Fear God. Honor the emperor." (1 Peter 2:17.)
Scripture tells us that, in the as yet unredeemed world in which the Church also exists, the State has by divine appointment the task of providing for justice and peace. [It fulfills this task] by means of the threat and exercise of force, according to the measure of human judgment and human ability. The Church acknowledges the benefit of this divine appointment in gratitude and reverence before him. It calls to mind the Kingdom of God, God's commandment and righteousness, and thereby the responsibility both of rulers and of the ruled. It trusts and obeys the power of the Word by which God upholds all things.
8.23 We reject the false doctrine, as though the State, over and beyond its special commission, should and could become the single and totalitarian order of human life, thus fulfilling the Church's vocation as well.
8.24 We reject the false doctrine, as though the Church, over and beyond its special commission, should and could appropriate the characteristics, the tasks, and the dignity of the State, thus itself becoming an organ of the State.
8.25 - 6. "Lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age." (Matt. 28:20.) "The word of God is not fettered." (2 Tim. 2:9.)
8.26 The Church's commission, upon which its freedom is founded, consists in delivering the message of the free grace of God to all people in Christ's stead, and therefore in the ministry of his own Word and work through sermon and sacrament.
8.27 We reject the false doctrine, as though the Church in human arrogance could place the Word and work of the Lord in the service of any arbitrarily chosen desires, purposes, and plans.
8.28 The Confessional Synod of the German Evangelical Church declares that it sees in the acknowledgment of these truths and in the rejection of these errors the indispensable theological basis of the German Evangelical Church as a federation of Confessional Churches. It invites all who are able to accept its declaration to be mindful of these theological principles in their decisions in Church politics. It entreats all whom it concerns to return to the unity of faith, love, and hope.
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Religion and Politics: An Invitation
Religion and Politics Sermon #1 Introduction
“An Invitation to Talk”
Rev. Cynthia O’Brien
September 7, 2008
Smith Memorial Presbyterian Church
Psalm 9
For the director of music. To the tune of "The Death of the Son." A psalm of David.
PS 9:1 I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonders.
PS 9:2 I will be glad and rejoice in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.
PS 9:3 My enemies turn back;
they stumble and perish before you.
PS 9:4 For you have upheld my right and my cause;
you have sat on your throne, judging righteously.
PS 9:5 You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked;
you have blotted out their name for ever and ever.
PS 9:6 Endless ruin has overtaken the enemy,
you have uprooted their cities;
even the memory of them has perished.
PS 9:7 The LORD reigns forever;
he has established his throne for judgment.
PS 9:8 He will judge the world in righteousness;
he will govern the peoples with justice.
PS 9:9 The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
PS 9:10 Those who know your name will trust in you,
for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.
PS 9:11 Sing praises to the LORD, enthroned in Zion;
proclaim among the nations what he has done.
PS 9:12 For he who avenges blood remembers;
he does not ignore the cry of the afflicted.
In polite company, never talk about religion or politics. Or sex or money.
Some of you were taught that, and for good reason. Company’s over for dinner, a hot topic comes up, and blam! You’re into a full-on argument. Better not to bring it up in the first place, right? Many people do avoid those kinds of conversations. At other dinner tables, there is lively discusion with strong opinions, and you can participate, but you’d better be sure you don’t disagree with the host.
Well, at church we already talk about religion, but what about politics? When Michael and I were young pastors, someone advised us never to preach about politics. But in seminary we learned about how the Bible is full of politics, from Moses challenging Pharoah to Jesus being accused of political sedition. Some of the books of the Bible have political titles – Judges. Kings. It’s all about politics.
Jesus preached about money, and the poor. Jesus was concerned about health care. So when these issues come up in public discourse, Christians should be part of that conversation. But how?
I saw a bumper sticker that said “Vote Christian.” You have to go to the polls as a person of faith, but what does your faith lead us to do? Does your faith lead you to the conservative right, or the progressive left? No one would say that God is a member of a particular political party, so where does that leave us?
This fall, I’ll be preaching about those topics that you’re not supposed to talk about in polite company: religion, politics, sex and money. The reason I’m doing it is that it’s Biblical, it’s timely, it’s interesting, and it affects our daily lives.
Bill Maher is the host of Politically Incorrect on HBO. I disagree with him on a lot of things, especially his attacks on religion. But he’s smart and funny, and sometimes he gets it right. Bill Maher says that the American public gets stupider and stupider every election cycle, and that they will believe whatever the television tells them.
He’s not completely wrong. There are a lot of people who remain uninformed about what’s happening in our country, who rely on TV ads or late night comedians for political information. There are people who don’t even bother to vote.
But if Presbyterians were a party, we would be the party of education and information. Presbyterians started the public education system in this country. We believe that we should understand our faith, learn about the world, and engage the civil authorities. With all this education, have all 2.3 Presbyterians come to the same political position? No. We’re a big tent denomination with different perspectives across our 11,000 churches. When we mark our ballot, we do not mark it the same.
Laurel watched the Republican convention with me. After the video about John McCain and his imprisonment in Hanoi, she said, “I would vote for John McCain.” I asked her why. She said, “I would vote for him because he’s been in jail a lot.”
I posted this online on Facebook, and Joanne, a pastor in South Carolina, wrote back, “In that case, has she checked out the mayor of Chicago? the former mayor of DC? Most of the recent Louisiana governers? She should just LOVE politics!”
The corruption and the compromises that happen in politics, the ugly campaigning we’ve seen – well, it just makes you want to put your fingers in your ears and say, “I’m not listening!” But we can’t really disengage. It’s going to be there – on the front page of your newspaper, on your television, on your radio. I believe the church is a safe place to talk about what’s happening in our world, and what God requires of us.
In the sermons, I’m going to speak very plainly to you about what I believe it means to be a Christian in today’s political climate. We’ll talk about the Bible. I’ll tell you about what’s happening in different Christian movements, like the Religious Right and the Progressive Left. We’ll bring up hot topics like sex and money and see what Jesus said about them.
But I won’t ever say, “This is who Jesus would vote for.” I won’t tell you you’re unchristian if you hold a different position than I do.
I started my political life as a Republican. But I’ve voted for candidates of any party depending on who I thought was best. This year I re-registered as a Democrat so that I could have a voice in the Democratic primary. I consider mysel a political moderate.
Being a moderate is not easy to articulate. If I were an arch conservative or a left-wing liberal, my position would be clear and compelling. It is much harder to try to define a middle way.
My goal is to give you God’s word through Scripture. Through my preaching I want you to become people of good character and wisdom, reading God’s word and being sensitive to the Holy Spirit. I want you to be well informed
So, about this series. I’m reading some great books and articles by people like Jim Wallis, Senator John Danforth, John Piper and Marian Wright Edelman. I’ll make some of those articles available to you. We’ll talk about the wedge issues that split us apart, and try to find common ground. We’ll talk about the great reformers and how religion played a part in making our country a better place.
I won’t ask for a show of hands of who’s voting for Obama/Biden and who’s voting for McCain/Palin. I won’t ask the Republicans to sit on one side of the aisle and the Democrats to sit on the other. Although personally I think that would be fun, especially watching you cross the aisle to pass the peace.
But here’s what I will do.
I’ll set up midweek discussion groups on various topics, and you can check the Sunday bulletin or our web site to find out when and where they are.
I’ll keep a blog of these sermons so that you can read them as well as listening to them on the web site or on CD.
I’ll give you an honest answer if you ask me my opinion on current issues or events, but if you ask me about candidates, I’ll just give you a general analysis without telling you who I’d vote for.
We will also meet a couple of politicians. I invite everyone I know to come to church here, including politicians and political candidates. Some of them are going to take me up on my invitation, and at first I was a little nervous about that because we are in the fall campaign season. But here’s how I look at it. If a candidate wants to come worship with us, he or she should be free to do so. And if they are here, I’d like to give them the opportunity to come up and say a few words of greeting. But their presence here does not imply an endorsement by the church.
So we’re going to do some exciting things this fall. I’m going out on a limb, and while I’m there I will need your support, your comments, your ideas. I want to open my e-mail Sunday night and have 25 messages, and when I come in to the church office Monday morning I want to read notes from you and listen to voice mail messages. Tell me what was helpful, what wasn’t helpful, give me articles to read and YouTube links and funny quotes from the campaign. Be a contributor to the process, so that when the election is over, we can say that we had a meaningful civil discourse, we learned something about God and something about ourselves, we honored our faith, we became stronger people, and we worked together for a common goal.
“An Invitation to Talk”
Rev. Cynthia O’Brien
September 7, 2008
Smith Memorial Presbyterian Church
Psalm 9
For the director of music. To the tune of "The Death of the Son." A psalm of David.
PS 9:1 I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonders.
PS 9:2 I will be glad and rejoice in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.
PS 9:3 My enemies turn back;
they stumble and perish before you.
PS 9:4 For you have upheld my right and my cause;
you have sat on your throne, judging righteously.
PS 9:5 You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked;
you have blotted out their name for ever and ever.
PS 9:6 Endless ruin has overtaken the enemy,
you have uprooted their cities;
even the memory of them has perished.
PS 9:7 The LORD reigns forever;
he has established his throne for judgment.
PS 9:8 He will judge the world in righteousness;
he will govern the peoples with justice.
PS 9:9 The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
PS 9:10 Those who know your name will trust in you,
for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.
PS 9:11 Sing praises to the LORD, enthroned in Zion;
proclaim among the nations what he has done.
PS 9:12 For he who avenges blood remembers;
he does not ignore the cry of the afflicted.
In polite company, never talk about religion or politics. Or sex or money.
Some of you were taught that, and for good reason. Company’s over for dinner, a hot topic comes up, and blam! You’re into a full-on argument. Better not to bring it up in the first place, right? Many people do avoid those kinds of conversations. At other dinner tables, there is lively discusion with strong opinions, and you can participate, but you’d better be sure you don’t disagree with the host.
Well, at church we already talk about religion, but what about politics? When Michael and I were young pastors, someone advised us never to preach about politics. But in seminary we learned about how the Bible is full of politics, from Moses challenging Pharoah to Jesus being accused of political sedition. Some of the books of the Bible have political titles – Judges. Kings. It’s all about politics.
Jesus preached about money, and the poor. Jesus was concerned about health care. So when these issues come up in public discourse, Christians should be part of that conversation. But how?
I saw a bumper sticker that said “Vote Christian.” You have to go to the polls as a person of faith, but what does your faith lead us to do? Does your faith lead you to the conservative right, or the progressive left? No one would say that God is a member of a particular political party, so where does that leave us?
This fall, I’ll be preaching about those topics that you’re not supposed to talk about in polite company: religion, politics, sex and money. The reason I’m doing it is that it’s Biblical, it’s timely, it’s interesting, and it affects our daily lives.
Bill Maher is the host of Politically Incorrect on HBO. I disagree with him on a lot of things, especially his attacks on religion. But he’s smart and funny, and sometimes he gets it right. Bill Maher says that the American public gets stupider and stupider every election cycle, and that they will believe whatever the television tells them.
He’s not completely wrong. There are a lot of people who remain uninformed about what’s happening in our country, who rely on TV ads or late night comedians for political information. There are people who don’t even bother to vote.
But if Presbyterians were a party, we would be the party of education and information. Presbyterians started the public education system in this country. We believe that we should understand our faith, learn about the world, and engage the civil authorities. With all this education, have all 2.3 Presbyterians come to the same political position? No. We’re a big tent denomination with different perspectives across our 11,000 churches. When we mark our ballot, we do not mark it the same.
Laurel watched the Republican convention with me. After the video about John McCain and his imprisonment in Hanoi, she said, “I would vote for John McCain.” I asked her why. She said, “I would vote for him because he’s been in jail a lot.”
I posted this online on Facebook, and Joanne, a pastor in South Carolina, wrote back, “In that case, has she checked out the mayor of Chicago? the former mayor of DC? Most of the recent Louisiana governers? She should just LOVE politics!”
The corruption and the compromises that happen in politics, the ugly campaigning we’ve seen – well, it just makes you want to put your fingers in your ears and say, “I’m not listening!” But we can’t really disengage. It’s going to be there – on the front page of your newspaper, on your television, on your radio. I believe the church is a safe place to talk about what’s happening in our world, and what God requires of us.
In the sermons, I’m going to speak very plainly to you about what I believe it means to be a Christian in today’s political climate. We’ll talk about the Bible. I’ll tell you about what’s happening in different Christian movements, like the Religious Right and the Progressive Left. We’ll bring up hot topics like sex and money and see what Jesus said about them.
But I won’t ever say, “This is who Jesus would vote for.” I won’t tell you you’re unchristian if you hold a different position than I do.
I started my political life as a Republican. But I’ve voted for candidates of any party depending on who I thought was best. This year I re-registered as a Democrat so that I could have a voice in the Democratic primary. I consider mysel a political moderate.
Being a moderate is not easy to articulate. If I were an arch conservative or a left-wing liberal, my position would be clear and compelling. It is much harder to try to define a middle way.
My goal is to give you God’s word through Scripture. Through my preaching I want you to become people of good character and wisdom, reading God’s word and being sensitive to the Holy Spirit. I want you to be well informed
So, about this series. I’m reading some great books and articles by people like Jim Wallis, Senator John Danforth, John Piper and Marian Wright Edelman. I’ll make some of those articles available to you. We’ll talk about the wedge issues that split us apart, and try to find common ground. We’ll talk about the great reformers and how religion played a part in making our country a better place.
I won’t ask for a show of hands of who’s voting for Obama/Biden and who’s voting for McCain/Palin. I won’t ask the Republicans to sit on one side of the aisle and the Democrats to sit on the other. Although personally I think that would be fun, especially watching you cross the aisle to pass the peace.
But here’s what I will do.
I’ll set up midweek discussion groups on various topics, and you can check the Sunday bulletin or our web site to find out when and where they are.
I’ll keep a blog of these sermons so that you can read them as well as listening to them on the web site or on CD.
I’ll give you an honest answer if you ask me my opinion on current issues or events, but if you ask me about candidates, I’ll just give you a general analysis without telling you who I’d vote for.
We will also meet a couple of politicians. I invite everyone I know to come to church here, including politicians and political candidates. Some of them are going to take me up on my invitation, and at first I was a little nervous about that because we are in the fall campaign season. But here’s how I look at it. If a candidate wants to come worship with us, he or she should be free to do so. And if they are here, I’d like to give them the opportunity to come up and say a few words of greeting. But their presence here does not imply an endorsement by the church.
So we’re going to do some exciting things this fall. I’m going out on a limb, and while I’m there I will need your support, your comments, your ideas. I want to open my e-mail Sunday night and have 25 messages, and when I come in to the church office Monday morning I want to read notes from you and listen to voice mail messages. Tell me what was helpful, what wasn’t helpful, give me articles to read and YouTube links and funny quotes from the campaign. Be a contributor to the process, so that when the election is over, we can say that we had a meaningful civil discourse, we learned something about God and something about ourselves, we honored our faith, we became stronger people, and we worked together for a common goal.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Love Lesson #1: Love is Patient
Yesterday I began a new sermon series, "Lessons in Love." Listen online at www.smithmemorialpres.org or read it here. I welcome your comments.
Love Is Patient
Rev. Cynthia O’Brien
April 13, 2008
Smith Memorial Presbyterian Church
(listen online at www.smithmemorialpres.org/sermons)
Patience is the greatest of all virtues.
Cato the Elder (234 BC - 149 BC)
A handful of patience is worth more than a bushel of brains.
I am extraordinarily patient, provided I get my own way in the end.
Margaret Thatcher (1925 - ), in Observer April 4, 1989
Let’s start with impatience.
Let’s consider the impatient person and what he suffers by being impatient. Let’s make him a he, but it could just as well be a she, but let’s say it’s a he who is impatient.
Consider the suffering of not being patient, and this is part of a much longer list by James and Constance Messina, PhD’s, on their web site, coping.org.
He’s always dissatisfied, upset, and angry when things are moving too slowly.
He can easily lose your control and fire off outbursts of anger, temper, and blame those who are slow
He may become a member of the ``throw away'' generation, discarding relationships, people, jobs, and school whenever things are not working out as quickly as he wants them to.
He quits a potentially good situation because he’s not seeing an immediate return for his effort.
He’s in such a hurry that he neglects to count his blessings and see how much good is in his life
He thinks he can do better and faster than he does
He thinks people should understand him the first time so he doesn’t need to repeat himself.
He wants it done yesterday.
He can't stand such things as diets, counseling, physical therapy, allergy desensitization, and orthodontics; they all take too long before results are visible.
Reminds me of the man who was going to meet his wife downtown and spend some time shopping with her. He waited patiently for 15 minutes. Then he waited impatiently for 15 minutes more.
After that, he became angry. He spottd one of those photograph booths nearby (the kind that accepts coins into a slot and takes four shots while you pose on a small bench), he had an idea. He assumed the most ferocious expression he could manage, which wasn't difficult under the circumstances, and in a few moments he was holding four small prints that shocked even him!
He wrote his wife's name on the back of the photographs and handed them to a clerk behind the desk. He said, "If you see a small, dark lady with brown eyes and an apologetic expression, apparently looking for someone, would you please give her this?" He then returned to his office content that, if a picture is worth a thousand words, then four photos must be a full-blown lecture!
His wife saved those pictures. She carries them in her purse now. Shows them to anyone who asks if she is married..
Being impatient does not get you very far. But patience works for you.
We are three weeks into our Financial Peace University class on Monday nights, taught by Dave Ramsey. Over 50 people, about half from our church and half from the community, each paid a hundred dollars to come here for 13 Monday evenings and learn about money management. Here’s an example from Dave Ramsey. It’s about money, and there are numbers involved, so listen carefully for how patience can work for you.
Joe and Sue bought a $16,000 car. Their car payment is $300 a month. With compound interest they will pay a lot more than $16,000. When that car wears out, they will buy a new car and they will have car payments again. Dave Ramsey evaluated Joe and Sue’s situation and suggested that they should have waited for that $16,000 car. He said they should have bought a car for $5400 with payments of $100 a month, then put that other $200 a month in savings at 10 percent for 7 years. That would give them $24,000 at the end. By the seventh year, in either scenario, they are ready to give up the car, but suppose they bought the cheaper car and saved that $24,190. Then they buy a $16000 car for cash from that savings, leaving them $8,190. They now have a new car with no car payment and $8,000 in the bank.
Dave suggested that if Joe and Sue could be patient for seven years, and wait for that car they really wanted, if they would start with a lesser purchase up front and save the difference, and then continue the process, then for the rest of their lives they will be driving paid-for cars and have savings in the bank. Because they are patient for the first seven years, they get compound interest working for them instead of against them.
Patience could work for them. Healthy money management requires some patience in our want-it-now world.
There are probably things you regularly buy on an I-want-it-now basis. I used to wait a few days for photos to be developed. Now I want them in one hour at twice the price. It would take too long to prepare lettuce for my salad – I need it already prepared in a bag or boxed up at the drive through. I am reading a half dozen books right now and have a dozen more out of the library, because I want to learn it all now, and I want that next book within reach so I can read it as soon as possible.
But even though there are things I want now that I don’t want to wait for, in other situations, I can be extremely patient. Simple things, like waiting too long in line. Do you handle that pretty well? Most of the time, I make a conscious effort to stand politely with a calm expression, as if I had all the time in the world. Patience makes me feel in control of the situation.
It’s a small personal victory, being able to be calm while waiting in line. But I’ve been working on it more than 25 years, starting with when I used to drive in downtown Los Angeles traffic every day.
Leonardo da Vinci (1452 - 1519) said: “Patience serves as a protection against wrongs as clothes do against cold. For if you put on more clothes as the cold increases, it will have no power to hurt you. So in like manner you must grow in patience when you meet with great wrongs, and they will then be powerless to vex your mind.
Do you believe you are a patient person? Love is patient. You’ve gotta be patient if you are married to a human being. How many of you men are married to the perfect woman, and I’d better not see any hands go up, because you’d be lying. She isn’t perfect. He isn’t perfect. In fact, ladies, your husband has some particularly annoying deficiencies, and you, girlfriend, you’ve been putting up with it for 10, 30, 50 years. That makes you a saint. Except you’re not a saint because you have some serious deficiencies of your own. You can’t think of what they might be, but trust me, you do.
So love is patient. And patience will work for your relationship.
They ask couples who are celebrating their golden anniversary, what’s the secret of their long marriage. People say different things. One wife said, “We never said the word divorce. Murder, maybe, but never divorce.” Another husband said, “Whenever Eleanor got upset with me, I would go outside for a walk. The secret of our marriage is that I have lived a mostly outdoor life.” And then there’s the husband who said, “In our marriage, I always made all the big decisions, and she always made all the small decisions. So far, there haven’t been any big decisions.”
Patience. Patience works for you. We Christians have a fairly messed up view of patience, as if it is the equivalent of suffering. We warn each other, “Don’t ask the Lord to teach you patience, God knows what he’ll do to you to make you learn to be patient.”
But patience is not just a virtue associated with long suffering. Patience works for you.
How does it work for you? Here are a few thoughts. First of all, it identifies you as being in God’s grace. Patience identifies you as being in God’s grace. The Bible says patience is one of the fruit of the spirit. Paul wrote, “be patient with all, do not return evil for evil.” James says “Be patient, as the farmer waits for the fruit of the earth.” You are in line with what God wants you to do if you are being patient. That thing with taking photos of your ferocious expression, not so much.
Second, being patient is part of being wise. Listen to these quotes from Proverbs:
Proverbs says, "The patient man shows much good sense, but the quick-tempered man displays folly at its height." (Proverbs 14:29, NAB)
"An ill-tempered man stirs up strife, but a patient man allays discord." (Proverbs 15:18, NAB)
(The following quotes found on quotationspage.com)
Patience is the companion of wisdom.
Saint Augustine (354 AD - 430 AD)
Third, patience keeps you calm.
"Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him." (Ps 37:7 NIV)
When you are waiting for something, you won’t be anxious. I talk to a lot of people who are waiting for results from a medical test, especially if a positive test will mean a fatal disease or a need for surgery. It’s hard waiting, but I have found that most people try to just shake off the anxiety and be patient, because they realize there’s nothing they can do at the moment.
Someone once said that worry is the interest you pay on a bad thing that hasn’t happened yet. You’re already paying for it if you are anxious and frustrated. Patience works for you by turning your focus to the goodness of God rather than what might happen.
Fourth, patience works for you by helping you have good relationships. You can be tolerant and understanding of others. When I see someone doing something that I believe is ill-advised, or just plain ridiculous, patience can work for me.
You can hang on to a relationship when there’s trouble. It may take time to resolve, but patience will work for you. You know the Bible says, do not let the sun go down on your anger, so you don’t use patience as an excuse for not dealing with the problem. In fact, comedian Phyllis Diller amplified that Bible verse. She said, “Don’t go to bed angry. Stay up and fight!”
Finally, patience works for you because it comes from God. The story of the whole Bible is about how God is patient with us.
There is an ancient story about Abraham that is in the tradition but not written in the Bible, I got it from Thomas Lindberg.
Abraham was sitting outside his tent one evening when he saw an old man, weary from age and journey, coming toward him. Abraham rushed out, greeted him, and then invited him into his tent. There he washed the old man's feet and gave him food and drink. The old man immediately began eating without saying any prayer or blessing. So Abraham asked him, "Don't you worship God?" The old traveler replied, "I worship fire only and reverence no other god." When he heard this, Abraham became incensed, grabbed the old man by the shoulders, and threw him out his his tent into the cold night.
When the old man had left, God called to his friend Abraham and asked where the stranger was. Abraham replied, "I forced him out because he did not worship you."
God answered, "I have suffered him these eighty years although he dishonors me. Could you not endure him one night?"
Love is patient. God’s love for you is patient. Be patient with yourself and with others.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Surviving the Holidays
If anyone knows who wrote these, let me know. I heard something similar on the radio, found this online and lost the reference, but I think they are helpful.
Surviving the Holidays…
Surviving the Holidays…
Be Aware of Family Dynamics
Family dynamics can become strained at holiday gatherings for a variety of reasons: adult children may slip into old roles while parents feel taken for granted. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you negotiate your familial relationships:
- Don't Regress: You're not 8. You, your parents, your siblings and all of your assorted relatives are complicated adults. You all have your own lives, concerns and needs. Everyone wants to be loved, and everyone fears going unnoticed.
- Be Sensitive: Families change through divorce, marriage, death, illness, birth and all the other unpredictable events that keep life interesting. Be sensitive to how these changes affect your family members especially during the holidays.
- Go Easy on Mom: Psychologist William Doherty explains that one person is typically assigned to "take on the emotional and physical responsibility for the holiday" and "actualize the cultural belief that the family is one big harmonious group." That person is usually mom, but no matter who it is in your family, don't take this person's role for granted. Help in the kitchen, grease the wheels of dinner conversation and let this person know that they're loved.
Respect Your Differences
It's not always easy to make conversation with a family member who doesn't share your politics or worldview, but everyone deserves a fair shake. Here a few things to keep in mind when dealing with difference around the dinner table:
- Be Empathetic: Take the time to understand where people are coming from, and you'll have a much easier time interacting with them in general.
- Be Attentive: People are pretty interesting. They also like to talk about themselves. Ask your family members questions, and listen to their answers. Did they ever meet someone famous? Were they in a war? How did they meet their spouse? You never know what you'll discover.
- Don't Discipline Anyone Else's Children: People have very particular ideas about child-rearing. Even if a child is throwing mushy peas at your head, do not discipline the child.
- Don't Criticize: Don't ask your adult children if they're dating, when they're going to have children or whether or not they could stand to lose a little weight.
- Differentiate Between Public and Private: While you may be amongst friends and family, wait for a quieter moment to come out to mom and dad or announce that you're dropping out of college. Don't force someone to perform his or her response in front of others.
- Accommodate Special Dietary Needs: Make vegetarians and those with special dietary needs feel included by providing a couple of alternatives dishes, and don't feel insulted if they can't eat everything you've prepared.
Dealing with Difficult People
If you must invite an especially difficult person to dinner, you may need a few conflict management tricks up your sleeve to make it to dessert.
- Choose Your Behavior: Remember you can't change someone else, but you can control your response. Favor logic rather than emotion when dealing with a difficult person.
- Acknowledge Comments: Be honest when someone says something inappropriate or hurtful. Being too polite can result in a blow-up. Sometimes simply saying "I heard you" is enough.
- Use Humor: Humor can diffuse even the most volatile situations, but be careful. Don't make a joke at anyone's expense but your own.
- Team Up: Talk to a family member you get along with well before dinner. Come up with a couple of strategies to manage a difficult person.
- Create a Refuge: If you're feeling overwhelmed, excuse yourself. Take refuge in another room.
- Call a Friend: Sometimes contact with the "outside world" can help put things in perspective quickly.
- Don't Drink Too Much: Having too much alcohol can make dealing with difficult people even more difficult. You need to keep your cool, and alcohol won't help.
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