Grace Cathedral

Dear Friends,

I imagine we are all bombarded with text messages from various candidates for office and lobbying groups about how to vote. I don’t even know how they all secured my phone number! It is a challenging season, and we need discernment and wisdom to form our thoughts and deeds.

I was privileged on Wednesday evening to join a group of faith leaders who prayed for that very thing. The interfaith service, hosted by St. Agnes Church, a Jesuit parish in the Haight, stirred me with hope. I encourage you to listen to it here, and also to save the date for a special Choral Evensong with Multifaith Prayers for the Nation, on Thursday, November 7. My inspiration for my own message came from reflection on the commemoration of St. James of Jerusalem, which is adapted below:

“Therefore,” James said, “I conclude that we shouldn’t create problems for [those] who turn to God.” (Acts 15:22, CEB)

On October 23, the Orthodox and Anglican communions commemorate St. James of Jerusalem, also known as James the Just. The brother of Jesus, he was a convert to the faith after the resurrection, known for his piety as a Jewish Christian, and as a reconciling presence among the fractious communities of his own day. James went on to become Bishop of Jerusalem and, in 62 CE, was martyred for his faith. His life and witness have particular relevance in prayer for our fractious nation, for discernment and integrity in the electoral process.

The principal issue of James’ day was the question of who belonged to the community. Jewish Christians continued to observe the customs of their Hebrew elders, which were utterly foreign to Gentile converts. Some of the leaders of the church refused to eat with the Gentiles — a separate and unequal community — while others wanted adults to become Jewish through circumcision. Drawing on the wisdom of the prophets, James concludes that we don’t need to create problems for those who turn to God; it’s a both/and solution, a synthesis. James’ discernment guides the church forward in a pivotal moment.

In the words of Willie James Jennings, James is “groping to conceive the new possibilities of relationship,” ones that ensure the possibility of a shared table and, therefore, a shared life together. Like James, whom the church commemorates, we are groping for a new possibility for our nation and its diverse communities, a possibility marked by relationships, the commons, and a life shared together.

Our work is to decide there is a future with those with whom we think we cannot share a cup of coffee, let alone a table or a conversation. Ours is to discern the tent that is wide enough, the grace that is high enough, to enfold the needs and perspectives and hopes and dreams of all who call this country home, and to build up the process that leads to its just and wise exercise.

We don’t need to create problems or erect barriers for one another. Our call, our invitation at this moment, is to commit to a ministry of reconciliation, one that knows that even a sharp exchange of words is far more powerful than the clamor of weapons or the wielding of fists. It’s to trust that the divine working in us can triumph over our lesser natures, and give us the courage to extend an open hand first. It is not to gloss over real differences or hasten to superficial agreement but to become more agreeable and honest in the ways we disagree. 

Grant, O God, that, following the example of your servant James the Just, brother of Jesus, your peoples may give themselves continually to prayer and to the reconciliation of all who are at variance and enmity; through the power of your great spirit we pray. Amen. 

All good things,

Anna