First Presbyterian Church Fort Dodge

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about the question I asked in last Sunday’s sermon, “How do we know when it’s time to take a stand for something?”

            In our country’s current political situation, it feels like we are constantly drawing battle lines. Take the recent shooting in Orlando for example. With over 100 people shot, half of them killed, we grieve as a nation. But this grief is expressed in so many different ways.

This most recent shooting touches a nerve on so many political issues. It causes us to once again debate heated issues like gun control, radical Islamic terrorism, homophobia, and freedom of speech. We cringe when we hear each of these phrases because they are so loaded fraught with misunderstanding.

To make matters worse, we log into Facebook or read any news magazine and we are inundated with opinions about every one of these issues. (And now you’re getting mine!) In the same newsfeed we see somebody saying, “I’m sending my prayers for _____” and then front-page headlines like “God Isn’t Fixing This” found on the NY Daily News.

We seem to be faced with two options:

1. Join in the fray and waste countless hours getting worked up on Facebook or at dinner parties arguing about each of these political issues.
2. Do nothing and hope life improves.

In all honesty, it’s really tempting to simply say nothing. Let those who will vote for Trump vote, and let those who will vote for Hillary vote… and I’ll just move to Canada.

But then I wonder, has the Gospel been robbed of all its power? Does not Jesus speak into the issues of our day? We neuter the power of the Gospel and we diminish the lordship of Jesus if we assume the Christian faith speaks only to our individual salvation. Jesus has ushered in the Kingdom of God and a new creation through his life, death, and resurrection on Earth. The Gospel has a cosmic scope, well beyond each of us as individuals.

So what does this mean for us as Christians in FPC, Fort Dodge? How do we talk about issues like health care, the shrinking of the middle class, immigration policies, our second amendment rights and gun control, human sexuality, foreign policy, and religious freedom? How do talk about these issues with conviction, knowing that none of us hold exactly the same ideals? I leave you with this story from the Holy Land.

Last Sunday Sara mentioned a Palestinian city called Burkin. In a town of 7,500 people, there are 72 Christians. These 72 Christians are represented by two churches, a Roman Catholic and an Eastern Orthodox. In order to maintain a critical mass, both churches meet together each Sunday and trade off using their meeting spaces. Let me highlight the magnitude of this; the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches have been separated for over 1000 years. It is the longest standing split in all church history.

And in this tiny gathering of Christians, surrounded by Muslims and Jews, the Eastern and Western church worship together every week. Jesus invites us to stand for what we believe, but he also calls us to take that stand together. Let’s do this difficult work as brothers and sisters.

Blessings,

Austin D. Hill