Here we are again at the beginning of the great season of Lent, the yearly preparation for the magnificent feast of Easter, which this year comes on April 8. This is the time of our year when we remember our sins, look for forgiveness and think for a while about what it means to live as Christians.
I have always been sensitive to the profound criticism of Christianity that it has created more carnage than it has prevented. This is certainly true if you look at the trail that the faith blazed through the world after Constantine legitimized it in 325. The cross went before the armies after that. Papal sponsored crusades littered Jerusalem with Muslim bodies and many, many Christian martyrs were burned or beheaded because of their beliefs that somehow conflicted with the ruling monarch under whom they lived. I think of William Tyndale who only wanted to translate the bible into a language that the people could understand, who was burned for his efforts. I don’t know what to do with all of the instances of chaos caused by religion, not the faith, except to acknowledge them and realize that keeping the peace on this earth is up to each of us, even in the face of rejection by the community in which we live.
Our political discussion about faith these days it seems to me is more about morals and accusations than it is about faith itself. This latest brouhaha about contraception is an excellent example. The bishops of the Roman Catholic church claim that the national health care program requiring contraception to be provided by the insurance companies representing faith organizations is evidence that the President is not operating as a faithful person. I am generally appalled at the statements of these bishops and our political leaders who claim to be faithful people, but show in their politics and in their lives that they are anything but. The Rev. Franklin Graham stated recently that he “isn’t sure” whether or not President Obama is or is not a Muslim. That has been refuted numbers of times, but it still comes up in this strange way in our political conversation. Our presidents for quite some time now have always ended their addresses to the country with a strong “God bless the United States of America.” Certainly that is a confession of faith, but it isn’t one that rings true to those who oppose our presidents politically.
I would love to see more faith oriented discussion in our political concourse. If we had it, we would have more dialogue about our responsibility for the poor and the outcast among us. We would spend much more time talking about those in terrible need and much less time worrying about how the rich get richer. It really wouldn’t be hard to do this. It would, of course, mean disappointing the “K” street lobbyists, and leaving behind some massive political contributions, but it would certainly be better for the country and for all of those who have been left behind in our economic woes of recent times.
It isn’t all misery either in our religion. Christianity has been remarkably instrumental in creating many charities that take Jesus’ words seriously about taking care of the poor and the outcast. Across denominational lines, wonderful things are being done to help people in dire need cope with the distress that has been produced in their lives. I am in awe of the reading programs, the food distribution sites, the housing that has been created to care for the homeless. All of this is generally done without requiring professions of faith as a cost to it. It is done only because of the deep need that is evident in our communities. More of this is what we all need, and more involvement by each of us in the work that so urgently needs to be done.
This is what I am thinking of at the beginning of this season of Lent. How do we let our faith set our agenda as people in our communities? How do we help those in need rather than spend our time being critical of those in office who are trying as hard as they can to create an atmosphere where our help can be more useful. May we come to our Easter this year more aware of how our faith impacts our surroundings so that we can find the risen Christ in our lives and see our Savior in the faces of the people whom we encounter every day.
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