Peace
/Brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. -1Corinthians 3:1
The Corinthian church was divided. Some were saying they sided with Paul, some with Apollos. Split into factions, they were accusing the other side of being wrong headed. They gossiped, badmouthing each other. They spent most of their energy proving who was right and who was wrong instead of focussing on their spiritual call. You can tell Paul was exasperated with them when he wrote his letter. He kept trying to remind them of their unity in Christ and the love of God. And yet, they still consistently couldn’t believe that THOSE people on the OTHER side could possibly be loved by God, and they certainly didn’t want to be one with them!
I write this on primary day here in NH. As the president spewed invectives about his rivals last night in Manchester, and the Democratic candidates are more often criticizing their opponents, the news around the state and country reminds me of those Corinthians. We’re digging into entrenched positions as a nation, and instead of rising above our differences and finding our common ground as human beings, we move closer and closer to the bottom of the barrel.
Paul knew all he could do with the fearful, angry people of Corinth was go back to the basics of faith - what he called the simple milk, knowing they could probably digest nothing more nuanced than simple ideas in the state they were in. So he kept reminding them to love God with all their heart and all their mind and all their strength, and love their neighbor as themselves. He told them over and over that Jesus had redeemed and saved them and that they were loved. So take a deep breath, Corinthians.
In anxious times like these, and during anxious conflicts like in the ancient Corinthian church, people tend to move into fight or flight mode. In this heightened state of awareness, just stating your own thoughts can be received by others as a slight, or worse, an attack. Our minds and bodies are ready to strike or run at the slightest perceived threat. Do you see this situation playing out all around us? I do, and I grieve it every day.
How can we be like Paul and model for others how to focus on the basics? There are two basic practices in our faith that are particularly simple and powerful. First, there is gratitude. Every week at our table we together make a “sacrifice of thanksgiving,” and that can go with us out into the world the rest of the week. In our speech and actions, we can focus on what is going well in our lives and in the world and give thanks first before anything else, adopting not a spirit of fear, but an attitude of gratitude.
And second, prayer and meditation are powerful are our most powerful tools as faithful people. Taking time out to be with God, whether in corporate worship each week or every day at home, breaks through our human tendency to live reactively and gets us back into a calmer state of mind and body. Just take a few moments throughout the day for a deep breath and to be present to the moment and to God. Let your breath calm your mind and relax your body. This kind of quiet wakes up the parasympathetic nervous system and calms you down so that you can take in new ideas, people and thoughts without all the triggering knee jerks. Only when we’re not stirred up can we digest the ambiguities and challenges of this life without reacting without thinking. And then while you’re at it, take a moment to pray for your enemies.
If the political world has you in knots, don’t go the way of the Corinthians - allowing your fears to begin to manifest in you, and between you and your loved ones in family and community. Be the mature adult in the room, who breathes deeply and knows that God is here, that there is something far bigger than we are with whom we are one, and on whom we can rely. When you can find gratitude and trust in the midst of the storm, you’ll be able to lean into the peace that passes all understanding, even in times of trouble. And that, especially now, is a real light to the world.
