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By the Rev. Paul Graves
On November 8, we all have a chance to vote for political leaders in our states and nation. Yet we seem to be infected with a variety of “fear-viruses” during this election season, and the campaign rhetoric seems to transmit our fears. The rhetoric does little to transform our fears into hope.
I’ve wanted to say something “wise” and hopeful in this time, but everything I consider implies my desire that you vote how I will vote. And I do not intend to do that! So instead, I want to share a 432-word section of spiritual insight about fear from Father Richard Rohr.
This comes from his very thoughtful book, “Hope Against the Darkness: The Transforming Vision of St. Francis in an Age of Anxiety (pp. 25-27).” I’ve included a few of my own comments in parentheses.
“Our age has been called the age of anxiety, and I think it’s probably a good description for this time (written shortly before 9/11!)…When we’re not sure what is certain, when the world and our worldview keeps being redefined every few months, we’re going to be anxious…
That’s probably why the Bible says so often, “Do not be afraid.” The phrase appears 365 times! If you cannot calmly hold a certain degree of anxiety you will always be looking for somewhere to expel it. Expelling what you can’t embrace gives you an identity, but it is a negative identity.
It’s not life energy, it’s death energy. Formulating what you are against gives you a very quick, clear and clean sense of yourself. Thus, most people fall for it. People more easily define themselves by what they are against, by who they hate, by who else is wrong, instead of by what they believe in and by whom they love…
It’s much easier to build our identity on our group, our wounds, our angers, our agenda, our fear. That’s the normal way, unless you’ve been taught the way of Jesus. Almost everybody takes the easier way, because in the short run it works better…
God uses all of us with our mixed motives — me too. It is just that we have been given, not just the conclusion, but the way to get there too. WE HAVE BEEN SHOWN HOW TO FIGHT HATE WITHOUT BECOMING HATE OURSELVES. (Caps are mine)
We have been given a Companion and a Friend and not just a good idea. We have been given joy in the midst of failure, and not just a way of winning or being right….(We no longer have to think that) now my (hate) is okay because your (hate) is wrong.
Don’t we see that there’s got to be a way out of this stupidity? When both are blind, we both fall into the pit. Vengeance seems so logical, but it doesn’t work…
The wonder of the resurrection stories in the Gospels is that Jesus has no punitive attitude toward the authorities or his cowardly followers…The followers themselves never call for any kind of holy war against those who killed their leader…
This is not the common and expected story line. All Jesus does is breathe forgiveness. It’s interesting that Jesus identifies forgiveness with breathing, the one thing that you have done constantly since you were born and will do until you die.
He says God’s forgiveness is like breathing. Forgiveness is not apparently something God does. It is who God is. God can do no other.”
This is me again, folks. Maybe when we go into the polling booth in November, we can consider breathing our fears out so we can breathe in God’s transforming love and forgiveness that we seek and hopefully find in Jesus.
The Rev. Paul Graves serves as the chair for the Conference Council on Older Adult Ministries for the PNWUMC.
