Today is World Communion Sunday, a day when we celebrate our connections to one another and to others around the world. The word Communion signifies the experience of connecting in a meaningful way with something, or intimately sharing our feelings with someone. The word implies a deep connection, particularly a spiritual one. As we gather this day, we are just a month away from the elections in our country. Sadly, we have seen terrible partisan political division in this nation over the last 8 years and more and it has caused divides within families, friendships, and communities. We know there have been times of great political division in the past, whether during the Civil War or as recently as the 1960’s and the divided opinions of that decade, but the divisions today have left a real scar across this nation, a scar which touches our very souls. We know we need healing; we know our nation and each of us needs to feel safe and secure, hopeful and connected once again even if, or despite, the differences we share. And so, this morning let us pray for our nation and for our world, Loving and merciful God, bring your healing love to all communities which have been torn apart by conflict. Help us work to rebuild the bonds of connection and kinship where we can. Grant us the courage to forge deep and meaningful connections especially with those whom we may find difficult to love. Bless all of your people and help us remember that we are connected in far more ways than we might ever imagine. Amen.
I’ve recently had several conversations with people who have shared that they’d prefer not to know how their neighbors vote, that given all the division we have witnessed in recent years that they would much rather continue to be in relationship with their neighbors and not be reminded of the differences they may share. Politics has become so deeply personal and so when those we care about support candidates whose values are in conflict with what we hold most dear, it causes great pain to us.
As we have watched the recent destruction from the weather across the southeast over this past week, we have also witnessed the outpouring of compassion and aid that has been shared. People don’t care about political beliefs in such moments; most people just want to help or be helped. No one cares about partisan politics at such times. That is not important. What they see is a human being in desperate need and they respond with the expertise they can offer.
Some of you likely remember the conservative Republican Senator Orin Hatch of Utah. When his friend and colleague Ted Kennedy, who was a very liberal Democrat, died, he said, ““I have to say that we became very dear friends. That doesn’t mean we didn’t fight each other. We fought each other like tooth and tongue but afterwards, we’d put our arms around each other and laugh about it… and we passed a lot of very important legislation together, and I will greatly miss him.” Two men of wildly different political views shared respect and kindness with one another. I’d think we’d all agree that not only is kindness sorely lacking for too many in politics these days, it is also sorely lacking in many aspects of our lives and we all miss it.
The Hebrew word for kindness, hesed, appears 250 times in the Hebrew Bible, which underscores its critical importance for the Bible and the Jewish faith. And in our reading from Luke today, we are reminded of Jesus’ words once again, Love your enemies. Recently, I have seen an incredible ad campaign on tv which presents a powerful message about Jeus to the viewer. Perhaps you have seen one of these ads with the tag line, Jesus, He gets Us. In a recent one, we see scattered images of people clearly in conflict and yelling at one another…because the other is different…perhaps because of political divides, race, sexuality, or religion…and then the words on the screen pop up, Jesus loved the people we hate. He gets us. All of Us. Jesus. And then the tag line, Love your enemies. It’s a powerful message that reminds us of the message at the heart of the Gospels, a message that has too frequently been distorted. The images are often as provocative as the message. He gets US.
My son brought to my attention a powerful Ted Talk by a man named Darryl Davis, a black Jazz musician. In less than 20 minutes, he shares his story of first encountering racism as a child when he was pelted with cans and bottles as he proudly carried the American flag for his Boy Scout Troop in a parade in a town outside of Boston. He says that at the time, he honestly couldn’t imagine why he was singled out; he didn’t understand where the hatred came from just because of the color of his skin. Thankfully, the troop leaders and his fellow boy scouts quickly surrounded him to protect him, but obviously, it left a lasting impact. Over the years, he became determined to find answers to what was at the root of such hatred. He spoke to people and read as much as he could and he began to identify it as rooted in fear, fear of the other, fear of the unknown. Sadly, such fear often turns to hate, he discovered, but why he wondered.
At one point, he actually decided to set up a meeting with the Imperial Wizard of the KKK, Roger Kelly, to see if he might learn where such beliefs came from. Davis wanted an answer to the question, “How can you hate me when you don’t even know me?” Over time, these two men built a relationship of respect, despite the fact that they disagreed on so much. Daryl was invited by this man to attend KKK rallies. Can you imagine how he felt, as a black man in the midst of such an event. They visited each other’s homes and Daryl would sometimes invite other friends, whether of other races or religions, to his house so that this man might have the opportunity to broaden his awareness of the other.
In his research on the roots of racism, Daryl Davis came to believe that ignorance often leads to fear as we often fear that which we do not understand. He said that If we do not keep that fear in check, then fear, in turn will breed hatred, because we can come to hate that which frightens us and sadly if we do not keep that in check, hatred can breed destruction. We have witnessed this sad cycle in our country and in other parts of the world.
Because of the respect the two men offered to each other, Kelly did end up leaving the KKK. As Daryl Davis concluded his TED talk, he offered this advice, ‘take the time to sit down and talk with your adversaries. You’ll both learn something. And when two enemies are talking, they’re not fighting. It’s when the talking ceases that the ground becomes fertile for violence.”
I understand that it is not easy to have the patience to really listen to those whose values may be completely different than our own. It’s very, very hard. Jesus said, “love your enemies.” Maybe we would respond, now, us, in these times? But division and conflict have always existed within communities. Jesus lived it; he saw the damage it did and he knew that the answer was not violence, it was love.
Ah, love, the hardest thing is to extend love to the one we find completely impossible to love or to one who does not offer us the same in return. And yet, we know deep down that we are called to something greater; we are called to try to help build bridges even when it seems impossible. And kindness is a way to build a bridge to anyone. We can be kind. We can model the love of Christ by just being kind. Love your enemies, Jesus said, maybe we can begin by just being kind.
-Why I, as a black man, attend KKK rallies | Daryl Davis | TEDxNaperville, November 2017