A Reflection from Mike after the Election
“Silence is violence!” The phrase, delivered a few years ago by a colleague with a loud fist coming down on the table, was aimed at me, as we disagreed about how we, as congregational leaders, should respond to the political provocation of the time.
Silence is violence. When faced with injustices and all kinds of threats to human well-being, the phrase is a bold and necessary reminder that evil must be identified, named, and resisted. On this day, when over half of our fellow voting citizens have led us in a direction many of us fear, we must be ready (I must be ready) to give up the privilege of silence, and do the work that must be done.
At the same time, I am thinking today of the trial of Jesus, when Jesus was sent to be executed, and what it might say to us in this moment. The part of the story that brought Jesus’ trial to mind was the loud echo of Jesus’ silence. In response to various accusations by Pilate, Herod, and the Council (a.k.a. the Sanhedrin), about his disciples, his teaching, his alleged royal claims and divine identity, Jesus nowhere defends himself. Even though his own life and the lives of his followers were on the line, he either gives evasive answers, like “That’s what you say,” or “If I tell you, you will not believe,” or, as the gospels poignantly report, he remains silent: “but he was silent and answered nothing; “but he was silent and did not answer;” “but Jesus answered him nothing.”
What was that silence about? Today I am thinking that his silence was the strongest statement he could make, one that echoes even now: “Friends, my dear judges and executioners, if you have not yet seen who I am and what I am about in this world, then nothing I say is going to matter now. I have healed the sick, fed the hungry, loved the unloved, challenged the rich, unmasked the violent and the insincere, upended the status quo, and seeded a people of transformative love. In my silence, I force you to look at the truth already before you.”
I think such silence might be an important part of our response to the election of November 5. This is not the silence of acquiescence, the silence of cowardice, the silence of fear. It is the silence of trust in God, of self-reflection, of respect for those who will bear the burden of injustice, and the silence of trying to understand the evil that is before us. How has it come to be? What is the fear at its heart (for the heart of evil is always fear)? What is our role in this evil arising at this time? It is also a statement that who we are and what we have done is already our first response to this election. We can’t claim the integrity or utter faithfulness of Jesus, but we have fed the hungry, sheltered the homeless, loved the unloved, welcomed the immigrant, fought the status quo, challenged the rich (or at least called ourselves to self-reflection), named the violence and insincerity in ourselves and others, and watered the Christ-planted seeds of transformative love.
Given all that, we’re grieving, we’re concerned, we’re angry, we’re frustrated (and embarrassed) to be associated with so many others who share the name of Christ, and yet have an entirely different vision of Christianity than we have. We’re remembering the ancient prayer of Psalm 146: “Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals, in whom there is no help.”
But with a moment of silence, we also can claim that we are resilient, and we’re going to keep following the way of Jesus. We are wise, and we are not going to forget who we are. We are agile, and we will find ways to minimize the harm aimed at our fellow humans, whoever they are. We are compassionate, and we will sit with, consult with, and protest with those in danger. We are merciful, for we have received mercy. We are stubborn, and our job hasn’t changed: it is to accept God’s call to the persistent, courageous, often internal and incremental, work of hands and spirits inspired by a future worth hoping for.
What is our response to this election? Multifaceted to be sure, but along with active resistance, I hope it will include the strong silence of Jesus.
– Pastor Mike