how could I not comment on the rhetoric of the day in politics when reading Alison's remarks on the mechanism of exclusion.
The problem is not with those who are only blindly a part of the mechanism of exclusion: they at least do not know what they are doing, and thus have no guilt. The problem is with those (like the Pharisees who question Jesus in John 9:40) who form part of such mechanisms of exclusion, but think that "they see" - that is, think that they have moral insight, know good from evil, are capable of discernment and judgement. Such people not only take part in mechanisms of exclusion, but justify them as good and from God. Their guilt remains.
What a game we play. Yes - we. There are many examples of public voices that carry much of the power behind excluding these folks and those folks. In fact, there doesn't even need to be a word spoken. We judge and exclude and put folks in the categories of good and bad - acceptable and unacceptable even by the way we hold ourselves - dress ourselves - use language - make note of this but not that. I have not been watching much of the Republican Convention, but I have been watching enough to feel a bit exposed and embarrassed. Do I sound like that? Is is so easy to 'ride a high horse' (or elephant or donkey)? The demons are always there - out there - out beyond our boundaries - out there ready to destroy the world. So - therefore, we must attack first. We attack by listening to the 'father of lies' and becoming liars. The lying is not always a deliberate piece of work - but it is just as damaging and deadly. The work of liars is really a one-sided attempt to build truth. And yet, truth cannot be constructed from one side. When we attempt to do that - for any number of good reasons and with all the facts we can muster - we are likely to be nothing more than liars. I hate to hear that. I'm looking forward to next week so I can place the voices and lies of the two conventions side-by-side. I know it will be like looking in a mirror and that will be painful. I also know that the mechanism of exclusion has a lock on us. Our rhetoric must be dramatically different - and it must be a descriptive word of what can take place without the kind of judgment that comes to easily to all of us.
Connection: I don't even know a real Pharisee. And yet, I'm sure I have been impressed by the wonderful faithfulness of such people. Yes, faithfulness. Those folks were 'doing their best' to be a holy and blessed people. That could be the thing we must always watch. How blessed and how holy are we looking to be? How are we willing to act to make ourselves look and sound holy and blessed in comparison to others - so folks can see the difference? Maybe we start in the wrong place. We are invited to start as ones holy and blessed - as are all who we encounter. Such vision as that is where the world begins to see life in a new way.
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