Clergy from left, Deacon Amy Schmuck, Deacon Cynthia Biddlecomb, retired, The Rev. Mary Ann Hill and The Rev. Lynn Finnegan. Photo by Nate Limback/ladailypost.com
By Deacon Cynthia Biddlecomb
M.Div., ELCA
Many of us are feeling lost, scared or depressed these days as we hear tidbits of national news. Try to tune it out and we miss important information about the direction our country is being taken. Watch it with fervid interest and we have trouble sleeping peacefully through the night.
What can we hang on to when our long-held values no longer seem to matter? It seems like the chaos has only just begun. Do we feel strong enough to hang on through its reign? Are we deeply grounded enough in our faith to stand our ground?
Remember with me, dear faithful ones, that in creating the world, God brought order out of chaos. (Read the first chapter of Genesis infused with your scientific knowledge of how life came to be on this planet.) Chaos is not a creative force sanctioned by the Divine. Indeed, in the chaos of everyday life, we have always believed, prayed and trusted that God would bring order and, in effect, clean up the many messes we humans have wrought.
Remember with me now what Jesus taught us, that belief, prayer, and trust in God will help us to stand against chaos. What power can chaos have over us if we center ourselves in God’s love?
In his first letter to the faithful in Corinth, pre-eminent Christ-follower St. Paul summarized the Christian life with these words: “And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.” (I Corinthians 13:13, NRSV) We are to keep the faith. We hang on to hope. And we share caritas, charity, love: caring for one another no matter what befalls.
It is important to feel our feelings of anger and fear, and to rage against injustice. But let’s not get stuck there. The core of our “long-held values” is the love that we are meant to share with all people, especially those in great need. We can whine and complain, we might rage against falsehood, but then we need to get out and do something to make things better for someone else.
Christian theologian Karl Barth held that faith in these chaotic times means holding the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other. Read the Bible more than you have, yes. At the same time, with the lens of faith, read the news. Look for stories of people who are helping, lending a hand to someone in need. Where are voices being raised in support of the vulnerable? Look for where we can pitch in to share the God-given love Christ taught us to share.
Perhaps these words that the Apostle Paul wrote to the faithful of Philippi can lead us: “Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:8-9)
Editor’s note: ‘All Shall Be Well’ is a column written by local women clergy including The Rev. Mary Ann Hill, Rector, Trinity on the Hill Episcopal Church (momaryannhill@gmail.com); The Rev. Lynn Finnegan, Associate Rector, The Episcopal Church of the Holy Faith, Santa Fe (rev.lynn@holyfaithchurchsf.org); Deacon Amy Schmuck, Bethlehem Evangelical Lutheran Church (deaconamy@bethluth.com); and ELCA Deacon Cynthia Biddlecomb, M.Div., retired (czoebidd@gmail.com).