From a Concerned Blue Christian to All the Other Concerned Christians of Bucks County, Pennsylvania
by RUTH E. MATHENY
Can we talk – the red and the blue Christians? Let me try to understand why you, as a red Christian feel so victimized. I don’t see it your way, you know. So, come with me for a moment to understand my blue Christian view.
Come, I welcome you into my Lutheran church this Christmas Eve to hear the powerful message of GodÂ’s grace, of His Love bending down to earth to give us a Savior.
Come share in the joy, focus on this joy which surpasses all other and lifts our focus from our preoccupations. It is a faith that calls us to be joyful as we follow Christ in his admonition to feed the hungry, the poor, the orphan. Surely there is too much work in being a voice for those who have no voice, for us to be so concerned about ourselves.
Follow me around in my work as a visiting nurse into the diverse homes of the needy of the city .and sit with the woman who is crying in so much pain as I put an arm around her and ask permission to say a word of prayer for her strength.
Come with me to the Doylestown Methodist Church to hear a lecture by Rev. John Edgar, head of the National Council of Churches, and hear him advocate for the issues of peace, poverty and planet earth.
See Iraq through my eyes as I am saddened by the deaths, not just of our soldiers, but also 17000 Iraqi civilians including 600 women and children in Fallujah and of course, Johns Hopkins has estimated 100,000 such civilians have died.
Come with me to former State Dept official, Greg ThielmanÂ’s talk at CB West in October when he revealed that he clearly told Colin Powell before this war that there were no WMDÂ’s. Many State Dept officials resigned in February 02 before the war because they objected to the Pentagon ignoring the advice of department employees who were experts on the Iraq culture.
So my Blue Christian world view sees complexity and ambiguity and I struggle to be well informed to deal with it all. Through it all, I seek to follow Christ and to be open to His love and grace in my life and the lives around me and be aware of His teaching that I give to the least of these I am giving to Him.
So let us, therefore, talk together, you and I our pastors, our committees, our councils, our newspapers, our community leaders.
Come, let's talk together about singing songs of all faiths in public arenas in this special season. Let us talk about the Diversity Day at Palisades High School and how important it is to understand teaching tolerance in the public schools of a Democracy.
Come, let us talk together, work and learn together. Let us be purple for a while. Let us encourage the people of Denver to do the same in resolving their parade debate. Maybe then, as we talk and as we follow Christ, if we can dare to be open to His presence, I suspect He will show us that there is no time to rest. Surely, He has more important work for us to do than focus on a preoccupation with whether we say Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays.
And blue Christians, together we too have much work to do in social justice groups between and within our churches. Come labor onÂ…
Merry Christmas. Happy Holidays.
And may God bless us, everyone.
Ruth E. Matheny, Doylestown, PA.
ruthemathe@aol.com
