Ditches - June 30
Today’s Readings - Psalm [120], 121, 122, 123; Num. 22:21-38; Rom. 7:1-12; Matt. 21:23-32
Not too long ago I was having a hard time deciding about something that was very important to me. Someone who had heard my deliberations said, “Let your yes be yes and your no be no.“ I didn’t quite know how to take that. I’ve never considered myself as someone who sits on the fence. I typically know what the right decision is, but I realized in that moment I was hesitant to act on it because of the possible ramifications. I was going to make some people mad, and I knew it wasn’t going to be pleasant.
A few years ago, the national Episcopal Church made some decisions that some have labeled as divisive. That’s not new. The history of the church is full of decisions that needed to be made that weren’t popular. From as far back 325 AD at the Council of Nicaea and earlier the church has been deliberating about the will of God and how to interpret the scriptures as they apply to humanity. I believe that those who have been involved, prayerfully made a good faith effort to the best of their ability to make the right decisions. However, there are few decisions that come without cost, at least not the difficult ones. The cost may be minimal, or it can be devastating.
When I was growing up my mother had a saying that has always stuck with me, “Not all ditches are worth dying in.” She’d follow that with, “But when your justice gets stepped on you may find yourself getting muddy.” She had cleaned a lot of mud off her shoes in her lifetime and even if I didn’t always agree with her, I respected her for that.
In today’s gospel Jesus asks the chief priests and the elders a straightforward question which did not have a simple answer. The difficulty lay in the fact that regardless of which answer they gave there would be problems to face. They couldn’t risk either, so they decided to sit on the fence. We’ve all found ourselves in similar situations. Someone asks our opinion about something that has occurred, or someone says or does something offensive, and we remain silent, choosing not to confront or appear disagreeable.
There’s an art to surviving these situations while still leaving with our ethics and our conscience in tack. Over time I’ve become more adept at expressing my truth so that I don’t leave the other feeling as though I’ve kicked sand in their eyes. But at times I still hesitate, dreading what will come afterwards. Jesus was the master of this party trick. He’ll have left the room before the other person realizes that they’ve just been dealt a crushing blow.
The one thing I’m convinced of is that there is no right way to remain silent in the face of injustice. Each one of us is a vessel for God’s love. We are shaped by that love and with God’s guidance we can address these dilemmas with compassion, and grace. It may not be fun and there may be a price to pay – there often is – but at least when we walk away, we’ll know that we can live with ourselves and the decision we’ve made.
Faithfully,
Sally+
Questions for Reflection and Challenge - Think back, can you remember an incident when you chose to remain silent even though feeling very strongly about it? You wanted to speak up but were afraid of the aftermath? How might you have handled the situation differently? What do you think the fallout might have been if you had spoken honestly.