In going through copies of the Tri-County News that I’ve put together over the past 25 years, I noticed one recurring theme. Well over half, I’m guessing, of the editorials that I’ve written end with the same plea: Be kind. To others. And to yourself. The world can be too harsh, and too mean, and a bit of kindness along the way is a welcome break from that, a break for both the giver and the recipient of that kindness.
Recently, a member of the clergy also made a plea for kindness, and she was excoriated for it. How dare she, some feel, ask for mercy and compassion? How dare she mention the vulnerable among us, and ask for mercy and compassion for them?
The day after a presidential inauguration it is customary to hold an interfaith, ecumenical prayer service in the Washington National Cathedral, an Episcopal church in Washington, D.C. This has been so since 1937.
The program for the service included invocations by Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan and Rev. Franklin Graham, and benedictions by Rabbi Ari Berman, Pastor Lorenzo Sewell, and Rev. Frank Mann. Thirteen other members of clergy, representing several of the top religions practiced in the U.S., also participated in the service. And there was music, both by the church choir and special guest musicians.
The church’s website says this: “In this special service, the Cathedral will gather with our interfaith and -ecumenical partners to offer prayers of thanksgiving for our democracy and to seek God’s guidance in the years ahead.” It goes on about the prayer service’s purpose: “To seek healing, unity and wisdom in the months to come.”
The service ended with a -homily by Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde. The Bishop stood at the pulpit, in her church, and she reminded us that actions must follow prayers. Simply saying a prayer is not enough, and one must put their faith into action as well.
Budde warned that we are on the path to becoming a culture of contempt, and there are four ways we can steer away from that (the fourth she added as an afterthought). Speaking with the words and voice of Christ, she said:
1. We must “honor the inherent dignity of every human being.” Specifically, “refuse to mock, discount, or demonize those with whom we differ.” We can, she reminded us, hold deep convictions without contempt.
2. We must exhibit honesty, both publicly and privately. “Speak the truth when we know,” she said, “even when it costs us.”
3. We must show humility. “We’re all people,” she said, each “capable of good and evil.” We’re more alike than we think, she reminded us. And we need each other.
4. We must show mercy and compassion to those among us who are vulnerable. And there are so many who are vulnerable. We must show others mercy, just as God has shown us mercy. (One can define “mercy” as showing compassion for someone whom you have the power to harm.) Jesus himself said, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”(Matthew 5:7)
A Biblical scholar who has achieved the rank of Bishop in the Episcopal Church, it is fair to say that she is a woman of God, a leader of high standing in the Christian church. She spoke with the words of Christ himself, asking us to do nothing either new or unheard of. And her audience was a largely Christian audience familiar with the call for kindness in Christ’s name.
I will join Bishop Budde’s voice in pleading for more of all these things, in the name of Christ or, if you prefer, for the benefit of humanity: treat one another with dignity, speak the truth with humility, and always show mercy and compassion – as God has for us. Be kind – for kindness’ sake.