All the Nations
Elaine Poproski Download: Audio
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Scripture
Psalm 67
May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, that your way may be known upon earth, your saving power among all nations. Read more…
Numbers 6:23 – 25
Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them… Read more…
Looking to Sunday
by Elaine Poproski
There’s a scene in the 1966 movie, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, in which Linus is writing a letter to the Great Pumpkin. He’s ridiculed by Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and Lucy for doing so. In response he says to the camera, “There are three things I’ve learned never to discuss with people…religion, politics, and the Great Pumpkin.”[i]
Politeness dictates what is and is not o.k. to talk about. It dictates acceptable norms in behaviour in the public sphere as well as, perhaps to a lesser extent, in the private sphere. Those things that are potentially disruptive to our collective harmony in the public sphere, things like religion and politics, we relegate to the private sphere.
I once read somewhere (I don’t remember where) that Torontonians aren’t a friendly people; we are a polite people. I wonder if that’s because of all the diversity in our city – people living and working side-by-side from all over the world – or if we are such a diverse city because we value politeness. Either way, for people who are very different from each other to get along, there have to be rules – etiquette, if you will – that help keep the peace.
Now, I’m not against rocking the boat when it’s called for. I’m not against challenging rules of etiquette. I’m quite happy to not be wearing a hat to church every week or referring to married women by their husbands’ names. I’m also not completely adverse to talking about politics or religion, though I’m always careful about who I have those conversations with. I almost never have them with people I don’t know unless they come right out and ask me to. Which raises the question, at least in my mind, “How do we share our faith if we’re not supposed to talk about religion?”
I think the issue isn’t talking about religion, so long as we do so thoughtfully and respectfully. As Miss Manners wrote back in 2010, “Instead of civil conversation, discussion and debate we have wholesale denunciations and personal insults.”[ii] How might things be different if we committed to listening before speaking? How might things be different if we first understood that our faith is ours by the grace of God, and so extended grace to those around us? How might things be different if we truly believed that every blessing God gives has a purpose beyond us?
That’s what I’m thinking about ahead of our gathering this Sunday. I’m reading Psalm 67, particularly the opening verses, in which the author writes, “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us [How often do we stop there, taking the blessing for ourselves?] so that Your way may be known upon earth, Your saving power among all nations.”
What implications does that so that have on our lives? Does it change the way we think about God’s blessings? Does it change the way we think about sharing our faith? Perhaps it would be worth spending some time considering these questions as we prepare to gather on Sunday.
[i] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVWBVWJ04n4&list=PL8fwU6IFONGzxgnIaariMKwixkp8ymoHG&index=6
[ii] Judith Martin. “Keep Politics and Religion Out of the Conversation.” April 6, 2010. https://www.uexpress.com/life/miss-manners/2010/04/06.