Vestry Member Mary Gaines shares her thoughts on what it is like to take a stand for your faith:
On 8/4/20, in Huffpost, Episcopal Bishop Mariann Buddie (of the Diocese of Washington, D. C.), penned a reflection on her statement in response to President Trumps ordering the forcible removal of peaceful protestors by armed Federal Agents from Lafayette Square so the President could use the incident and a Bible for a photo opp in front of St John’s Episcopal Church. She had been advised in real time as the situation was occurring, and immediately issued a strong statement objecting that the President had no right to the spiritual mantle he claimed as authority for his actions and words that evening. In fact, no church authorities were advised or consulted before he appeared at the church, and a Priest of the church had been on the property handing out water to protesters and was forced to abandon the property when she was tear gassed (aka pepper spray). The next Sunday, Bishop Budde was at Black Lives Matter Square with Bishop Barber of the Poor People’s Campaign, who addressed the diverse crowd saying “Everyone has a part to play and an offering to make to affect change.”
We often imagine ourselves taking the brave stand, being the hero. But what is that really like?
In reflecting on the 60 days since Bishop Buddie was called on to act decisively at a moment’s notice, she tells us that she did not feel particularly “brave”, but rather, she could take a longer view back and see that her decisive moment had been preceded by a longer period of preparation. The implication being that all the decisions she had made prior to that moment, all the study, the conversations, the choices in her life, the values which she held dear, had prepared her and led her to the response which was called for by the moment. She felt no need for no internal questioning of what is the proper response or what blow back she might encounter. Her preparation made her response clear and instantaneous.
Bishop Buddy’s message to us is clear. Prepare. Study. Know your values. Know what principles you stand for. Prepare so that when you are called in a decisive moment you will react in direct conformity with your values.
She ends with this inspiring advice to us, “For when that decisive moment comes in the midst of a whirlwind and we feel compelled to act – to be truly brave – we do so trusting less in ourselves than in the power, the energy, the spirit that is compelling us forward.”
Stand up, stand up for Jesus….
We’ve all heard that all it takes for evil to prosper is for good people to be silent. We often have the opportunity to practice bravery by taking little stands—calling out a racist joke, for example, or simply admitting to being a believer in the midst of a mocking crowd. These moments build our faith muscles so that we are able to be the people publicly that we profess to be privately. As our inner and outer lives unite, we find ourselves able to “Stand up, stand up for Jesus,” as the hymn says. It’s just who we are.