Politics as Life Together
LETTER BY BRIAN MORYKON
Like Christmas decor at Walmart, the U.S. presidential election season arrives earlier and louder every time around.
Unlike Christmas, the election season — and politics in general — seems to many of us to have little redeeming value.
And, you may be thinking, Why are you talking about politics anyway? Isn’t Renovaré a spiritual formation organization? I thought this newsletter was a safe little contemplative haven away from political nonsense.
Well, hopefully it’s a haven from the nonsense. Rest easy, we know our lane — which isn’t to advocate for this or that party or position. It’s to call Christians of all convictions to consider how they engage in life together.
The phrase “life together” may seem out of place. But it’s exactly this phrase that helped shift my view of politics from the screaming pundits of cable news down to day-to-day interactions with neighbors in my town.
On Tuesday’s Renovaré webinar, Kaitlyn Schiess referenced Luke Bretherton, Professor of Moral and Political Theology at Duke. How he defines politics in this article was an eye-opener for me and is worth quoting at length:
“How shall we live together?… is one of the most basic questions of moral philosophy. The real answer is always the same. We must do politics.
Politics? Surely not. But underneath the polarization, dyspeptic rallies, back-room deals, and rage tweets is the reality that politics is the description of something good, and the stark alternative to three other options that are decidedly less so.
When I meet someone with whom I disagree, whom I dislike, or whom I find threatening, I can do one of four things. I can kill them, I can create a structure of coercion so I can control them, or I can make life so difficult that they run away. Or I can do politics. That is to say, I can form, norm, and sustain some kind of common life amid asymmetries of power, competing visions of the good, and my own feelings of aversion or fear without killing, coercing, or causing them to flee.”
Ah, here we begin to see how politics and spiritual formation intersect. Because politics is more than a vote every few years for the lesser of two evils. It’s our common life together, not just in Washington D.C., but wherever we find ourselves — which happens to be exactly the place where Jesus wants to work in us and through us.
So, Lord, in the noise of the coming months, when national elections tempt us to despair, open our eyes to those places closer to home where our listening presence and thoughtful words make a difference. Teach us how to live well together — to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with you.
Brian Morykon
Director of Communications
P.S. The deadline to apply for the 2024 – 26 cohort of the Renovaré Institute is February 1. Learn more and apply here.
P.P.S. The next book in the Renovaré Book Club begins Monday, January 29. There’s still time to join.
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LET’S DIVE IN...
CURATED BY GRACE POUCH
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1.
Carolyn Arends spoke with Kaitlyn Schiess and Micheal Wear about how Christians can navigate political disagreement in the community of faith, have better conversations, and bring our civic engagement under the umbrella of our spiritual formation in Jesus Christ. The webinar replay and related resources are available here.
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2.
Richard Foster shares “theological convictions that surround civic responsibility” in this letter from the 2004 election season.
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In her book The Liturgy of Politics Kaitlyn Schiess offers two helpful tools for Christians: Practices for the Election Season and Prayers for the Election Season.
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4.
An excerpt from Augustine’s The City of God describes the social quality of life in the heavenly city and calls us to dwell in harmony with God and neighbor.
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5.
In the final installment of his series on Revelation, Paul Anderson highlights the apocalyptic vision of God’s final victory — casting down earthly empires that position themselves against the kingdom of God, eliminating corruption, and restoring shalom to his creation.
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6.
Whether political engagement energizes you or fills you with dread, we invite you to consider with us the Lord’s invitations to engage in public life in our upcoming virtual workshop, Politics and Spiritual Formation: Navigating a contentious political landscape with Jesus (Thursday, February 22, 2024 from 6 – 8:30 pm Eastern).
Grace Pouch
Content Manager