Matthew 5:9
Shutterstock Illustration
Editor's note: Bishop Kennetha Bigham-Tsai has granted United Methodist Insight permission to republish the weekly pastoral letters she's sending to United Methodists in Iowa in advance of the 2024 US presidential election. These letters are published from the Iowa Annual Conference website.
October 2, 2024
Dear Iowa United Methodists,
“The peace of Christ must control your hearts—a peace into which you were called in one body,” Colossians 3: 15
Political violence is not new in America, but lately, there has been a steady drumbeat. As Christians, we are called to build peace, even when the world around us is riven by violence. As the writer of Colossians suggests, we are to have hearts controlled by peace—the peace to which we are called to in Christ. And, as God’s children, we are to be active peacemakers (Matthew 5:9). If you have been wondering, like me, how to do this in our divided world, it might be helpful to try to understand what is happening and why.
What is happening? Why?
Political and ideologically driven violence is rife in America. In 2019, an admitted White nationalist killed 23 people at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas. He claimed that he did so because he wanted to kill immigrants. In 2020, right wing groups attacked the Michigan State Capitol. On January 6, 2021, violent mobs attacked the U.S. Capitol, intent on preventing the peaceful transfer of power. And recently, there have been two assassination attempts on a presidential candidate and numerous threats against election officials.
The reasons for this are complex. Demographic change is spurring backlash against growing diversity. And, rhetoric that dehumanizes groups of people makes violence against those groups more likely. We also are increasingly polarized and divided, with some more loyal to tribe than to a common identity as a nation. Such polarization is not all of the story. Leadership also matters. As scholar, Rachel Kleinfeld, notes, “…polarization doesn’t generate violence on its own….Polarization must be harnessed by political and opinion leaders to have this effect.”[1]
If leadership can worsen the problem, it can also help turn down the heat. As United Methodists, we must find ways to do that. We must lead by building and modeling peace, especially in the public square and especially during this heated election season.
What should we look for?
We can begin by noticing when groups or individuals begin to normalize violence. For instance, a U.S. representative casually suggested, at the 2023 Iowa State Fair, that violence may be necessary to effect change. We must also pay attention when people minimize violence or seek to make it more acceptable. Examples include public figures directly calling for violence or insisting that the attack on our nation’s capital on January 6, 2021, was anything other than a violent insurrection.
We should also pay attention when anyone around us uses violent language toward a particular group or seeks to dehumanize people. Such language jeopardizes people’s safety.
What does Scripture and our United Methodist tradition say?
In no way does Scripture or the example of Jesus call us to violence for any reason. Instead, passages like Colossians 3 call us to “clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience,” (Colossians 3:12). We are to bear with each other in love and to forgive grievances. This is what it means to live out the example of Christ.
I have always been struck that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a humble donkey, not on a stallion ready to take on Roman armies. And he admonished Peter for cutting off the ear of the servant of a religious official, (John 18:10). Jesus approached even his adversaries with a heart of peace.
In addition, our United Methodist Book of Resolutions tells us something about the kind of environment we are to nurture to build peace and the attitudes and positions we should reject. It says,
“We, as United Methodists, must build the conditions for peace through development of confidence and trust between people’s and governments. We are unalterably opposed to those who instill hate in one group for another. Governments or political factions must not use religious, class, racial, or other differences as the means to achieve heinous political purposes. 2016 United Methodist Book of Resolutions, page 642.
What can we do?
To bring about long-term change, we can seek ways to turn down the temperature, relearn and reteach ways to be in dialogue, and model peaceful ways of approaching relationships. Some years ago, a book came out called Anatomy of Peace. The book presents a parable that differentiates between having “hearts of peace” from having “hearts of war.”
Hearts of war objectify and judge people because of their race, gender, sexuality, immigration status, or by where they fall along an ideological spectrum. Hearts of war stereotype and blame whole groups of people, create “us versus them” dichotomies and elevate loyalty to leader or tribe above the call to love neighbor as self. People whose hearts are at war become more defensive and less able to build bridges that lead to compromise. Angry competition wins out over compassion.
Hearts of peace think of others, not as obstacles to be overcome, but as human beings. Hearts of peace realize that no human being can be reduced to a political position, an ideology, or membership within a demographic group. Hearts of peace understand that all are the children of God. We must learn and teach how to cultivate “hearts of peace” in all of our relationships and in our approach to public life.
Here are some other steps we can take:
- Watch out for violent language. This is not just language that expresses disagreement with someone. It is language that “others” or dehumanizes groups of people. Such language raises the possibility of violence against the targeted group. We are seeing the outcome of such language in Springfield, Ohio where children have been terrorized by more than thirty bomb threats directed at their schools.
- Denounce political violence in the strongest terms. It doesn’t matter what we think of a particular political position or whether we agree or disagree with someone’s ideas, political violence has no place in our public life.
- Pray for and support vulnerable groups. Reach out to vulnerable groups, especially if there have been high-profile threats or violent rhetoric directed at them. Find ways to support our siblings who are immigrants, People of Color, or LGBTQ.
- Read and study together. Begin a study on Anatomy of Peace. Get to know the research and literature about nonviolent action. Check out Harvard Kennedy School’s Nonviolent Action Lab.
- Read longform journalism that deals with issues with nuance and depth. Here is a suggestion of an article in Foreign Affairs that you might find helpful. It is by Dr. Robert Pape, and entitled, “Our Own Worst Enemies: The Violent Style in American Politics.” You might also be interested in a Journal of Democracy article by Rachel Kleinfeld, of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The article is entitled “The Rise of Political Violence in the United States.” She also has an article in the same journal, with Nicole Sedaca, entitled “How to Prevent Political Violence.”
- Meditate on Scripture and pray. I am especially drawn to this verse in the Beatitudes. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God,” Matthew 5: 9. Based on the Beatitudes, how do you think God is calling you for such a time as this?
Please pray with me:
Gracious Lord, bless our world with peace. And help us to be the peacemakers who bring your blessed peace to our families, to our communities, to our nation and the world. We know that peace is not the absence of conflict, but the fulfillment of your righteousness and of your love. So, give us hearts of peace and hearts of love. Amid these conflicted and polarized times, help us to be vehicles of your peace. In Christ we pray, Amen.
Up Next
I will address God’s call in the face of growing divides around migration and immigration. Stay tuned.
Bishop Kennetha J. Bigham-Tsai
Council of Bishops Photo
Bishop Kennetha J. Bigham-Tsai serves as resident bishop of the Iowa Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church. She shares administration of the Illinois Great Rivers Conference with Bishop David A. Bard of the Michigan Conference.