Serpent Wisdom and Dove Innocence

We’re living through “interesting times,” as the ancient Chinese curse goes. Like Frodo, the Hobbit hero and Christ figure at the heart of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings,” even those who support the new presidential administration may wish that turbulent days such as these hadn’t come upon us. All we can do, as the wizard Gandalf advised Frodo, is decide what to do with the time we are given.

The question now before us is: How do we decide what to do as an “America First” national agenda takes hold? For us Christians, scripture holds a parallel that can guide our choices. It’s chapter 10 of the Gospel according to Matthew.

Matthew’s tenth chapter begins with Jesus giving his first twelve followers instructions before he sends them out across Israel to share his teachings and work miracles in his name. We tend to overlook that second task; human beings usually don’t cast out demons or raise the dead (Matthew 10:8). Whether literal or metaphorical, the second task of miracle-working depends upon the first: to proclaim the good news that “the Kingdom of heaven has come near.”

By now the disciples know what Jesus means by this code phrase, because he taught them and others about the “Kingdom of Heaven” in Matthew Chapters 5, 6 and 7, AKA the Sermon on the Mount. (The Revised Common Lectionary reading for Jan. 29 included a portion of this section known as The Beatitudes). When we read deeper into Matthew Chapter 10, the truly revolutionary, even dangerous, nature of Jesus’ teachings – which have turned all conventional Jewish wisdom on its head – becomes apparent.

“See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of them, for they will hand you over to the councils and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles.” – Matthew 10:16-17

“Wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” If this phrase tells us anything today, it certainly makes clear that 2017 isn’t the first time Jesus’ followers have faced political turmoil. Tension between Jesus’ Way and the surrounding world has existed from the first. The turbulence of recent days may seem more urgent because we’re in the midst of its confusion, but Jesus’ counsel holds as true now as it did when his disciples first set forth.

Baptist ethicist David Gushee outlined options for Americans to deal with political tensions in a recent column for Religion News Service, “Three Different Ways to Resist Trumpian Nationalism.” He termed them:

  1. Alternative patriotism, a critique of leaders’ actions based on a different vision of the nation’s best interests;
  2. Transcendent values, a critique based on communal ideals that citizens believe are being violated or will be violated by national policies;
  3. Commitment to a different primary community, one that matters more than citizenship.

If we accept Jesus’ counsel to be “wise as serpents,” Christian Americans must engage with civil society at the same time we hold primary allegiance to the “Kingdom of Heaven.” The best shorthand for this approach, like the Beatitudes, refutes a conventional belief: the end does not justify the means.

In other words, how we go about achieving our country’s aims matters as much, if not more, as any worthy ends our leaders seek. Government by fiat, instead of through legislative deliberation and cooperation, undermines American ideals of government "of, by, and for" the people. Therefore, Christian Americans are called upon constantly to scrutinize governmental processes, and to resist autocratic methods of governance as much as they may reject the policies they produce. Dr. Gushee phrases it well in his column: “I strongly believe that mere nationalism is a permanent spiritual threat, primarily as a seduction, to those who claim to be followers of Jesus. I believe we are watching much of that seduction unfold among American Christians today. … The temptation to confuse nationalism and Christianity is as old as Christendom.”

To avoid this trap, Christians in America best serve Jesus and the world God loves when we do as he instructed his first disciples: proclaim that the “Kingdom of Heaven” has come near. Proclaiming this spiritual reality poses even greater perils than those of civil resistance, because those of our own faith communities may turn against us, as in Jesus warns in Matthew 10:21-22, “Brother will betray brother, and a father his child, and children against their parents … people will revile you because of me.” We can’t avoid such confrontations; we can only approach them “innocent as doves,” doing our best to remain calm and show only love, even for those who treat us as enemies.

Author Thomas Merton may have had Jesus’ “innocent as doves” counsel on his mind when he wrote: "It seems to me at this time ... instead of wasting our time in problematic ways of saving our own skin, we ought to be seeking with all our strength to act as better Christians, as [people] of peace, dedicated wholeheartedly to the law of love, which is the law of Christ" (from the article "The Shelter Ethic," The Catholic Worker magazine, Nov. 25, 1961).

During the past two weeks, countless Christians have been among millions of Americans who have demonstrated on behalf of people vulnerable to short-sighted, poorly crafted presidential edicts and clandestine congressional votes. Without exception, these demonstrations have been peaceful, and yet powerful. These examples confirm for Christians that we will weather these days of crisis if we continue to be dove-innocent in demeanor and serpent-wise in discernment as we decide what actions to take.

A veteran religion journalist for more than four decades and a certified spiritual director, Cynthia B. Astle serves as Editor and Founder of United Methodist Insight. Thomas Merton’s article was first cited by the Rev. Dr. Steve Harper on Facebook.