What If God's Grace Showed Up in the Presidential Race?

by

Late night thought: What if God's grace showed up in the U.S. presidential race?

We Wesleyans are supposed to know Father John's threefold grace and to preach and practice it. If you don't know it, here it is: God's grace comes to us in three forms, prevenient grace, justifying grace, and sanctifying grace.

"Prevenient" refers to those instances when we're given something we didn't earn or deserve in ways that turn our hearts and minds toward God. We sometimes refer to this as God "wooing" us toward faith. We're not always sure how it comes, and we don't always recognize it, but upon reflection we discern that it happens.

"Justifying" refers to that moment of enlightenment when we are thoroughly convinced that we trust God with our lives because of divine forgiveness, when we know that the divisive, harmful ways we've thought and lived before no longer control us. John Wesley documented his reception of justifying grace at Aldersgate on May 24, 1738.

"Sanctifying" refers to those instances throughout our lives as Jesus' followers when we're given the strength and determination to go on despite challenges and disappointments, to love in the face of hate, to forgive even when others reject our forgiveness. Each time we pick ourselves up and start over resolved to live and act by Jesus' teaching, our souls are burnished a little more, the rough edges of selfishness and self-centeredness rubbed away, until we are "perfected in love in this life," as Wesley wrote.

But how could an ineffable, mystical concept such as "grace" shape an election?

For starters, consider this scenario: suppose Donald Trump tries to intimidate Kamala Harris in debate the way he did Hillary Clinton, by looming over her from behind, menacing her? What if Harris extended grace to Trump by turning to face him and offering him her space? How would he respond?

Or suppose J.D. Vance tried to disparage Tim Walz's military service? What if, instead of reacting with a head-on debate, Walz simply refuted Vance's misstatements by talking his knowledge of the plight of today's veterans, their poverty, homelessness, and loneliness leading to suicide? What if Walz highlight veterans' needs instead of defending his reputation?

Could the application of grace among presidential and vice-presidential candidates serve to change the campaign from a mud-slinging slugfest to a nationwide dialogue about people's welfare and how to bring it about?

Ironically – some would say it's a "God thing" – two things happened recently that influenced my late-night musings.

First, Northern Illinois Conference's newsletter arrived with a report about a community building event Aug. 1. Advocacy Partners, a sub-group of the conference Anti-Racism Task Force, partnered with Braver Angels of Illinois to host a gathering at restaurant in Berwyn, Ill. (Braver Angels is a volunteer organization active in all 50 states with a mission to depolarize our bitter political culture).

"We turned (a restaurant) into a bipartisan space for one night, listening to each other respectfully and expressing ourselves without trying to convert others to any viewpoint," said the report. "We left knowing new neighbors and having actionable ideas for changing our toxic politics – as well as hope for our community and nation."

Second, the Western North Carolina Conference newsletter arrived with the announcement of The Purple Church Initiative sponsored by the conference's Peace Building Ministries, accompanied by links to sermon ideas and study guides. Says the announcement:

"A recent study published by the Religion and Social Change Lab of Duke Divinity School reported that our congregations within The United Methodist Church in North Carolina are theologically and politically diverse, thus creating a 'purple church' which reflects our deep diversity. However, the study also painted a picture of the hopeful future that our diversity presents, as stated in the following:

"United Methodist churches remain some of the very few institutions in American society where people from different political persuasions can build deep and meaningful relationships with each other. In a polarized and often toxic political climate, UMC congregations are positioned to advance the ministry of Jesus by creating a beloved community that bridges political and theological divides.

"The months surrounding the upcoming elections this fall present a ripe opportunity for our faithful witness as United Methodists in how we build these deep and meaningful relationships that shape the Beloved Community in the face of political and theological divides."

I find these developments tremendously exciting. Rather than engaging in partisan divisiveness, United Methodists in Illinois and North Carolina are injecting grace into the election process, even though it may not be named as such. Their models are worth imitating.

From a faith perspective, people who don't follow Jesus might see the application of grace as foolishness, just as the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 2:14: "Those who are unspiritual do not receive the gifts of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to them, and they are unable to understand them because they are discerned spiritually." (NRSV*)

I sometimes think that even some Christians don't really believe in the concept of grace, that is, people getting something they didn't earn and haven't deserved. It's why the gospel is so offensive, so radical – with grace, you don't get retribution disguised as justice; you get restoration wreathed in kindness and love.

Practicing grace isn't easy, because it requires us to give up our right to see our adversaries as less than human and therefore dispensable by thought, word and deed. Showing grace to our supposed enemies astounds them, but it should also astound us if we're granting grace authentically without judgment or grudge-bearing. That may well be what's at the root of our polarization in the United States: we've lost the ability to grant that those who hold different ideas from us can still be worthy, even righteous, people whose views could help shape God's beloved community.

The Wesleyan understanding of God's grace is perhaps the greatest gift that our Methodist tradition can bestow on the world right now. Let's give it a try for the U.S. presidential election and beyond.

*New Revised Standard Version of The Holy Bible. Copyright 1989, 1995 by the Christian Education Committee of the National Council of the Churches of Christ, USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

Veteran religion journalist Cynthia B. Astle serves as Editor of United Methodist Insight, a digital news-and-views publication she founded in 2011for marginalized and under-served United Methodists. Please email Insight for permission to use this content elsewhere.