By Alexander Earl
Enter through the narrow gate, because the gate is wide and the way is spacious that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. How narrow is the gate and difficult the way that leads to life, and there are few who find it!
-Matthew 7:13-14
Etiquette used to advise not talking about politics or religion at the dinner table. That is rather easy to do these days when sit-down dinners are a novelty, let alone human interaction that is not constantly distracted by gadgets and media. But we did ourselves a great disservice by following that advice, for now we have completely forgotten how to even talk about religion and politics; in most cases, we may not even have any clue what religion and politics are about, or what it would mean to cultivate sensible positions regarding them, let alone discuss them cordially, reasonably, and charitably.
In truth, it is politics and religion that are worth talking about. In classical philosophy, the former was all about how to structure the polis (the city) so as to promote the common good, which was seen as a god-like activity, for it is God who oversees and orders the universe.' The latter was an even greater activity; religion was about how we ought to live in this life such that we not only live like God, but dwell with him![2] There could hardly be topics more important for us to think about and discuss.
Christianity heightened and transfigured this classical vision. It spoke about the coming of a Kingdom, and that God became a man in history, Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. It is to him that "every knee shall bend."[3] The Kingdom of God is upon us, and we are called to live it. The Christian life has as its aim the embodying of Christ in our very flesh so that we can say with St. Paul, "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me."[4] Such embodiment makes us able to truly see and hear Christ's words, "What you have done for the least of these you have done for me, "[5] because in following Christ we have become "partakers of the divine nature."[6] We are all capable of being mirrors for the divine light to enter this dark world. That is a radical vision, and it is simultaneously political and religious! Whether we orient our whole lives and society around that vision, or not, has tremendous consequences.
One might suspect that rights such as freedom of speech--captured in the American Bill of Rights--are meant to promote and protect the ability for us to have a space to speak freely about issues that truly matter without the pressure of violence. Sadly, our culture has chosen violence, physical and emotional, to ensure conformity. Though it is politicized, it is hardly political. Though it is religious in fervor and devotion, it knows little about religious belief and practice. And though its values and imagination are irreducibly Christian Justice for the marginalized, care for the poor, and so on), it does not know what it means to proclaim Christ as King. Hence, how are Christians to operate in these difficult times? How can we learn to "speak the truth in love"[7] to those with whom we disagree? How can we engage a culture which is increasingly hostile to Christian dogmas and practices? And how can we do so without giving into the temptation to conform, accommodate, and give up ground to the concerns of the day, or to flee into obscurity?
First, we need to grow deeper in knowing the truth of our tradition-intellectual, moral, political. We help no one by simply jumping into discussions when we ourselves are misinformed and unprepared. Second, we must always understand the context of truth. Speak the truth in love. In an age of soundbites and anonymity, we need to be better at loving our neighbor. It is in the context of loving relationships where genuine conversations happen. And third, let us follow St. John Chrysostom, who was exiled for condemning the moral degeneracy of his era; yet he not only preached it, but lived it in his own life of poverty and asceticism, even considering his trials a great blessing.[8] Truth, love, and radical humility: this is the narrow gate that leads to life, and I advise that it begins at the dinner table.
[1] Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics 1094b10
[2] "But we must not follow those who advise us, being men, to think of human things, and, being mortal, of mortal things, but must, so far as we can, make ourselves immortal" (Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics 1177b30); "That is why a man should make all haste to escape from earth to heaven; and escape means becoming as like Goel as possible; and a man becomes like Goel when he becomes just and pure, with understanding" (Plato, Theatetus 176a b).
[3] Phil 2:10
[4] Gal 2:20
[5] Mt 25:40
[6] 2 Pet 1:4
[7] Eph 4:15
[8] See St John Chrysostom, Letters to Olympia
