My cat Tuxedo is a bit finicky; she has her strong likes and dislikes. One of the odder places where this is demonstrated is that she hates sheets and blankets and only likes quilts on the bed. She will literally not be on the bed if it only has a sheet or if there is a “normal” blanket. She wants the quilt. While I find this odd, I enjoy being with my cat, and so, 365 days out of the year, there is a quilt on my bed. Which is not what I prefer come the summer months! But it is what she prefers, and I give up some of what I want in order to give her what she wants.
Compromise is what is necessary for living in community. We give up some of our desires in order for another to have their desires. I sometimes ask folks if they are willing to only like 80% of a worship service so that the other 20%, which you don’t enjoy, can be there for the person who loves it. We compromise all the time. I like less salt on my popcorn than my mom does; she thinks butter belongs on oatmeal, so we work this out. Compromise is at the heart of living together. And this is true whether we are talking two people in a house, one person with a cat, a congregation, or a system of government. Nobody living with others will ever have everything they want unless that person is an autocratic and absolute dictator, and then they will probably be upset about something. But I think many today have forgotten that compromise is required and instead are looking at life together as a competition, with winners and losers, and are determined not just to win, but to make sure the other loses. The question, of course, for many is what is something that I can compromise on and what is of such value to me that to compromise would be a violation of my own being.
For the followers of Jesus, this question is answered by Jesus himself. His life and ministry reflect the will of God for each of us, a life lived in service to all and love to all. A life that fed the hungry, healed the sick, raised the dead, forgave sinners, and called the rich and powerful to account. In our baptismal covenant we have language that describes this way of life, a way of life that worships and studies together, that resists evil and repents when we ourselves fall into sin, proclaims God’s good news, seeks and serves Christ in all and loves all, strives for justice and peace and respects all. These are our vows, this is the life we are to live. These are places where we say compromise is a violation of our life in Christ. We still, however, need to wrestle with exactly what it means in concrete terms to live into these vows, but we are called to look at everything through the lens of our baptismal vows and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
A particular example for me is the current tax bill before Congress. Now, regardless of what political party one might be, as a follower of Jesus, a bill that basically guts Medicaid is a bill that is hurting the most vulnerable among us – the sick who are poor. As a follower of Jesus, I can be very worried about the national debt and think we need to look for places to cut spending, but when cuts are proportionally directed towards the poor, the Church has a moral obligation to say that is an unjust action. This is not about being a republican or democrat; this is about being a follower of Jesus. As a bishop, I do not have the answers to the best way to ensure medical care for all, but I know that Jesus said to heal people; cutting services to the sick who are poor is a moral issue. I might not know the best way to ensure adequate food for all, but I know Jesus told us to literally feed people, and taking food away from the poor is a moral issue. I might not know the best way to bring both peace and justice, but as a follower of Jesus, I cannot accept as normal violence and war.
Compromise is an essential aspect of living in community, and I believe an essential part of a democratic republic. I am fine with not always getting the policies I prefer or the laws I want. I am not, however, ever going to stop striving for those which I believe are most in line with the way of Jesus, not to impose a form of Christianity on others, but to seek to have a beloved community where all are fed, all are healed, all our housed, all can thrive, and no one suffers due to the greed of another. The way we live together reflects our values and our faith. Let us strive to live into our baptism and follow Jesus in community together.
+ Gretchen