Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Progressive Christian
Religion News
An Open Letter to My Fellow Christians

An Open Letter to My Fellow Christians

Last updated on: November 5, 2017 at 9:34 pm by Matthew Distefano

An Open Letter to My Fellow Christians 2017-11-05T21:34:45-06:00 Matthew Distefano

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

open-letter

Dear Family (Christians and otherwise),

I’ll begin by saying that I love you. I truly do. All of you, even those who slander me and spread gossip, threatening me with the very fires of hell itself, are my brothers and sisters in Christ. For if not by the grace of the almighty God, the one Jesus called Abba, none of us would be here. So I write this to you as a member of the family we call humanity, and as one who understands that we all need grace in the most abundant of ways.

As a family, we are at a crossroads. Call it a time of apocalypse (Greek for “an unveiling”). No matter what we think of the current sociopolitical situation, whether we endorse the present administration or bemoan it, we cannot deny the gravity of the state we find ourselves in. As a nation, and indeed a world, we are divided. In more ways than not! Political party lines, divided. Religious lines, divided. Racial lines, divided. Cultural lines, divided. And while division, or rather, differentiation, is not necessarily a bad thing, what we are experiencing is a crisis in which our divisiveness is being driven purely by fear of the other, where anything and anyone that doesn’t fit into our current myopic worldview is met with violent denunciation, rather than being driven by an acknowledgement of our differentiation, and a growing empathy and understanding of it.

Our message, more often than not, is “be afraid, be very afraid.”

Because of this, there will come a time when we will have to reap what we are currently sowing. I can’t help but think that a situation similar to the one in 70 CE isn’t beyond the realm of possibilities. And, because we are a globalized humanity, I fear it could be much worse. As French anthropologist René Girard warned, “When the whole world is globalized, you’re going to be able to set fire to the whole thing with a single match.”

So what are we to do?

A part of me wants to simply shrug my shoulders and say, “How the hell am I supposed know?” Sometimes a Rapture of the church sounds like a good idea after all. But that would be dishonest. That would be the escapist and defeatist in me wanting to give up because the burden seems too great. That would be the ego not wanting to pick up the daily cross that just seems too heavy. But this isn’t the attitude that the Spirit of Christ gave us, all of us, including me. I know that because I can hear her voice saying “Keep walking with me, this Path of Peace.”

So, what is my solution to the problem?

First, we all must look in the mirror, one by one, and ask ourselves if we take seriously the itinerant preacher from Nazareth. Not if we believe some metaphysical truth about who Jesus Christ is, but if we take seriously the Jewish man named Jesus, enough so to follow him. It sounds crazy, given that he ends up on a Roman torture device, but it is exactly what he asks of us.

Admittedly, I don’t want to have to do this. It sounds terribly difficult. Actually, it seems downright impossible, as well as a bit insane. I like coming home to a comfy couch and sleeping in cozy bed, thank you very much.

What a dilemma!

Perhaps we aren’t meant to have to go through this burden of the cross forever. Perhaps we are supposed to start coming together as a family over bread and wine, rather than over each other’s broken bodies. Perhaps Jesus was serious about the power of human community, so much so that he said we will do greater things than he ever did (John 14:12). Perhaps this whole being-a-human-being-thing doesn’t have to be so damn hard!

But it is.

So, until we are finally all living with and among each other as one unified family, some of us are going to have to continue to carry these burdensome crosses. Some of us are going to have to preemptively forgive our enemies when seemingly every ounce of us wants to haul off and smack them or worse yet, end them. Some of us are going to have to stand in front of the cultural firing squad that continually mows down, generation after generation, the “least of these.” Some of us are going to have to do this, or else I fear the worst.

Who is gonna step up to the plate? Come on, who? The more that do, the easier the burden gets. The more who step into a life devoted to the Way of Jesus, the more shoulders there are to carry these crosses. The Bill Withers classic tune “Lean on Me” comes to mind. And like an avalanche that picks up speed and energy as it crashes down the mountain, the more that join this Way, the greater chance we have of avoiding the potential cataclysm that awaits us should we continue in our narcissistic and rivalrous ways.

May we heed this call. As a Church, may we exchange any violent ways that we might have for the Way of our Master, becoming a healing balm to an ever-increasing broken humanity. In all manners, and at all times, be at peace, and if you do, then, in the words of the Apostle Paul, “the peace of God that exceeds all understanding will keep your hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:7).

Shalom.

Matthew J. Distefano

Image via Unsplash.

Previous Post

January 10, 2017

The Second Death

Next Post

March 17, 2017 Dear Religion,

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Atonement Book Review Early Church Eschatology eternal torment Hell Hermeneutics LGBTQ+ Mimetic Theory Mysticism News Old Testament Podcast Poetry Politics Prayer Religion Sacrifice Satire Soteriology Theology Uncategorized Violence

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 June 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 June 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

In the last days, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will do what?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Worship Prophesy Sing Rejoice

Books by This Author Books by All Set Free

See All Titles »