The Rev. Jonathan Grieser, who comments from time to time on the Cafe, finds himself in the middle of the pro-labor demonstrations occurring in Madison, Wisconsin. Here, from his blog, is the sermon he preached yesterday. It begins, as follows, but you should read it all.
Well, it certainly has been an interesting week here in Madison, and events continue to unfold. Emotions are high—there’s the exhilaration of participating in protests and sitting-in at the capitol as some of our members could attest; there’s concern among many who are state workers about what the future holds; and there is the anger that can flare up when the exchange of ideas turn into shouted arguments, when ill-considered protest signs offend, and when people who want to go about their daily routine are thwarted.
We don’t know what to make of it when history seems to be occurring right in front of our eyes and some of us are active participants in it. It’s hard to step back and interpret events and since we don’t know how this will all end, it’s too early to do so. But still, even as the protests continue around us on the streets of Capitol Square, we have chosen, not to participate in them, nor to stay away entirely, but to come here, to gather as God’s people, and as we do every Sunday, to hear God’s word and to share in the sacrament of Christ’s body and blood.
We’ve opened our doors this week to provide a place of sanctuary, prayer, and respite in the midst of all that is taking place around us; and it may be that many of you have come today for that very reason, to hear words of comfort and solace and to take your minds off of what is occurring.
If that was your hope, I’m sorry to disappoint you. Well, I’m not disappointing you—the lectionary is. We are still in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, and as I said a couple of weeks ago, these are among Jesus’ most difficult and most challenging words. Of all that Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount, the verses we read today may be the most profound and most challenging. We are told to turn the other cheek, go the second mile, and to love our enemy.
I like that. It isn’t the priest, who disappoints those who want to turn away from the world and seek spiritual comfort; it’s Jesus.
The sermon has also been picked up by a blogger for the Hartford Courant.