Faith and Sacrament and Civility

This election season has been the most contentious that I can remember. Always the mud-slinging and one-upping, but it seems as if it has fallen to new lows. When Christianity comes into politics, it seems as if it instantly becomes a contest of moral high ground. As I ponder on what faith in Jesus Christ means to me, I’m fairly certain He would be disappointed with this election season. I don’t mean with the candidates, but how we have been treating each other. There is so much shaming and hatred. When did civility become so out of fashion? Christ walked and talked with sinners. He refused to cast a stone at the woman taken in adultery. He taught love and kindness. This doesn’t mean He condoned sin. One of my favorite examples of modern civility was the friendship between Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Supreme Court Justice is arguably the most important position in government and Scalia and Ginsburg were diametrically contrary in almost every decision they made. When the robes were off, they were the best of friends. Scalia loved to hunt and Bader’s husband would often cook what he caught and the couples would share a meal together. They treated each other kindly. They respected the intelligence and intentions of the other person, even when opposed to their own. I am far from perfect. I depend on my belief that through partaking of a weekly sacrament I can be forgiven of my sins, shortcomings, weaknesses, etc. I try my best, but those errors are part of being human. I believe in the goodness of other people. I believe in a Christ who has given me more chances to try again, to do a little better than I can count and therefore it would be foolish of me to not offer that to all those around me. I have faith that trying our best matters and that Christ paid the price for all the times we fall short.