Polarization makes us miserable. The book “The Big Sort” described Americans increasingly separating into ideological groups, and this year, the Pew Research Center documented how fear of “the other political/cultural side” is driving us to a cycle of anger and rhetorical excess that leaves many feeling frightened and isolated from those who think differently.
Though new digital media platforms make things worse, this is an ancient problem. Arguably, our ancient enemy plays a role in it. The Greek word “diabolos,” root of diabolical, means to divide. The Hebrew root of the word “Satan” means to accuse.
Of course, Jesus works very differently. Rather than seeking ideological uniformity, he drew people with different viewpoints into his inner circle. Jesus, combining humanity and divinity in himself, brings unity through integrating things that human beings see as contradictory.
In “Systematic Theology,” philosopher Paul Tillich describes things called polarities. Freedom and destiny, structure and dynamic, individuality and community seem contradictory to us. But God holds these things together in unity. A classic example: justice and mercy.
In the life of the Church, some of us tend to proclaim God’s justice and the need to clearly communicate the challenging truths of the faith. Others prefer to proclaim mercy and God’s invitation to all of us as sinners.
In the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15), St. James called people to remain true to the laws of the Mosaic covenant, and St. Paul called for easing the Gentiles’ way into the faith by relaxing key elements of the Jewish law. Instead of succumbing to a dynamic of negative polarization, St. James, sometimes called St. James the Just, listened to St. Paul and embraced his point of view.
In James 2:12-13, you can see how St. James synthesized justice and mercy: “speak and so act as people who will be judged by the law of freedom. For the judgment is merciless to one who has not shown mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.” In the very next verses, St. James then challenges us to act with justice caring for our neighbor. St. James upholds justice and mercy together. His encounter with St. Paul and his relationship with Jesus let him embrace the polarities rather than fall into the trap of polarization.
Our world needs us as followers of Jesus to model the example of St. James. We need to be grounded in our identity as followers of Jesus before anything else. We need to set aside our screens and ground ourselves in prayer. Then we need to take the initiative to genuinely encounter our family, friends and community.
Pope Francis likes to say time is greater than space, reality is greater than ideas and the whole is greater than the part. By this, he means that we need to be hopeful, patient and stay in relationship with people who upset us. Not easy to do. But when we offer justice and mercy to our neighbor, we become more like Jesus, who does the same for us.
This article appeared in the October/November issue of Northwest Catholic magazine. Read the rest of the issue here.