Responding redemptively to President Biden’s cancer

Former President Joe Biden’s cancer diagnosis continues to generate headlines (for more, see my Daily Article on Sunday’s announcement). Political leaders from across the political spectrum have responded with words of affirmation and support; many have promised to pray for Mr. Biden and his family. We would expect such statements from public officials, especially with regard to one of their own.

However, it is also a fact that Mr. Biden, like all recent presidents, has been a polarizing figure in a very polarizing time. I won’t surprise you by stating that I disagree strongly with his positions on abortion, same-sex marriage, transgender surgeries, men in women’s sports, and a host of other cultural issues. I would guess that many of you agree with me in disagreeing with him.

Here’s a thought question: When you first heard the news, did you react in the same way as you would have if you supported Mr. Biden’s policies more fully? If Donald Trump, George W. Bush, or a governor or mayor with whom you agree had received this news, would you have felt about it as you did about Mr. Biden’s diagnosis?

The question goes much further than our relationship with political leaders. We all have people in our lives with whom we disagree, some on a deep and emotional level: family members, work colleagues, fellow students, neighbors—the list goes on.

If we have compassion only for hurting people we like, we won’t have compassion for many people. Yet our compassion for those with whom we disagree can be a powerful witness, one that shows the difference Jesus makes in a life and models his grace.

After all, the sinless Son of God disagreed with every human being, since every human being has sinned and fallen short of his glory (Romans 3:23). And yet he had such compassion for us that he died for us.

How can we extend such grace to those who need it most today?

Four biblical facts

First, remember that compassion is not agreement. In fact, the two can be very different if not polar opposites.

Jesus obviously did not agree with the sins for which he died. He wept over Jerusalem before dying for those who rejected his love, for instance (Luke 19:41–44). To have compassion for a hurting person does not require that we change our opinion regarding our disagreements.

In fact, it can be that their suffering is caused in part by the very decisions or behaviors with which we disagree. To compromise our beliefs for the sake of our compassion does them no good and can encourage them to persist in the direction that is so damaging to them.

Second, compassion for those with whom we disagree is unnatural for fallen people and requires the help of the Holy Spirit. 

The first “fruit” the Spirit produces in our lives is “love” (Galatians 5:22), the unconditional commitment to put the other person first. You and I can do this much more easily for people with whom we agree than for those with whom we are in conflict.

As a result, we need to pray for the Spirit’s help in caring for others as he does. We can be channels of his grace to the degree that we seek such grace for ourselves and through us to others.

Third, compassion for those with whom we disagree is fueled by remembering our Lord’s compassion for us. 

Think of the last sin you committed, then consider Jesus’ death on the cross for that sin. Hear him asking his Father to forgive those who crucified him, knowing that you are in that number.

St. Gregory of Nyssa (died AD 394) said of our salvation:

The reign of life has begun, the tyranny of death has ended. A new birth has taken place, a new life has come, a new order of existence has appeared, our very nature has been transformed! This birth is not brought about by human generation, by the will of man, or by the desire of the flesh, but by God.

In light of such immeasurable compassion toward us, we can be encouraged to seek and share such grace with others.

Last, we can be more compassionate in this life by remembering what awaits us in the life to come. 

We are all fallen people who struggle daily with the challenges of this broken world, but one day it will not be so. One day, compassion for those with whom we disagree will be unnecessary, because such disagreements will no longer exist.

In the meantime, we represent our loving Lord best by loving everyone he loves as he loves them. Those with whom we disagree are our mission field. The more they reject our faith, the more they need it. The more they frustrate us, the more we need grace for them.

Then, one day, we will be in that day where there is no night and light where there is no dark. We will experience that joy for which there is no sorrow and life for which there is no death.

We will be home, and all will be grace.

How our “master weaver” sees us

Br. Curtis Armquist of the Society of St. John the Evangelist in Boston writes:

If you have occasion to study a tapestry or quilt, where you can view both the front side and the back side, you often discover that though the front side may be more beautiful, the back side is more instructive and shows all the quite-hidden work that has enabled what is presented on the front side. . . .

Isn’t it so reassuring that God, as the master weaver, knows us: knows what we present “up front,” and knows from whence it all comes, our “back side.” Isn’t it comforting that God who created us, calls us, uses us, is thankful for us, pities us with a loving compassion.

Now our Father invites us to share such compassion with someone today. The more we disagree with them, the more we need such grace for them.

And for ourselves.