In the blog below, UniteBoston’s Executive Director Rev. Kelly Fassett shares a transparent reflection on her heart posture in recent events, including the near assassination of former President Trump, and what this revealed within her.

In our polarized climate, violence in thought and action can show up in surprising places – It is vital that we pastor the instincts in our own hearts in order to follow Jesus as the Prince of Peace. Rev. Kelly calls followers of Jesus to do the hard work of uncovering what lies beneath to discover where we might be holding enmity and offers a spiritual practice to do just this. 

What was your first reaction to hearing about the near assassination of former President Trump?

I have to admit, my initial reaction isn’t one that I am proud of. 

I was on a brunch date with my husband and we were talking about this situation, and out of my mouth came the statement, “I almost wish that the bullet hadn’t missed.”

Friends, even writing this today, I feel a little vulnerable about being so public about my sins. I am registered an Independent voter and find myself in the middle of many social issues. Plus, I had a lot of reasons for justifying my beliefs: I am a person that highly values integrity in leadership and for me, how President Trump seems to see himself as being above the law rubs me the wrong way. I also have been disturbed by how he treats other people, such as the language that he uses to disparage minority groups, and how he seems to exercise power in an authoritarian manner that demands unquestioning obedience.

When I said that I almost wished the bullet hadn’t missed, it surprised me. There are a lot of Republicans in my life that I have a lot of respect for and love dearly, yet I realized that this came from an underlying belief that at some level that if President Trump wasn’t around, life in America might be a bit better for everyone. My husband responded, “I think you have a little soul searching to do.” And he was right.

I can believe all of these things, yet willing the destruction of another person is never OK, especially for those who are following Jesus. Here’s why.

We must distinguish whether our innermost posture is an opponent to disagree with or an enemy to be destroyed. If our instantaneous reaction is anger, rage, or destruction, we must examine where that is coming from. I’ve found that anger is often protecting something that is dear to us, driven by a sense of justice to fight for what is right and good and true. Jesus himself was angry at times (Mt 21:12-13), but wanting the worst for another person is not of God. Even if I disagree with former President Trump on many aspects of his leadership and treatment of others, he is still a child of God, made in God’s image, and beloved. This has to be the beginning and end of how I treat him, in posture and action

Our cohorts are currently unpacking the biggest barriers hindering Christian unity, and one of them we have identified is “righteous hubris.” Righteous hubris is identity by hostility – we know who we are because we know who we are against. Often we know that we are holding righteous hubris when we have a sense of vengeful glee inside ourselves at the sight of an “enemy” failing or being defeated, or we make plans to destroy the “other side” and undermine their credibility. While I myself would not be the one to inflict violence on former President Trump, I was OK with someone else doing it. 

And yet, Jesus calls us to a higher place: we are not just called to love those most like us, but to love our enemies (Mt 5:44). Jesus describes, “If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?” (Mt 5:46-47). Jesus is calling his followers to embody an unlikely love: a love for those on the “other side.” This is a supernatural love, as social science points to the reality that being with people who are different than you is cognitively taxing. Yet at a time when so many are carrying enmity and pointing fingers rather than looking at our darkness within, I believe that Christians who are carrying Christ’s humble, authentic, enemy-embracing love can shine brightly. 

Here is a working diagram on the spectrum of disunity that Devlin and I have been drafting this week as we’ve been thinking about this. It moves from:

• Diversity, which is to be understood, honored, celebrated, and valued
• To Disagreement, which are areas we grieve where followers of Jesus who are earnestly seeking to follow Jesus land in different places
• To Division, which is an inward posture of hostility, contempt, and vengeance against those on the other side
• To Destruction, which are violent actions taken to undermine someone’s credibility, such as slander, or hate crimes. 

As you do this inward examination, are you above the line, with a soft heart that sees and honors the inherent imago dei, or are you below the line, holding inward postures of enmity, hate or even destruction? We know we have crossed the line from living in the way of Jesus when we sense the visceral reactions “below the line” within us. 

There are a lot of people who are acting in the name of Jesus, and this doesn’t make everything right and good and true. I’ve found it important to distinguish ideologies from the people who hold those ideologies. Our “struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12). We can call out the evil in systems and structures that value some over others; and simultaneously love people, seeking the best for everyone we meet, “clothing ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” (Colossians 3:12-13).

I shared this story in our Christian unity working group, and it opened up an incredible time of confession where others shared moments where they also had held ill will or sought destruction of others in various ways. And if we are honest, this is true about all of us at some times. For you, maybe it’s not former President Trump you feel such ill will towards – maybe Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, or some other political figure. Or a neighbor, colleague, or even family member you have a strained relationship with over politics.

I want to invite you: When a situation occurs and you have a visceral emotional reaction, pause and consider:

• Get curious about yourself: Where is this feeling coming from? Why am I feeling threatened? What does it bring up for me? 
• Get curious about the other person: Put yourself in the other person’s world and understand where they might be coming from. What is God’s truth for this person and situation? How might I need to shift my perspective and heart posture to see this person as beloved and made in God’s image? 
• What changes might I need to make in my own life to ensure I can see the world and all of God’s children rightly? Where might repair be needed, within me or within the broken system that this situation reveals?

We must do the hard work of pastoring the underlying postures of righteous hubris, of enmity and hostility that show up in our hearts, so that it doesn’t evolve into destruction or violence, the fourth component of this diagram. I grieve the situation that occured a few weeks ago where five LGBTQ+ affirming churches in the area were desecrated. Unfortunately, those that committed these acts left signs that they were Christians doing this in the name of Jesus Christ.

The UniteBoston Board and staff released a statement standing with the Massachusetts Council of Churches condemning this desecration: “While there is much diversity on the perspectives of marriage and sexuality, how we hold our beliefs and treat one another matters. Our savior Jesus Christ calls us to be one and violence is never the answer to resolving our differences. We are called to love our neighbor as ourself (Mk 12:31) and Jesus implores us to hold a love even for one’s enemy (Mt 5:44). We pray that Christians in our area would be known for upholding love and respecting the imago dei of all of our neighbors across typical lines of division, as a public witness to the reconciling love of Jesus.”

So, dear friends, when we see the darkness in our hearts, join me in doing the hard work of uncovering what lies beneath. In a world that is characterized by so much dissension, enmity, and finger-pointing, may we do the inner work so we can be a different kind of people: following the Prince of Peace to transform our “acts of the flesh,” including hatred, discord, rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, and factions, to the “fruit of the Spirit”: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:19-21). This type of transformation needed so we can humbly and authentically witness to the way of Jesus, for the glory of God and the good of the city. 

– Rev. Kelly

P.S. The views mentioned are Rev. Kelly’s personal thoughts and opinions, not the views of UniteBoston. UniteBoston’s community encompasses Christians of many different backgrounds, convictions, and opinions and we encourage individuals to have honest, courageous conversations of listening, learning and story-sharing with those they may disagree with to grow in our embodiment of Christian unity. Feel free to reach out to me with any thoughts that this article brought up for you – I’d love to hear from you!

P.P.S. The UniteBoston board and staff believe this is a kairos moment for the Church. In the coming UniteBoston newsletters, we will be featuring resources on how Christians can engage well civically in this political climate, including a featured series with various articles, curriculums and spiritual practices. UniteBoston will also be hosting an event this fall for Christian pastors and leaders to experience a space of deep listening and connection about living and leading throughout this election year and to be a public witness to our churches and our city that the way of Jesus is to reconcile divides and to love our neighbor through intentional, curious, respectful conversation. If this is something you’d like to be part of please reach out to us. 

Further Resources:

• REFLECT: On how we are to imitate the role of Jesus as a peacemaker with these resources from Common Ground USA.
• REFLECT: Dr. Alison Cook has a powerful model for pastoring our instincts with her tool “Taking A You-Turn.”
• READ: How to Have an Enemy: Righteous Anger and the Work of Peace by Melissa Florer-Bixler. This is a fabulous book describing what the Bible says about enemies, sharing “a theology that allows us to name our enemies as a form of truth-telling about ourselves, our communities, and the histories in which our lives are embedded.” 
• LEARN: ​The After Party – This is a “free six-part video course designed to provide churches, small groups, and individuals with an on-the-ground, biblically based approach to navigating today’s challenging political environment.” The study can be used for individuals or as a small group curriculum, offering participants opportunities to examine their own political identities, consider the “how vs. the “what” of politics, and explore what the Bible has to say about it all.
• LISTEN: Kingdom of Jesus by The Porter’s Gate, Jon Guerra, and Sandra McCracken. I’ve been listening nonstop to this song; it reminds me of the humble, upside-down ways of Jesus, our Prince of Peace: “His Kingdom is not one of slander or rage but one that is ruled by the Lamb who was slain, And is worthy of wisdom and honor and glory and strength…Oh say can’t you see, we have one allegiance. It’s to the Kingdom of Jesus.”