Nicole’s e-Pistle “Holy Wrestling”

February 11, 2026

Greetings, Friends!

You may have noticed a box on the table in the Commons this past Sunday with the sign, “Ask The Pastor” on the front. Each week, I will select a question from the ones you put in the slot. You can either choose a pre-written question or write a question of your own. I will then use your questions as inspirations for my weekly e-Pistles. This week, I selected a question that states…

How do faith and public life connect without becoming partisan?

This is a tricky question, and I think there are some topics that may be near impossible not to sound partisan to people. For example, part of my faith is believing that all people were made in the image of God – the Imago Dei. Therefore, I think that one’s gender or sexual ideology does not separate them from the love of God. Automatically, I’ve just placed myself in a partisan ideological box, and if I’m not careful, the whole world will know I’m one of “those” people.

However, in Lunch Bunch on Monday, we watched an interview with Amy-Jill Levine, who is an acclaimed author and professor of New Testament and Jewish studies. The topic of the interview was wrestling with difficult Biblical passages. At one point, she said something profound about faith and scripture…

“The basics tie up with a bow. If you’re Christian, Christ is Lord, Christ died for you. You have a job to do. That’s pretty clear. The details are where the wrestling takes place, but the details are part of the engagement. So think of it as being married – the major stuff is in place. You love your spouse. Your spouse loves you. You have a mortgage, and there are certain things you do to keep the relationship going, but you’re going to wrestle on those details… [Wrestling is a sign of intimacy.]… Absolutely, because you don’t want to make your spouse into another version of you. Your spouse compliments you, and the differences as well as the similarities are important and you will wind up disagreeing on certain things, whether it is what we’re going to eat tonight or what school the child is going to go to or whatever. There will be disagreements, but when you wrestle with those disagreements and you acknowledge each other’s position, your relationship becomes stronger. (I say that after 37 years of marriage).”

Yesterday evening, I attended a presentation by Michael Tuggle of his new book entitled, “Hummingbird” to a group of people at Royal Oaks. It was a wonderful discussion about his inspiration, writing process, and truths about human trafficking, the backdrop for his novel. I am in the process of coordinating a time when Michael will be back in town and might be able to speak at one of our Selvidge Street Forums, perhaps as early as March. It was fascinating to me to hear the discussion and comments from a room full of both Republicans and Democrats. There were small hints at partisan language, but for the most part, the entire room was united on a concern for what is essentially modern slavery in the world, which affects 25- to 50-million people in the world, according to Michael’s research. (Understandably, the very nature of trafficking limits our ability to be more accurate with statistics.)

The basics are clear. Love God. Love people. God can handle us wrestling with the details – that is a sign that we are still intimate with God… that we still value the relationship. The worst thing we could ever do is stop wrestling and simply walk away from God or each other. Therefore, when others spout hatred and bigotry, I can choose to support the marginalized. When my neighbor stands firmly behind a candidate I do not agree with, I can choose to listen with an open mind and wrestle with new ideas and perspectives. When partisan platforms and rhetoric begin to clash with how Jesus calls me to live out my faith in the world, I can choose to speak the truth as I see it with kindness and compassion. May each of us continue to let our lights shine in the world, so all may see God’s goodness and love.

Blessings and peace,