When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
7 ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
11 ‘Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely* on my account. 12Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
13 ‘You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.
14 ‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house.
from the Beatitudes in Jesus' SERMON on the Mount Matthew 5
Please indulge me as I use this blog as a "pulpit" to express some views this morning, although I hope I'm not a bully.
It's fascinating to see and hear the response of people across America to the sermon preached by Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde from the pulpit at the Washington National Cathedral. The inaugural prayer breakfast is a big deal with President Trump, VP Vance and a lot of others were on hand for this tradition where the deity or deities are invoked to provide guidance to the incoming administation.
Bishop Budde prepared her message well in advance with three points but added a fourth after hearing Trump during his inauguration. The president stated that he was spared from an assassin's bullet by God so that he could achieve a higher purpose. There was a creepily messianic tone to his assertion but Budde diplomatically drew upon this to ask that Trump be merciful toward those who have been marginalized and persecuted.
The reaction to this sermon, echoing the biblical prophets and Jesus, was mixed,to put it mildly. Thousands have voiced their support but Trump hated it -- the nasty woman should apologize -- while one congressman figures she should be deported (to New Jersey, where she was born?). Lots of conservative Christians woofed and fulminated that she wasn't a real preacher anyway because she is not male.
This was the same pulpit from which Martin Luther King Jr. preached shortly before his death, a pointed message that was not well received. Pulpits have always been both practical (preachers are more visible and can project the voice better) and symbols of a divine authority beyond that of the preacher. The early Protestants (following the original Martin Luther) went in for elevated pulpits for sermons rather than messages or homilies from behind the altar, usually the custom of Roman Catholics.
Martin Luther King's Last Sunday Sermon, Wash. Nat. Cathedral, March 31, 1968
I've stood behind plenty of pulpits including the one in St. Andrew's, Sudbury, that had the carved inscription facing the preacher "Sir, we would see Jesus" (John 12:21) It was from the King James Version, no less! I should note that as the years went on I still used the pulpit during worship but regularly departed from it to preach closer to the congregation. Preaching is an honour and humbling and to my mind should always be biblical, even if the message must be unsettling.
President Trump criticized Bishop Budde for being political, a laughable comment given that thousands of sermons have been preached extolling Trump from podiums and pulpits of churches on the religious right. Faith is always political, although preachers should refrain from partisan politics.
Preaching the truth isn't always well received. Jesus was deemed a threat by a political regime and executed for a message that was interpreted as seditious rather than Good News.
Karl Barth, the German/American who was one of the greatest theologians of the 21st century said:
Take your Bible and take your newspaper, and read both. But interpret newspapers from your Bible.” (Time Magazine, May 1, 1966.)
It's also been suggested that preaching should "comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable." Isn't that what Bishop Budde was about? I'm confident that she doesn't have a messiah complex, so let's pray for her safety. A reminder of her call for compassion:
I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared. There are gay, lesbian, transgender children, Democratic, Republican, independent families — some who fear for their lives...“The people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings, who labor in poultry farms and meatpacking plants, who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shifts in hospitals — they may not be citizens or have the proper documentation, but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals.
Amen! Preach!
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me
because the Lord has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives
and release to the prisoners,
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn...
From Isaiah 61, one of today's lectionary readings (NRSVue)
I Couldn't Resist
3 comments:
It will be intersting to see how THE RESISTANCE forms to this Presidency and its policies. What will the sources of resistance be? Will national coalitions form? Will they identify as Democrats and enter into the mid-term elections? Will a new party be created? KB
Why would he think an apology is necessary, when he was asked to show mercy to people living in his country? His true colors are glaring brightly!
It does seem that the Dems are a bewildered and dispirited bunch right now, Kathy. Will certain faith communities provide that resistance? RC bishops in the Southern States have already made strong statements in support of migrants.
The expectation of an apology makes no sense, Judy, so at least some things are consistent with the Tyrant in Chief.
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