In a recent article in Plough Quarterly, Philip Britts writes: “When the wise men, or the kings, came from the East, they went to Jerusalem, the capital, to inquire, ‘Where is he who has been born King of the Jews?’ And today those who are ‘wise’ make the same mistake in looking to worldly power to solve the world’s problems.” Mary’s Magnificat speaks of the Lord as One who “has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly.” Jesus calls
the poor and the humble blessed while warning of woes to the rich and powerful, yet still we look to the rich and powerful as measures of success and to violence and the threat of violence as a valid means to impose our will on other nations and people. We are still looking for the savior among the powerful in Jerusalem instead of among the poor in Bethlehem!
In her sermon at the National Cathedral on Monday, January 21st (which I highly commend to you), Right Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde, an Episcopal bishop, spoke of the importance of unity for our nation as we look to the future.
She set out three foundations for such unity: respect/dignity toward others, honesty, and humility. Those values echo the voices of the prophets and Jesus throughout Scripture:
- respect for others, for we ALL are created in the image of God
- honesty in our words and relationships rooted in God’s command “You shall not bear false witness” and the Golden Rule
- humility, as proclaimed by the prophet Micah (What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, love kindness/mercy, and walk humbly with your God!) and by Jesus (Those who exalt themselves will be humbled and those who humble themselves will be exalted).
Rev. Budde’s encouragement to the president to show mercy draws on the beatitude (Blessed are the merciful) and the biblical imperative to be merciful toward others because God has shown mercy to us. Her message was well grounded in Scripture and faithful to Christ’s call to us as disciples. Those Christians who take issue with her words would do well to read their Bibles, for they may find that their argument is less with her than with the prophets and Jesus who express God’s will for our lives and life together. Within some corners of the evangelical community this reality has resulted in some pastors being castigated for reading portions of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount – not for interpreting those passages, but simply for reading Jesus’ words which they describe as “woke” and “weak” and “unrealistic”, but which we who claim to be Jesus’ disciples call “faithful.” Jesus calls us to be countercultural – to love when the world says, “Hate!”; to forgive when the world says, “Get even!”; to strive to be rich in soul rather than rich in things; to be humble when the world says, “Look at me!” It wasn’t easy in the 1st century, and it is no easier today. It is what some have called radical grace and radical love. In that light, may we all be so radical – and thus be faithful!
— John Peterson
