Baffled
in Birmingham
“Most
of the time the church should speak on issues of justice but refrain from
endorsing candidates. But in South Africa, we had an entire party that was
founded on white supremacy. In apartheid, there was only one way followers of
Jesus could vote in good faith and that was to vote against the apartheid
government. When a political leader or a political party bases their entire
foundation of governing on the belief that some people are less than other
people, we must tell our people that you cannot vote for them.”
Peter
Storey (Methodist Bishop during Apartheid in South Africa)
I’m
still reeling from the debate on Tuesday night. And, while I don’t want to make
this blog about politics, I have to say that I’ve been disturbed for some time
about the involvement of the church, especially the evangelical church, in politics.
Having studied the Bible for most of my adult life, I cannot for the life of me
understand how Christians can get behind a man who, from the moment he glided
down the escalator in Trump tower calling Mexicans rapists and murders, until Tuesday
night’s refusal to renounce white supremacy groups, is the antithesis of Jesus.
What he stands for it the exact opposite of what Jesus stood for, so how can
some Christians still see him as “the one.”
We had
a pastor when I was first involved at Pilgrim UCC, who had been a missionary in
South Africa. When he stood with Desmond Tutu against apartheid, he was deported
from the country and came home. During his first year at Pilgrim, his sermons
were earthy and grounded by stories of South Africa. Each one showed his love
for the place and the people he served there, and I loved hearing them. But
then, some of the members of the Board of Trustees told him to stop talking
about Africa all the time, so he did. From that point on, the life went out of
his sermons. They were calculated and dry, because the juice in his spiritual
life came from standing up for the oppressed people of South Africa. That is
precisely what the church in America should be doing today: standing up for the
oppressed, demanding equal rights for all our people. To not do so is to turn
ones back on the gospel of love for which Jesus lived and died.
Somehow,
our priorities have gotten screwed up. Our moral compass had fallen in a ditch.
That ditch may be lined with gold, like the escalator in Trump tower; certainly,
it is no less tawdry and tainted. Let us once again set our goals on freedom
and decency and find a way to the higher moral ground we once stood upon. It
will take faith and grace. In the words of Caroline Myss, “When faith is
present in me, Lord, I dwell in miracles.” Right now, America needs a
miracle of faith.
In
the Spirit,
Jane
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