Sunday, January 10, 2021
Sunday Reflection: What Jesus is this?
It's been quite a week.
Of it all, one of the things I found most disturbing was the Christian imagery used by the violent insurrectionists at the Capitol who were literally trying to disrupt an election. There were crosses and Jesus flags and Jesus signs... one would think it had been organized by a church. And it kind of was:
Speaking at the ‘Prayer to Save America Rally’ yesterday, in the lead up to the #TrumpMarch, Tennessee pastor Greg Locke riled up the audience: “It’s time to stand up, church! It’s time to stand up, patriots! It’s time to stand up, pastors! And push back. This is America, and we’re going to keep it free. If you believe that, give the Lord some praise. Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty!”
Brian Gibson, a pastor from Kentucky, spoke from the podium, saying “We are not fighting FOR a victory, we are fighting FROM a victory. We serve a resurrected Jesus.
“We’re so glad all of these patriots are here,” Gibson yelled to the thousands surrounding the podium. “Does anybody think that America’s worth fighting for?”
“How many of you are believing that the people we elected are going to do what’s right? And they’re going to stand against all of the injustice and the fake votes.”
Pastor Mark Burns, which Time Magazine called ‘Trump’s top pastor’ also spoke, warning: “We’re here to serve notice. Because this is a demonic attack from the gates of hell.”
[Side note: When I first read that, I assumed that Burns was owning up to things and admitting that he was instigating a "demonic attack from the gates of hell," but upon reflection I don't think that is what he meant]
I don't have to belabor the point with those who have made it to the Razor: This really isn't what Jesus was talking about. I'm not sure what gospels they are reading.
But it points to something deeply important: The public image of Christianity has become these people, Jerry Falwell, Jr., and the evangelical right. And how terrible is that for the mission of evangelism? Who in their right mind would want to join that group?
We Christians who aren't like that bear part of the blame. Too many of us with some role in public life keep our faith a secret-- which means that people don't connect the good works they do with the faith. It's time to be bold, and to redefine what it means to follow Jesus from the public perception that those like the insurrectionists create. That means to include faith in the way that we are publicly defined, and define ourselves in public.
The flag-wavers may be destroyers, but we are healers, those who love and give and serve. We may tell ourselves that we do it in Jesus's name, but we too rarely tell anyone else-- and that is part of what lets the insurrectionists define the faith. It's time for that to change.
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This is one of the reasons I’ve been distancing myself from Christianity the past few years, or at least organized versions of it. To many “Christians,” religion has become synonymous with the Republican Party, which means, to me, that it’s become synonymous with hate, judgment, and hypocrisy. Pretty much the antithesis of what Jesus was about. (No, I’m not saying the Democratic Party is perfect, but it hasn’t draped itself in Christianity and “family values” like the Republican Party has.). Religion should not be synonymous with a country (unless it’s the Vatican, I guess) or a political party, but that doesn’t seem to be the reality in the United States today.
It’s exhausting to deal with it...I’m finding it easier for my sanity to just shut it out and distance myself from organized Christianity altogether instead of trying to change minds - which I know is not what Jesus would teach, so I’m as hypocritical as anybody else. But damn...I only have so much emotional and mental bandwidth to go around.
Apologies for the disjointed rant. Not sure if any of that makes any sense.
It’s exhausting to deal with it...I’m finding it easier for my sanity to just shut it out and distance myself from organized Christianity altogether instead of trying to change minds - which I know is not what Jesus would teach, so I’m as hypocritical as anybody else. But damn...I only have so much emotional and mental bandwidth to go around.
Apologies for the disjointed rant. Not sure if any of that makes any sense.
# posted by 
: 10:57 AM
: 10:57 AM
This hurts me to my very core. And reading Campbell's comments above makes my heartache even greater. I feel that the extreme right has coopted my flag and my faith and are driving people away. Someone I dearly love has a cross hanging in her house that is painted with the flag. I see it and think Christianity does not own the United States and the United States does not own Christianity. We are a country of many faiths. The message of Christianity is universal especially when you look at this commandment: "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." (which is not unique to Christianity either).
I am thankful for the thought-filled sermon our minister delivered this morning on out Zoom service. St. Martin's by-the-Lake Episcopal Church will have it posted on the website. I encourage Campbell to look at Christianity in churches with a strong faith and a strong sense of social justice.
I am thankful for the thought-filled sermon our minister delivered this morning on out Zoom service. St. Martin's by-the-Lake Episcopal Church will have it posted on the website. I encourage Campbell to look at Christianity in churches with a strong faith and a strong sense of social justice.
https://frenchpress.thedispatch.com/p/only-the-church-can-truly-defeat?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&utm_source=text&fbclid=IwAR0aDN5fiMTbLRB2Sz0E1xhYqx7paL264DUbtIZkZ2z4K2aJSmjty3031Cg
My Episcopal Church has a Black Lives Matter and Rainbow flag out front. They keep getting stolen, but we keep putting them back up.
The David French piece is good. Campbell, I feel the same pull. The key is to find a group of people who see this truth and worship with them!
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