This year I read the Gospel lectionary text last Tuesday. Shortly after I heard a news commentator who labeled as blasphemy a comment that was made about Trump's recent convictions. "This case is like Jesus' conviction - we should not persecute the man but, rather, worship him." This is now being more widely seen as an acceptable response by his supporters.
I
reflect on the juxtaposition of American political and religious life
we have continued to experience in ways that seem unprecedented to me since the Christmas before Trump came
into office in 2016. At that time Dan
Rather reported what then Chairman Reince Priebus wrote in a Christmas
message:
"Over two millennia ago, a new hope was
born into the world, a Savior who would offer the promise of salvation
to all mankind. Just as the three wise men did on that night, this
Christmas heralds a time to celebrate the good news of a new King."
Incoming White House press
secretary Sean Spicer said the reference had nothing to do with Trump.
'Christ is the King in the Christian faith.'"
Rather commented "I am just not sure how one would explain the word "new" in the quote".
This barely might cause a ripple compared to the wide-ranging suggestions made throughout Trump's presidency and today. Recently Trump compared his situation to Jesus' during Holy Week and made a commercial for a white Christian-Nationalist Bible. He also proclaimed the judge in his recently concluded New York trial was really a devil.
This type of blasphemy may be in the eye of the beholder. What story are we likely to tell ourselves? Someone might not see the
above cases as blasphemy. Someone may also argue there are blasphemes I may be simply, consistently blind to about Jesus' divinity. For instance I
differentiate Jesus as a person from his role as Christ.
Many Sundays we affirm the mystery of faith by declaring "Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again". In this declaration I differentiate Jesus as a historical figure who lived in the first century and from Christ as in the role of anointed savior and the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies. I want his divine mission and identity as a chosen one sent by God to save humanity emphasized. I would feel uncomfortable saying "Jesus has died, Jesus is risen, Jesus will come again".
Sunday Worship Service Setting - ELW Setting 8
Pastor Emillie preached a Children's Sermon today beginning by singing an infectious I've Got the Joy acted with gestures. The contents were about the protection of the Holy Spirit demonstrated with balloons that popped without the Holy Spirit and were protected with the Holy Spirit (a balloon filled with water).
Pastor Emilie's sermon about the Gospel addressed the reason why blasphemy against the Holy Spirit was unforgivable in the context of the situation being presented. They were stating that Jesus was possessed by the devil. This judgement showed they had no desire or motivation to amend their opinion. They have precluded any hope of being transformed by what they are perceiving.
At last week's Cottage Meeting the participant's desire for growing the number of our congregation was evident. I agreed but it also worries me as far as expectations. With institutional structures questioned and in the overall the numbers of people who profess to be Christian on the decline, will this continue to be a frustration if the number of Creator folk worshiping stays the same? For example, I don't see going back to the days where there was not soccer practice on Wednesdays. Life is no longer centered on church life. The answer to the anxiety is unlikely to be to reimpose an old structure on the society that no longer believes in it.
There is a heated rhetoric in this country around that answer. Some predict there will be Civil War that replaces the culture war. This Gospel text "If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand", however, gives me hope on that front. I think this is a wrong labeling. Abraham Lincoln delivered his famous "House Divided" speech on June 16, 1858. He made this statement while accepting the Illinois Republican Party's nomination as that state's United States senator. Then slavery was the issue. Just like then currently there did not appear to be a way to reach any sort of compromise solution about basic values but the "sides" were easier to separate.
Yet a new Civil War cannot resolve today's sides in this country. One reason is that the divisions are no longer fall along geographic state boundaries. However the threats to democracy does appear to be a concern shared across the divide, albeit for different reasons. The deterioration of public dialogue seems to be shared. A house divided against itself cannot stand. So what we are currently experiencing should not be permanent. There must be a reached resolution. A resolution that honors the aspirations of our better natures regardless of the divide. A resolution that will form a more perfect union once it is agreed upon
Reminds me of another saying Abraham Lincoln famously quoted before he became president. The phrase is often attributed to Persian, Jewish, and Sufi traditions:
"This too shall pass".
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