We live in a world that seems very binary. There’s a meme about how “Christian” our current president is because of somethings that have happened during this administration. Without either citing the cheerleader meme or going into the details of what the current commander in chief or his staff believe to be examples of good he is, I challenge the reality of this set up. The meme itself is wrong.
Being “Christian” isn’t about a tally sheet, where some good cancels out all bad –like a ballance sheet. Being a follower of Christ is about being radically in love with God, so much so that you must radically love others with your words, deeds, with all your actions, and with your reasons for your actions. Everything must align. To the extent it does not, you are not being a disciple. We can only serve one master.
God is not mocked, nor is God fooled. God sees the sweeping up of the homeless, the patrolling and arresting of whosoever looks Hispanic, the silencing of the press, of critics, of satire, of anyone who speaks too loudly in a way that is critical of what is being done. We cannot do a good by being evil, and this administration in its policies, proceedures and people, keeps treating people as less than.
But Sherry, whatabout? God sees all of our hearts, not just the tidy parts we present. Yes, God is merciful, but one must 1) recognize one’s deep need for mercy and 2) ask and 3) trust that God is all just and all merciful.
What does that mean? We must really be contrite, we must really know the reality of our sin, we must really seek forgiveness, and there are no holdbacks –but I’ve been good everywhere else –it’s why abortion is wrong, it’s why rounding up people and shipping them off to only God knows where, because we sure don’t, is also wrong. It’s why denying health care and basic needs to a person is wrong –it is theft, and it is killing. Killing is not merely the taking of a life, but denying the dignity of another to survive, and using power to assert dominance. Evil is always craving more, and finding itself more empty, the more it has. It is the opposite, but not equal to good.
Imitating Sauruman in seeking or succoring to power, or Sauron, demanding absolute fealty and destroying all others, or Wormtongue, whispering your way through the manipulation of language, to power, is precisely the wrong way to go. It will not end well, to be consumed by the desire to control, or to dominate. “If more of us valued food and cheer and song over horded gold, it would be a merrier world.” –Tolkien
It might also be more merciful. God knows, we need more mercy.
In Matthew 5:1-12, Jesus said
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
There is no one more poor in spirit than the homeless, and they are being swept up. The homeless in DC could also face fines —
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Parents are seeking their children who have been taken away, people are being sent to prisons in foreign countries, there are a lot of people mourning.
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
There are people afraid to go to mass, to practice their religion for fear they will be arrested. These are meek.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
The lack of due process for the arrested, for the accused, the rewriting of history, the rewriting of news –(labor statistics), the silencing of media so that truth becomes whatever is approved of socially by those who are on Truth social, leaves a lot of us hungry and thirsty for righteousness.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
The implicit warning in this statement, is to the merciless, and what they will be shown.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
This is the goal in the heart of every person who loves Christ. It is not about making over a country or a history, it is about being won over by God, and wanting everyone else to know that reality too. (Praying for all those engaged in the abuses currently taking place, and for those that champion them).
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
Peace is neither the absence of disagreement, nor the capitulation to force. Peace is about willing the good of the other, beyond one’s differences, beyond the difficulty.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
I suspect, Casandra like, this age is coming.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Pray for peace, pray for all hearts involved. The world is not binary, not divided into death eaters and good wizards. We are all of us, both and, and called to live out that both and by being both Martha and Mary, by embracing the work of carrying the cross and of standing at the foot of it. We are souls with bodies, our brother’s keepers and to love God first. Likewise, even those we disagree with morally, politically, ethically, socially, any which way, are God’s beloved, and our brothers for whom we should pray. There is no one we should not pray to find at God’s table, if we want to be the one found there ourselves.
Both and always. God’s way is both infinite and epic and found in the doing of little things with great love. It’s mysterious and wonderful, challenging and hard, only possible with grace, and yet possible to all willing to accept God’s grace and embrace it ever more deeply.
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