THE CLARITY OF YEARS
/*A few days ago I read the newest blog post from Chris Kratzer (chriskratzer.com) I loved it so I reposted it on my own Facebook page. I had actually been working on my own blog post from a similar perspective over the last few weeks. At first I thought I’d drop mine and move on to another super important topic, but then I rethought. Apparently this is such an important point at this moment in history, so much so that several of us who feel called to speak out and be intentional about naming injustice have been on this same page at the same time. Chris’ work is truly excellent, probably better than this one. Please be sure to see the link at the end of this post and go read his work, but I decided to go ahead with my own take on this important point. So here it is...
Ok Evangelicals, you’ve had your moment in the sun, but now it’s time to spiritually grow up and act like a real follower of the radical, table turning, outcast loving, rule changing Jesus. To be clear about my point of this post, I can’t see any way one can be a supporter of this current president and simultaneously be an all-in follower of that radical Jesus we read about in the Gospels. I’m talking about the brown skinned, middle eastern Jesus, not the long haired blond haired white skinned perfect looking Jesus whose picture hangs in so many of your homes. I’m taking about the Jesus we celebrate with words such as Emmanuel, The Word in Flesh, the Bright and Morning Star and the Prince of Peace. Jesus certainly stands in diametric opposition to most of what we see from this president and his administration. Things such as outrageous statements and tweets expressing blatant hatred and bigotry, white supremacy and white nationalism, homophobia or transphobia, “lock her up” or “send her back” or any other kind of racism or exclusion for that matter. So it is my personal conviction that because of the unrelenting and fully intentional pain and suffering he and his policies are causing multiple thousands of people to experience each day in the LGBTQ+ community, the refugee community, the immigrant community, the black community, and many others, I see no way that one can support the policies and unrelenting hatred and bigotry of this president and be a fully committed follower of Jesus. The two are simply incompatible.
Oh I suppose that you might be able to see yourself following the angry portrayal of the rash and vengeful God of the Old Testament who supposedly did a bunch of very un-Jesus like things. Things like this passage from 1 Samuel 15:3 where it has the God character saying ...“Now go. Attack the Amalekites. Completely destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare the Amalekites. Put the men and women to death. Put the children and babies to death. Also kill the cattle, sheep, camels and donkeys.’ ” … So, if that’s your God, I guess I’ll have to give you a pass on this one, because that is truly the heart of this president. But if you see yourself as someone who actually wants to follow the Jesus we see all throughout the Gospels, then you must jump off of the Trump Trash Barge, and you must do it quick.
It must have felt good winning in 2016. I get it. I was still on your side of the fence in 2008 when President Obama was elected for the first time. At that point I was quite disappointed. I actually remember nodding in agreement when things were said like “well, maybe now we can get past all the racial division since we’ve elected a black president”. I’m not at all proud of that, but it was the prevailing sentiment among most evangelicals in those days. Thankfully my opinion had completely changed by the start of his second term. As his second term was coming to an end and DJT was on the scene promising his Evangelical base the equivalent of a conservative political Holy Grail ... I was stunned by how the church was so overwhelmingly all-in for this awful person. It just turned my stomach.
I’m pretty sure that I know what most of you thought back then, and what I guess you still think ... “If he can end legal abortion then we can find a way to overlook his slight indiscretions”. You know, little things like: multiple allegations of rape, relentless obvious excessive greed, unparalleled arrogance, numerous public admissions of sexual abuse of power and position (pussy grabbing, fondling women without permission and the list goes on and on), incessant pathological lying and an ego the size of China or Russia (take your pick). You could find ways to overlook all of these things because he said he was going to end legal abortion. But he also puts children in cages, which is a little problematic. He hates “the gays”, hates immigrants, really hates black people and wants to completely erase all traces of trans people. He certainly hates Muslims and really hates all Arabs except the rich ones. But his particular hatred of these people is also quite easy to dismiss since people like Franklin Graham and James Dobson have convinced us that obviously God hates these people too.
So it must have felt good to win! I mean Hillary was really horrible. Wasn’t she? You know, with all those really bad things she did, like emails and like loving gays, wanting to protect immigrants and black people. Wanting to give human dignity and equal standing to those awful trans people. She loves Muslims, Arabs and of course she really loves abortion. (That’s how y’all phrase it) Every liberal loves abortion, right? Here’s the real thing about abortion, from a former member of your tribe. Now that I’m on this side of the fence, I have come to realize that nobody actually likes abortion! Nobody! Of course, if you actually believe the things you say you believe about life and its sacredness, then things like keeping migrant kids in cages, mass incarceration of young black men, the death penalty, or even tax breaks and insane financial incentives for the wealthiest while setting up higher and higher financial barriers and taxes on those who can least afford it. Things like these ought to hold just as high of a place in your list of assaults on “life” as your concern for the unborn does. Not that it makes abortion any less terrible for both the child and especially for the mother, but having lived on your side of the religious / political fence for most of my life, I know what you believe about those babies. You believe that those babies which are not born are immediately ushered into the loving and waiting arms of Jesus, a point which I don’t disagree with.
Ok, so back to the point. You have brains, you have eyes and you have ears. So think, look and listen. This is urgent. If you don’t think deeply about this, and if you don’t open your eyes and ears and realize quickly that this massively narcissistic, egomaniac that is leading your charge, is the exact antithesis of who Jesus was, who He is, and who He calls you to be. If the 86% of Evangelicals who put this man into office don’t rethink their bargain with him, this man is going to systematically destroy the country and hurt an incredible number of truly innocent people along the way. Taking a metaphor from scripture, you simply can’t overlook the giant redwood of abuse, misuse, hatred, exclusion, and bigotry in order to counter the comparatively small speck of sawdust that is found on the other side of the political divide. As I’ve made these observations, I hope that in a brief instant of emotional honesty and clarity, you’ll be able to see that the side you decry as being the immoral one, actually looks and acts in many important ways, an awful lot like the Jesus you say you love.
So let me once again say it clearly. I absolutely believe that one simply cannot be a true “all-in” follower of the Jesus we read about in the gospels and be a supporter of this president. I believe they are polar opposites. East to West kind of opposites. This president creates hatred and division with speeches and tweets every single day. He gives implicit and explicit permission to hate filled people to go out and execute their wrath on innocent and vulnerable people. This president, aided by his applauding Evangelical fans, continually subverts the important witness of the Church. His callous, reckless and hateful rhetoric irreparably damages the reputation of the church in the minds and hearts of the vulnerable, the desperate, the hurting, and the terrified, especially those who aren’t in the predominantly cis-gender, white, privileged, churchy club and does so by further ostracizing, excluding, and marginalizing those who Matthew 25 specifically says are the very real representation of Himself. Remember this passage …
“Now when the Human One comes ... All the nations will be gathered in front of him. He will separate them ... He will put the sheep on his right side. But the goats he will put on his left. … “Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who will receive good things from my Father. Inherit the kingdom that was prepared for you before the world began. ... I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. ... I was naked and you gave me clothes to wear. I was sick and you took care of me. I was in prison and you visited me.’ ... “Then those who are righteous will reply to him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? ... When did we see you as a stranger and welcome you, or naked and give you clothes to wear? ... When did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ ... “Then the king will reply to them, ‘I assure you that when you have done it for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you have done it for me. “
To all my church friends (both those who have given up on me and those still hanging on hoping I’ll regain my senses) to those of you who approve of and support this president, please think past your conservative political Holy Grail single issue. Please try to think about the thousands upon thousands of people being irreparably harmed daily by this president’s policies, speeches, tweets, and hate. Please, think critically about this before it’s too late. (which it certainly already is for many who have been his victims). Please, I beg of you to get off the Trump Trash Barge that is working its way down the river called “compromise”. He is trying to drive the barge downstream as fast as possible to get away from the uncomfortable words and gaze of the Jesus you claim to love. Unfortunately it’s carrying both you and the church with it.
The other day I saw some pictures of the scene in 1957 when “the Little Rock 9”, a group of 9 black high school students were escorted into their school by Federal troops in Arkansas. They were escorted in past screaming crowds hurling horrible racist jeers and threats from local citizens, from local government officials and even from the Arkansas National Guard. This was the first serious test of the 1954 desegregation law “Brown vs Board of Education”. It was both a terrible and a triumphant day. My thought immediately after seeing these pictures was “I wonder if those standing along the sidewalk in these photos yelling and taunting these 9 precious students are at all embarrassed by their actions in those days”. I’m sure some are not, but I would think most of them are incredibly embarrassed and deeply regret their role in this obviously racist display. I think the same will be true 60+ years into our future. As Fr. Richard Rohr recently said, “The Evangelicals support of Trump will be an indictment against its validity as a Christian movement for generations to come.” I’m sure that generations from now, those who choose to follow the Jesus of the Gospels will look back on the American Evangelical Church of today with such great sadness and will weep bitterly for the damage it has inflicted on so many. Thinking about it on a more personal level, I’m sure that 60+ years from now there will still be those who hold tightly to the racist, exclusionary, and bigoted ideologies of Trump and his ilk. But I believe that there will also be those who will find themselves terribly embarrassed, and with the clarity of the years, they will look back and weep at their own thoughts and actions during this time. Which one will you be?
*****************************************
To my LGBTQ+ friends reading this today I want you to know that my heart breaks for you. Day after day, I receive stories from so many precious people who have experienced heartbreaking rejection, devastating disappointment and graceless exclusion at the hands of churchy people and their supposed communities of faith while claiming to represent God. While it is an honor to be trusted to hear your stories, I long to be able to eliminate your pain and rejection and somehow reverse effects of the brutal treatment inflicted on you by those who are supposed to be the embodiment of Christ on earth.
Friends, please know that they don’t represent God very well at all, nor do they represent how God views you. There are many of us out here who see you clearly. We want to hear your story and we want to show you a very different picture of God than the one most of you have been told about.
I also want you to know that I’m here for you! I mean it. If you would like to connect with me directly to tell your story, to confidentially talk, vent, scream, cry, rant or whatever, I’m available for you! You can connect with me in several different ways. I can be reached through the contact tab of this blog site or you can connect with me by email at: murphy@murphygill.com, through Facebook at: www.facebook.com/murphy.gill, and via Twitter or Instagram @Nvstalot.
Peace,
Murphy
* http://chriskratzer.com/sorry-christian-you-cant-love-jesus-and-support-trump/