Like so many Christians, I am filled with righteous and just anger over the photo Donald Trump took in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church. The man ordered armed guards to gas innocent people just so he could pose there holding a book he has likely never read (and certainly doesn’t attempt to follow its teachings) in front of a church he does not actually attend. I am hearing the voice of Jesus saying, “You brood of Vipers!” and “Do not practice your piety on the street corner.” Practicing your false piety at the expense of your neighbor’s health goes even further beyond that. There are no doubts that the President’s actions were selfish and sinful. He made a mockery of our holy book and our savior’s teachings.
Yet, the picture haunts me and challenges me for another reason entirely. It hit me the moment I saw it and I have not heard anyone else speak of it or write of it. So, I have chosen to share it in the hopes of sorting through this challenging image. The aspect of the picture that stings my soul is the church sign. Even as this awful act of sacrilege was occurring, the church sign professed, “All are welcome.” Ouch. In this moment. that is extremely hard for me to stomach. I keep trying to push it away, but I hear the small voice of the Holy Spirit inside me incessantly whispering, “All means ALL.”
I have read the response from the Episcopal bishop. I understand the outrage of the visit and how no permission was asked. The violence the President had carried out in the name of our God is disgusting and despicable. Yet, I still hear that voice saying, “All means ALL.” All means not just the folks we traditionally picture when saying, “All are welcome”, the oppressed and downtrodden. Welcoming these is certainly in line with the teachings of Jesus, yet, when you really think about the character of Jesus can we truly imagine him turning Trump away and casting him out of the church? I cannot…and it hurts.
Throughout scripture, Jesus is at odds with the powers that be, any human power that oppresses his people. Both political and religious leaders are not spared from his chastisement. There is no doubt that Jesus would speak against many of the things Donald Trump has done and stands for. Yet, at the end of the day, though he may call out the “Brood of Vipers!” would he say they are not welcome? Jesus does not profess that the Pharisees should be removed from the church. I think he would say something like, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”
As a Lutheran, my faith is centralized around the grace of Jesus Christ that is present throughout scripture and in the teaching of Jesus. Grace is one difficult message. Grace is both hard to accept when it is given to you (as we are taught to earn our way) and difficult to give to those who we know do not deserve it. However, the point of grace is that we do not deserve it. Maybe this focus on grace is why I noticed that sign instead of feeling the immediate outrage others felt. I am so glad that God, having become human flesh and living among us, understands our human feelings and surely can empathize with our outrage. I am glad that it is God who ultimately gives the grace of Jesus Christ because I do not think I am ready to do it. In my own local church, there are truly people of both liberal and conservative persuasions worshipping together. I do not think that is the case in many churches today. Perhaps that is why I have a different perspective.
So, what do we do? My church’s motto is “God’s work. Our hands.” How do we try and fulfill God’s vision for equality and justice in His creation? Is it the peaceful protest and the nonviolent resistance of Gandhi and later Martin Luther King Jr.? Perhaps, but that is a secular and socio-political response. What should the Christian response be? I have no doubt that we must stand up and speak for those who are oppressed. However, in what form? How do we truly mirror Christ’s call to love our enemies at the same time? How do we not simply become labeled looters? My church is the church that declared itself a “sanctuary denomination”. I am so pleased that we chose the side of the downtrodden as Jesus taught. I wonder how do we convince the rich, the oppressors themselves, that they must accept God’s vision of a just and equal society? For many, the news that God will make mountains low and bring up the valleys to one equal place is good news, but for the mountains it is not. How do we change the hardness of heart? How do we learn to welcome Donald Trump in the hopes that he will repent, while full well knowing he almost certainly will not? It is not a new problem. Rulers all throughout the Bible defied God’s will and tried to make themselves the source of all things. I do not have an answer, but I think it starts with good theology and education. How do we teach the next generations to mirror God’s grace as Jesus taught? How do we stomach, “All means ALL”? I do not know, but I think it is the only way forward. Pray with me for guidance, dear Church. We must lead. I have said it before and I’ll say it again: we are in this situation because America gave up true theology for political theology. It is no coincidence that the church’s diminishing numbers preceded this situation.
When we say, “All are Welcome,” do we mean it?
A View from the Loft 