In this post-election week, many of us are shocked and saddened by the agenda that the majority of Americans chose for our nation. I am not referring to the historical differences between Democrats and Republicans concerning the nature of government. I am referring to an agenda unapologetically promoted using language of zenophobia, racism, and the demonization of all opponents. What makes this paricularly distressing is the support for this agenda by many people who identify as Christian. This is incompatible with both Biblical teachings about justice and the revelation of God in Jesus. God’s unchanging agenda is articulated throughout Scripture including the following verses from Psalm 146:
5 Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God,
6 who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them;
who keeps faith forever;
7 who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry.The Lord sets the prisoners free; 8 the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous.
9 The Lord watches over the strangers; God upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked God brings to ruin.
Jesus summed up the entirety of God’s agenda with the call to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strenghth and to love our neighbor as ourselves. He went on to define the “neighbor” by telling a parable highlighting the actions of a Samaritan who was both a “foreigner and “enemy” of Jesus’ own people but who embodied the will of God. It is past time for us to stop enlisting God and Jesus to support political agendas that promise its supporters power and protection. Rather we are called to live the Way of Jesus’ nonviolent self-sacrificial love constructively critiquing all human systems in light of this Way.
Over sixty years ago, Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote a sermon called “Paul’s Letter to American Christians.” The following quotes from that sermon are especially relevant in this post-election week:
“Your highest loyalty is to God, and not to the mores or folkways, the state or the nation, or any man-made institution. If any earthly institution or custom conflicts with God’s will, it is your Christian duty to oppose it…You must be willing to challenge unjust mores, to champion unjust causes, and to buck the status quo.”
“It has always been the responsibility of the church to broaden horizons and challenge the status quo. The church must move out into the arena of social action…But as you continue your righteous protest always be sure that you struggle with Christian methods and Christian weapons. Be sure that the means you employ are as pure as the end you seek. Never succumb to the temptation of becoming bitter. As you press on for justice, be sure to move with dignity and discipline using love as your chief weapon. Let no man pull you so low that you hate him. Always avoid violence.”
For those of us who are wondering, “What do we do now?” the words of Dr. King point us forward. The video posted below includes the whole sermon.