Blessed are the Merciful
Love Demands the Truth
I am one of the throng of people so deeply impressed and moved by the sermon the Right Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde preached at the National Cathedral after the Inauguration of Donald. J. Trump. At the end of her 15-minute sermon, she said, “…In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now…”
As a preacher, also called by God to interpret scripture and to offer words that draw people toward the Love the gospel demands, I found her sermon to be perfect in tone and a bold-and-gentle reminder of what it means to be Christian. Some who are less familiar with the Christian scriptures may have been surprised at the teaching. Clearly Donald J. Trump, who created his own bible, should have at least a passing familiarity with what she said from the pulpit. But he was offended at her words and at her tone. He wants an apology.
That’s not shocking. The good news of God’s amazing love as preached by Jesus, who the church calls “Christ” and “Messiah” has always been a challenge to empire, and a disruption to the violence of patriarchy, racism and discrimination. It is a call to care for widow, orphans and strangers. It is a mandate/command to love, to be merciful, and to make sure everyone has enough.
The gospel—the good spiel or good news of Jesus Christ—comes with expectations. For those of us who say we are Christian, the command to love is central and essential. We are not Christian without Love. Period. We get the command to love from the Jewish scriptures because Jesus is a Jew. He is quoting Deuteronomy and Leviticus when he commands those of us who follow Jesus in the Way to love God with all we have and to love our neighbor and our self in the same way. The gospel writers put specificity to what love looks like by quoting Jesus’ preaching and teaching and by drawing clear pictures of the way he moved in the world insisting on justice and offering mercy. Matthew’s gospel gathers Jesus’ teaching into what is called The Sermon on the Mount or The Beatitudes.
The Beatitudes (Matthew 5: 1-11)
5 When Jesus[a] saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 And he began to speak and taught them, saying:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely[b] on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
See verse seven? Those who show mercy are blessed. Those who show mercy will receive mercy. Bishop Budde was reminding all the people in the Cathedral, including Trump—who claims to be a Christian—that being merciful is what it means to be Christian.
Any Christian who is offended by the call to mercy must look in the mirror and have an honest conversation: Am I a Christian? Am I living as though Jesus has a claim on my life?
And we—all of us of faith or no faith—who watch Donald J. Trump be Trump must ask ourselves: Are we ready to tell the truth about what we see? Is this what Christian looks like? Is this how Jesus would move in the world? Does Jesus’ Jewish faith which teaches his people to love the stranger encourage xenophobia, sexual violence, lying and racism?
Nope. That truth won’t undo the election, but it will set us free from a false narrative, one that is frankly offensive. The truth will set us free (John 8.32).
Friends, fierce love demands the truth. The truth is POTUS does not have to be a Christian to be POTUS; it is not a job requirement. But damn, don’t we want a leader who is honest and trustworthy; a leader who would work for we the people and be merciful and compassionate? I do!
The truth is: If our commander in chief is an unrepentant liar, rapist, insurrectionist, and traitor who is working for his billionaire cronies and not the rest of us; let’s just call it what it is. Let’s stop acting like he is a Christian; let’s stop pretending that the God who came all the way down to be with us in Jesus is somehow now ready to use Trump’s mean-spirited bigotry to save the world and make America great again. Come on, my people. Let’s be honest and brace ourselves for four years of the terror Trump promised. The truth can help us build resilient communities that can resist the lies.
I join the bishop in praying for a transformation of Trump’s heart, from callous and cold to merciful and kind. AND while I pray, I am not over this election; I am not trying to acquiesce and obey. I am going to fight every day for my communities, for the truth, and for love.
Period.
P.S. As we pursue truth, here are a few things to do:
Worship: The Rev. Canon Kelly Brown Douglas, the 2023 winner for the prestigious Grawemeyer Award for her book “Resurrection Hope,” will be our guest preacher on Sunday at 3:00p. (You can join us in-person & online by clicking here).
Listen and share: My conversation with Brian Lehrer and Dr. Jeanne Theoharris on Dr. King’s legacy and how we become firefighters.
Hi everyone. My first version of this post had the OLD dates for our justice conference. Freedom Rising: The Fierce Urgency of Now is scheduled for October 31-November 2 in NYC and online. We will have a Halloween party for young people and are working hard to make a track for them at the conference. Make this a family go-to if it works for you. Thanks
Thank you Kathy!! It was so great to be with you, too.