Christian Nationalism is Selling Jesus' Clothes

Greed in the shadow of the cross...

While Jesus hangs on the cross the Roman soldiers sit beneath him, casting lots for his clothes. Even amid the harrowing violence of the crucifixion, this—for me—is one of the most devastating parts of the story. It’s the casualness of the cruelty; little games to divvy up the belongings of a man who’s still gasping for air just above their shoulders. This is what empire does: It so thoroughly dehumanizes the folks it conquers that even execution becomes unremarkable. And empire forces the people who do the killing to crucify the parts of themselves that would stand in the way—hollowing out their humanity to carry out its violence.

This Holy Week, Donald Trump made headlines selling $60 Bibles to fund his mountain of legal fees—Christian Nationalism selling off Christianity’s clothes while the faith they’re killing still hangs upon the cross. The twice-impeached, white supremacy spouting, serial raping, grifter-in-chief is a fitting stand-in for the Roman soldiers in our Good Friday story. His entire life embodies the savagery of the American imperial project. In the same way that the soldiers’ cruelty exposes the violence beneath the Pax Romana’s glittery sheen, he is Christian Nationalism stripped of all the ways it tries to make itself respectable. Any pretense of following Christ is gone, leaving just the naked will to dominate.

Because let’s be very clear: Christian Nationalism is actively crucifying the one they claim is risen. Every time they invoke Jesus’ name to persecute God’s people, they drive another nail into his body. And the hammer is striking fast: Invoking Romans to justify killing migrants at the border. *Crack* Claiming Jesus would have carried an AR-15 if he could. *Crack* Twisting scripture to justify stealing women’s right to abortion access. *Crack* Desecrating Christ’s name to persecute queer siblings. *Crack* Justifying police murders of Black people through “Christian” appeals to “law and order.” *Crack* *Crack* *Crack* go the rapidly falling blows.

The nationalists love to talk about how the country persecutes Christianity, but they have been the ones most responsible for harming the genuine faith. Every time they tie Jesus to greed, corruption, abuse, and bigotry, they place themselves in the crowd howling, “Crucify him!” And in that pursuit, they have been wildly successful: Millions of people now equate Christianity with their hatred, not the fierce love by which Jesus lived and died.

But there’s a cheap pettiness, too, that makes this act of hawking overpriced Bibles to cover up sin such a damning parallel to the soldiers casting lots for Jesus’ clothes. The story of Jesus’ death and resurrection has given people the strength to endure and uproot soul-shattering injustice. From the spirituals that sustained generations of enslaved people who would never see liberation, to the freedom hymns that powered the Civil Rights Movement, God’s love is not something to be trifled with. But here, during the holiest week in the Christian calendar, a man in an ill-fitting suit is turning the passion into a QVC special: Call now and we’ll throw in a second God Bless the USA Bible for just $29.99.

It’s also another form of predation. Since leaving office, he has spent more than $100 million in campaign dollars on legal fees. And so much of that money has come in small donations from working class people. Like the prosperity gospel hucksters who promise poor people incredible riches for handing over the little they have, Trump is promising millions of people that—if they give him money—he can return them to an America that never was. And he is using that money to cover up his crimes. The former President who sexually assaulted more than twenty women has simply found a new avenue for expressing dominance and power. Just as the banality of Roman soldiers sits above the violence of Roman rule, turning the Bible into a collectible is a pustule on a deeper sickness.

But on Good Friday, we know how the story ends. While the Romans believed that Jesus’ story would finish with the stone they rolled in front of his tomb, three days later the temple on which they hung their eagle cracked at its foundations. Christian nationalism’s mockery of the humility and love that filled the ministry of Jesus will never have the final word. Millions of people are leaving Christian Nationalist churches, because they can see how they have become a vehicle for bigotry and violence. And Christians like you and I are crying out: We will not let you hijack Jesus to harm the people Jesus loved.

Fierce love is rising. This April, hundreds are joining Middle Church at a conference in NYC, to plan for how we will organize this November. Led by prophets of the true Christian faith—folks like Bishop William J. Barber, Cole Arthur Riley, Rev. Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas, and Robert P. Jones—we will roll the stone away. Please, join us in-person or online. And this gathering is just one of many. The folks gambling for Jesus’ belongings may think they hold power, but they will be left holding Jesus’ clothes while God leads us to freedom.

P.S. I’ll be on The Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart this Easter to talk about what the promise of new life means amid so many tombs. Join us at 6 p.m. ET on MSNBC!