The Politics of God

January 10, 2021 • First Sunday after Epiphany
Readings: Luke 4:18-19 (The Message) and
John 13:34-35 (New Revised Standard Version)
Rev. Jeff Wells, The Church of the Village (NYC)

On Wednesday, January 6, as I watched would-be insurrectionists, purveyors of conspiracy theories, and so-called “Christian nationalists” marauding through the Capitol building, smashing windows and doors, vandalizing offices, stealing computers and documents, and threatening the lives of politicians and police, I felt sick. I felt angry. And I felt vengeful. I felt disgust and hatred for those people. I raged and am still raging with a deep anger at the President and numerous political leaders who directly fomented this horror and at the Capitol police leadership and some officers who allowed this to happen, either intentionally or through ineptitude.

I have plenty of ambivalence about the functioning of “democracy” under American capitalism and imperialism. But I know that the deeply flawed system we have is hugely preferable to the social order that would exist if the likes of those forces that sacked the Capitol building – and their backers in the political class – were able to fully seize power. Make no mistake – that is their goal. We also need to be clear that, even though they were finally evicted from the building and though many of their leaders will likely go to jail, this was a victory for them. This is a huge recruiting tool for them and they are already talking about doing it again – in Washington, DC and in State capitols across the U.S. 

They are a threat to every Black and Brown person, every Asian person, every immigrant, every person who practices a religion other than Christianity, and every Christian who does not believe like they do. They are an existential threat to us and our community and any radically inclusive, anti-racist community like ours. We need to be very clear-eyed about that. 

Thankfully, their leader is almost out of the White House, and their enablers will no longer control the Congress. Yet, Trump and Trumpism are not going away and there are many other prominent leaders who have already declared they want to fill his shoes. 

I felt the events on Wednesday very personally because during the 1980s and ’90s, I participated in or helped to organize many demonstrations to prevent the KKK, Nazis, and skinheads from rallying in Detroit, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Springfield, Illinois, and Washington, DC. At the time, we were always able to mobilize hundreds and sometimes thousands of people to confront small groups of no more than a few dozen from the far-right. But over the past 20 years, our nation has seen a massive growth and emboldening of the far-right, along with explicit and implicit support for their organizations and ideologies from right-wing politicians. We have not seen anything on this scale since McCarthyism and before that the 1920s, when 30 thousand KKK marched in Washington, DC. The Klan had 5-1/2 million dues-paying members that included many politicians in Congress and control of many state governments. I am gravely concerned about this massive shift. We are in a very dangerous period right now. And we have a lot of hard work ahead of us to turn this in the direction of love and justice. Yet, I am not feeling afraid. I am feeling even more determined to follow Jesus into this struggle.

What a week for us to begin our worship series on Faith and Politics. The storming of the Capitol and the failure of many political leaders to condemn it, has destroyed any false notion that people of faith should, or even can, steer clear of politics. Stay out of politics was never really an option because pretty much every aspect of our lives is political. Jesus made clear that political engagement is part of our calling to witness to the good news of God’s love and justice and to engage with the world for the sake of the common good. He taught that not only He, but also we, are called to bring good news to the poor, release to prisoners, to dismantle of all forms of oppression and discrimination, and to heal to those who are blind – physically or otherwise – helping one another overcome the ways we fail to see one another’s humanity, dignity, and value. That is all at the intersection of faith and politics.

Furthermore, Jesus made crystal clear that this mission must be grounded in love. “By the ways you show love to one another – including your enemies,” Jesus taught, “people will know that you are my followers.” That’s really hard right now when many of us see our perceived “enemies” threatening the existence of any semblance of democracy or even facts in the U.S. Yet, we can’t simply condemn all of them as irredeemable. Neither can we let ourselves off the hook. All of us – some more than others – have been raised, taught, and shaped to think and act at times against our own interests and against the common good. All of us sometimes act in ways that harm ourselves, our loved ones, our perceived enemies, strangers, and the good in our social order. 

What does this mean for our faith and our political engagement? At its most basic level, politics is about people making agreements, arrangements, decisions, and rules so they can live together in groups – whether those groups be families, schools, workplaces, faith communities, cities, or countries.

God cares deeply about politics and God has a side in the ways we learn to live together. The passage Jesus read in the synagogue came from the prophet Isaiah. But Isaiah and Jesus were both inspired by God to take up this cause. God wants us to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, care for the sick, visit those in captivity, listen to the voiceless, and center the marginalized. That ought to be the foundation of political engagement for people of all faiths. As a progressive, radically inclusive community of faith, we stand in the tradition of these principles of political engagement that Jesus espoused. We hold fast to God’s liberating, justice-seeking ethos that is grounded in love. 

We have witnessed the growing danger from the far right for decades in the U.S. But progressive people of faith have put too much hope in a change of the political party in control to address the danger. Wednesday was a wake up call for us. So, under these circumstances, how do we go about reclaiming the Politics of God for engaging effectively in the political realm? It can sometimes feel that progressive people of faith are small in number, lack influence, and are overpowered by conservative Christians. That is a big lie.

Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons – who preached at the Church of the Village in August – recently published a book titled, Just Faith: Reclaiming Progressive Christianity [1]. Guthrie analyzed recent data from the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) and concluded that there are around 35 million consistently progressive Christians in the U.S. I encourage you to check out his book for the details on how he came to that figure. I was astounded by that number. It is double the number of consistently conservative Christians. 

In spite of that, conservative Christians receive the vast majority of media attention. They are well organized and funded. And they have succeeded in creating a broadly accepted societal narrative that they are the “real” Christians. So, rarely are Progressive Christians invited by the media to comment on political or social concerns. We need to change the narrative and overcome the false presentation the public sees too often. Progressive Christians need to do better at organizing ourselves across denominational and interfaith lines. And, if we are to have greater influence and be taken more seriously, as Guthrie forcefully argues, “We have to use our words.” Christianity has been hijacked and Jesus has been kidnapped by conservative Christianity and we have to contest that in the public square by speaking up and speaking out whenever and wherever we can. Progressive Christians have a powerful Gospel message of love and justice and we need to find more and better ways to make it heard outside of our own circles. As an example, we should note that the same week that a largely white and Christian nationalist crowd invaded the Capitol, Georgia elected not just its first Black Senator, but one who is also a progressive Christian minister – and, by the way, a graduate of Union Theological Seminary. 

As progressive people of faith, we can, and do, advocate for particular policies and legislative agendas. The social justice advocacy agency of the United Methodist Church has its headquarters right across from the Capitol building in Washington, DC and is continually in contact with legislators. We do have a voice and place at the table. But even more important, I think, is our role as public witnesses to the values that underlie our faith and our perspectives on politics and justice. Our goal is not just to shape policies, but to influence beliefs, attitudes, and the values that shape our society. 

We also need to remember that “politics” doesn’t happen only in government bodies. Clergy and lay representatives of the Church of the Village regularly engage in politics in our District and our regional conference. We participate in influencing local political leaders in New York City and in our neighborhood. And very significant ways, politics is personal. We can have influence in person to person contacts and in the communities we are part of. We have the ability to bring people along with us. We won’t convince everyone. We are not likely to get much of a hearing from the sort of folks who showed up at the Capitol on Wednesday. But there are a lot of people between our stance and theirs who might listen to us. For the persons we can reach, with whom we may have fierce disagreements, we are called to both speak justice and also seek common ground, with as much grace and love as possible.

We have a lot of work to do and it won’t be easy. We don’t know how we will get there. The road will be muddy and rough, but we are wounded healers and radical dreamers and we know that God is leading and luring us. 

Our task is to express the intentions of God in the Political Community. To do that effectively, we need to courageously and faithfully engage politics at all levels and in all spheres of our society in concrete ways as individuals and as a community. Given the entrenched divisions in our body politic, this is a monumental task. But I do see signs of hope on the horizon and signs that our progressive voices and values are beginning to be heard and heeded. 

Please pray with me:

Divine Spirit of Love and Justice, we give you thanks for the extraordinary life, teachings, and example of Jesus, who called us to engage with the world for the sake of the most vulnerable and for the common good of all humanity. We are intimidated by the weighty call you have laid upon us and the vast chasm that separates us from our compatriots. We pray you will help us to find our voices, strengthen our witness, and be emboldened with a spirit of fierce commitment, determination, and love. Lure and inspire us to witness to your desire that all would live free from poverty, exploitation, oppression, and violence. May we continue to live out together the beautiful vision of beloved community and always experience your unconditional healing and saving love for us. Amen.  

(c) 2021 Jeff Wells
All rights reserved.

[1] Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons, Just Faith: Reclaiming Progressive Christianity (Minneapolis: Broadleaf Books, 2020).

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