Rev. Dan Anderson, the pastor of the Lutheran church Jeanne attends and that I am attending more and more frequently, sends out a text with a scripture verse or passage each morning and invites thoughts and reflections. Part of the passage he sent on inauguration day was this verse from 2 Chronicles
If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
This is a verse that I’ve heard used in many ways over the years. What first struck me when I read it this morning is that there are millions of Christians in this country who believe that the inauguration and Trump’s coming presidency are a positive answer to precisely this kind of prayer. I don’t know what to do with that.
But over the past week I have seen two examples, one on a national stage and one local, of exactly what a person of faith wondering how to negotiate the coming weeks and months might do. The first was The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde’s sermon during the national prayer service at the Washington National Cathedral, Budde is the Episcopal Bishop of Washington; her sermon has been equally praised and panned by millions, including professed Christians in both camps. She has been accused of being a servant of Satan and has received death threats. Her sermon was a clarion call for mercy and justice containing nothing but the spirit of the gospels. If you have not yet heard the sermon or have only heard snippets, a link to the full sermon is at the end of this post.
Then this past Sunday, Dan’s sermon was of the sort that made me want to stand up and cheer (if such things happened in the Lutheran church or if I was inclined to do such things). The previous Sunday, the day before the inauguration and MLK day, his sermon made some interesting comparisons between the men central to each day—a sermon that apparently caused offense to at least one parishioner. With that, here is the link to last Sunday’s sermon, The gospel of the day and Dan’s sermon starts at 13:17.
Accused of “wearing his politics on his sleeve,” Dan responded that, “I will wear the Gospel on my sleeve.” I might have added “I didn’t make this shit up!” That’s probably why I don’t get to give sermons very often. May all of us who claim to be followers of Jesus have the courage to do so publicly in our daily lives. Here is the link to Bishop Budde’s sermon.
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