On the day after the inauguration of our 47th president, the National Cathedral held A Service of Prayer for the Nation. There has been a lot of discussion since then, about the homily delivered by the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, DC, Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, in which she directly appealed to the president to show mercy in the days ahead.
The President has publicly called for the bishop to apologize for her sermon. Supporters of the president have referred to it as "nasty," "hysterical," and a "leftist rant." A typical headline claimed "Liberal Bishop Calls Down Judgment on President."
On the other hand, some folks have called the sermon "brave," "prophetic," and "speaking truth to power."
I've listened carefully to the short sermon, and asked myself what I would have done, had I been in the bishop's place. What texts would I cite? What kind of language would I use? How would I have tried to make the Gospel Message address this particular circumstance?
All of this gets right to the heart of what it means to be called to be a preacher. We preachers are here to proclaim the Good News of the Gospel. Our job is to speak clearly, carefully, and in a way that will challenge our listeners to hear God speaking to their hearts and minds. Someone once described the role of a preacher as "to comfort the afflicted, and to afflict the comfortable." And we know our message will not always be welcomed.
Ironically, one of the lectionary texts for this Sunday comes from the Gospel of Luke, in which Jesus preaches his first public "sermon." He turns to the text of Isaiah and reads the prophet's proclamation of Good News for the poor, liberation for captives, and freedom for the oppressed. How was Jesus's sermon received? Luke goes on to say that "They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff." (Luke 4:29)
If that is the response that Jesus got for proclaiming the gospel, those of us who humbly try to follow in his footsteps can expect to get some pretty rough responses to our sermons too!!!
I think this is a profoundly important moment in our nation's history, as we begin a new administration in Washington, DC. This is a controversy rooted in our core values as Christians (and in our American Baptist belief in the separation of church and state). And this is a teachable moment. We can learn something very important here about our faith, about our nation and its leaders, and about ourselves.
I want to encourage everyone to do something that we don't do very often anymore. Before we let some TV personality tell us what we should think about this sermon, let's all actually listen to the sermon first. And let's listen to the whole sermon, not just a short clip someone plays on TV.
I'm providing a link to a video of Bishop Budde's sermon below. As you listen to the sermon (it is only about 15 minutes long) ask yourself:
Does the preacher speak the truth? Are her words grounded in scripture? Are they consistent with the teaching of Jesus Christ?
What is the tone of the sermon? Is it an angry rant? Is it proud, arrogant, or rude? What is her demeanor like? Does she "speak the truth in love?"
Does the sermon feel inappropriate? Are her theme and the points she makes consistent with the theme of the service (A prayer service for unity)? If you feel this is inappropriate, then which specific things strike you as inappropriate? Why do they feel inappropriate to you?
If the President had not been in attendance how different would this sermon have sounded? Why should it make any difference who is listening? Are there things that preachers should not be allowed to preach when government officials are in attendance?
Here's the link. Have a listen. Give it some thought. Let's talk.
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