A TIME FOR JUDGEMENT AND HOPE – A Statement of the Wisconsin Council of Churches

 

The events of January 6, 2021 were like nothing else in our country’s recent history: a mob stormed and invaded the U.S. Capitol, threatening violence and disrupting Congress in an effort to overturn an election, and committing theft and vandalism. The event left five persons dead and a nation badly shaken. Similar groups demonstrated at or besieged capitol buildings in other states. What is God revealing to us in these events, and how is God calling and empowering us to respond?

It is not enough to condemn the assault on the Capitol building, or to demand that those who participated in it be held to account. The assault was the bitter fruit of repeated and blatant violations of the commandment, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” – not merely false statements, but lies intended to hurt and oppress others whom God calls us to love.

The mob was incited by a steady stream of lies about the election from holders of the highest offices in the land, spread through social media. It is no coincidence that the lies were focused on overturning election results in urban areas with large populations of Black and Brown voters. The lies and the assault were ultimately rooted in the pervasive and longstanding lies of white supremacy – lies that have protected the power and privilege of one part of the community at the expense of persons of a different race or national origin.

Those besieging the U.S. Capitol could be seen erecting crosses, carrying flags with Christian symbols and “Jesus saves” banners – one more example of the ways that the liberating gospel of Jesus Christ has been twisted to support racial and other forms of social and political oppression. The assault, and the lies that fueled it, are attacks not only on our democracy, but also on the way of Jesus and on all who long and work for the realization of God’s beloved community of love and justice.

In this moment, when anxiety, anger and even despair over our nation threaten to overwhelm us, the church year points us to wellsprings of Christian imagination, courage, and hope.

The assault on the Capitol happened on Epiphany, the day we recall the manifestation of God’s true life- giving purpose for all people and all creation. Next Sunday commemorates Jesus’ baptism. Our own baptism calls us to die to sin and repent, as individuals and as a church, of all the ways we have betrayed God’s purpose by speech or silence. But baptism also gives us new life in the Spirit which “renews the face of the earth” (Ps. 104), empowering us for the work of repairing our fragmented nation with the courage to tell painful truths. Above all, we know that we are not alone or abandoned, for in the Christmas season just past we again celebrated the gift of Immanuel, “God with us,” incarnate in the midst of this sinful and
unjust world, the light of grace and truth which the darkness has not, and will not, overcome. (John 1:5, 14)

Approved by the Board of Directors January 8, 2021

 

Jan 6, 2021: Herod in the White House? - Daily Meditations with Matthew Fox

 I have spoken of the need to sometimes pray the news.

Two days ago was the Feast Day of the Epiphany in the Christian calendar, epiphany meaning appearance, manifestation or showing.  In Washington D.C., it turned out to be quite a showing and manifestation indeed, revealing the very deep shadow in America's soul hatred and hypocrisy have been visible for years fanned by unbridled media and hypocritical politicians.

Live on our television sets yesterday, was a presidential speech repeating lies about an election he lost and urging a mob to march to the capitol building to interfere with the counting of election results.  the mob eagerly followed his instructions, many of them well prepared with gas masks, pipe bombs, guns, confederate flags and unbridled anger.

The traditional Epiphany story has two elements to it:  One is about foreign wise men traveling from afar to celebrate the birth of a holy child, Emmanuel or God-with-us.  But the second part of the story is about a wicked king, an agent of the Roman Empire named Herod who like lots of politicians then and today, traffics in lies and hypocrisy.  On hearing of the goal of the wise men to visit a new kind of prince, he tells them to be sure to return in order to tell him where he can be found so that he too can "worship this new born king." All the while he has in mind to kill this rival to his throne and, frustrated by the fact that the magi detoured from returning his way, he goes crazy angry and instead orders the killing of all new-born male babies.  

Back in Washington, we are appalled by the scene of this crowd of angry white men(mostly men), some with confederate flags in tow, invading the capitol building, desecrating the spaces of Congress people, taking their thuggery to the Senate chambers themselves, terrorizing elected representatives.  Meanwhile, still more than 140 Republican Congress people carry on the charade of "bogus election," carrying on the lies behind the coup attempt.

Amazingly, the capitol appears to be in large part unguarded even though everyone in the country knew that a "wild day" (the president's language) was forthcoming with so many "proud boys"and other white supremacists and domestic terrorists coming to town.

There is a reason why Satan is called "the father of lies."  Falsehoods banish truth.  When lies get preached over and over again by a person holding power (Hitler comes to mind), very bad things happen.

Thomas Aquinas taught that truth and justice are companions.  You can't have one without the other.  In other words, injustice builds on lies.  All kinds of evil follows.  Hatred is enflamed by lies.  And hatred was very much in the headlines of yesterday's events--as well as of the story of Herod, ambassador of the Roman Empire (whose leader Herod, ambassador of the Roman Empire (whose leader was worshipped as a filius dei or "son of God" in the first century).

When John Lewis left us his Farewell Letter last year, he urged the young to study truth from the past; truth does not diminish with age.

Two big truths come through in the epiphany story, one of them being to be wary of polititians who lie and practice hypocrisy. 

 Yesterday, the chickens came home to roost.

Speaking of John Lewis, there was another manifestation on Epiphany Day yesterday--his spirit won two elections in his home state of Georgia, both of the new senators representing a hopeful shift to more justice and peace in the American body politic on the horizon with a new administration soon to be inaugurated.

There was some good news amidst the dark news of the day.  Like the first Epiphany.

See Matthew Fox, Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh:  Transforming Evil in Soul and Society, p. 321 (on lies and hypocrisy); 186, 287-289, 293-296, 300, 311, 362, 294 (on hatred); 389-398 (on Hitler as a religious figure).

THE HOLY FAMILY

   Jesus and his family were invited to the wedding of friends at Cana.  Jesus’ family included his mother Mary, four brothers, James, Joset, Jude, and Simon, along with sisters Judith and Miriam. (Mk. 6: 3) (Jdt. 16)

   The long walk back to Capernaum featured a lively conversation centered on the replenishment of wine by Jesus.  Jude was angry.  He saw it as an imitation of the ‘eat drink and be merry’ Romans.  James, called ‘the Just’, wondered what John the Baptist would think.  His brother Jesus was with John until Herod threw John into the Palace dungeon.  (Mk. 6: 14-17)

   Jesus recently left the community of John and returned north to Galilee and his family.  He was beginning a new ministry of advocating non-violent social change and recognizing that the kingdom of God was present but not complete. 

   Judith was very impressed by her brother Jesus after he returned to Galilee and asked Jesus’ mother Mary for her thoughts.  Mary said Daddy Joe would be very proud of him. Judith danced and sang.

    James agreed with Jesus that non-violent action was necessary to change the Roman policy of enriching Rome and its collaborators at the expense of the poor, but what does more wine have to do with it?       

   Simon and Joset were worried about their young friend John who was in attendance at the wedding and who liked to write stories.  How is he going to explain the extra wine?  James claimed it would just be a story and not to worry about it.  Simon and Joset were concerned that the story would hurt the movement; can the movement be based on a lie?  James countered that it would be a story with signs pointing to a very difficult truth to explain.  Galileans liked discussions and parables. 

   Miriam led the family in song and dance as dawn broke.  (Ex. 15: 20-21)

The Working Catholic: Mobilizing and Governing by Bill Droel

 

The young adult activists who inspired the world this past summer now have the challenge of translating their fervor into practical reform. It is the transition from mobilizing to governance. The founders of our country were more prepared for the transition to governance than other revolutionaries, argues Hannah Arendt (1906-1975). She compares France to the United States in her classic On Revolution (Penguin, 1963).  By the time of their 1787 meeting in Philadelphia, our founders were able to craft a democratic system that endures to this day.  Our system, as detailed in our glorious Constitution and in its Bill of Rights and 17 subsequent amendments, is obviously imperfect.  it has suffered through rebellions, a civil War, a tyrannical-like presidency and more.  Yet ploddingly and setbacks, our experiment in democracy inches toward its goal of full its goal of full liberty and justice for all.

Back in France however, the 1789 revolution was followed by turmoil for a decade and by instability thereafter. Bastille Day was a triumph, but onto the next step. The French revolutionaries "had no experience [of governance] to fall back upon, only ideals and principles untested by reality," says Arendt.  the French Revolution was "an intoxication whose chief element was the crowd."  The difference Arendt concludes, is that the U.S. revolutionaries, in contrast to the French, had the experience of political assembly, long before 1776.  Or as John Adams (1735-1826) said:  The U.S. Revolution was well underway months and years before Lexington and Concord.  

Again, assembly in our 13 North American colonies was imperfect; a right for only some.  Black slaves could not initially enjoy that right and women could not vote for or serve in governing bodies.  Yet our revolution was not the product of chaos.  It was not an accomplishment of solitary heroics urging a rabble forward.  For example, Paul Revere (1734-1818) and William Dawes (1745-1799) did not ride as strangers through towns at midnight randomly knocking on doors.  They had advance planning that allowed them to alert small mediating institutions.  They knew the leaders of churches and other voluntary associations.  Revere himself belonged to five clubs or lodges in the Boston area.  Samuel Adams (1722-1803) belonged to the North Caucus, the Long Room Club and others.  The same is true for the other founders.  In their church committees, lodges, town halls, and taverns our founders practiced the arts of governance--deliberation, compromise, balancing interests, public speaking, correspondence and the like. 

Outsiders don't always make for good insiders.  Andrew Nagorski in The Birth of Freedom (Simon & Schuster, 1993) examines the monumental movements against communism in Eastern Europe, particularly the 1989 revolt in Poland.  He describes the difficulty of transitioning from "dissidents into established politicians."  Leach Walesa's problems as president were in part related to "the general difficulty of making the psychological switch from the politics of resistance to normal democratic politics," Nagorski concludes.

The Arab Spring of 2011 was like the revolution in our country in that groups, not solitary individuals, led the way.  Yes, Wael Ghonim launched a Facebook page to promote opposition to the Egyptian government.  Yes his and other internet sites helped plan actions.  But the leaders came from small groups:  lawyers' circles, engineers' clubs, the Arab Doctors Union, groups within the Muslim Brotherhood, Coptic churches, trade unions, alumni groups and soccer teams.  

The Arab Spring was on the other hand unlike our U.S. revolution.  Its leaders did not have prior training in the arts of governance.  The young adults involved did use their friendships to temporarily smooth over their religious and ideological differences under the stress of the moment, reports Robin Wright in Rock the Casbah (Simon & Schuster, 2011).  However before 2011, they had 'limited--and largely unsuccessful--political experience," she continues,  In fact, their prior experience with the government was mostly limited to detention and jail.  The Arab Spring was largely over by summer of 2012.  External factors, including governments' use of internet blocking and propaganda plus government counter-force, doomed the promise of the revolt.  But internal factors played a major part in the demise, specifically the rebels' lack of experience in governing.  

Choices await the young adult activists in our country.  They must decide:  Is it better to go it alone; to start fresh?  Or is it better to draw upon decades of experience from like-minded reform groups, including some labor locals, some churches, some professional associations, some civic organizations and more?  Can our idealistic young adults employ sufficient arts of governing to really implement better policies and institutions?

What is the meaning of Christmas? By Dean Muller, Wauwatosa Presbyterian Church

 

Christmas matters for Christians because it i's about the birth of Jesus.  Why did God send his Son into the world?   I think we all delight in the marvelous story of the birth of Christ.  We enjoy the pageantry and the acting out of this incredible tale.  The angel's appearance to Mary. The Sheppard's in the field- and the Maji with their gifts.  Is this story an accurate record of what happened so many years ago?

Perhaps a better question is the gospel's description of these events- truth or parable? And does it matter? The suggestion is that these events could be coming from Jesus' teachings in which he uses many parables to convene a message. Parables are about meanings; they can be truth-filled even if they are not historically accurate.

The birth of Christ is the beginning of a transformative ministry. Christ was passionate about the kingdom of God, what life would be like on earth if God were king and the rulers and emperors' of the world were not.  A world of justice in which everybody has enough and the system is fair for everyone.

Whenever we recite the Lord's Prayer, we recommit ourselves to this concept- Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  Theologian John Dominic Crossan's one-liner on the subject "Heaven's in great shape, the earth is where the problems are."

As Christians, our calling is to look at issues of today through the lens of faith.  The deeper theological meaning of Christmas is not whether but how Christians should engage with those in need of greater human dignity and justice.

In his poem "I Will Light Candles This Christmas," Howard Thurman envisions a light burning brightly through us-the light that dashes away sadness with joy, replaces fear with courage, and banishes despair with hope.

 The magical story of Christmas challenges us to celebrate the teachings that Christ brought to this earth.  A message of goodwill and peace on earth.  During this time, celebrate and reflect on the teachings of Christmas. But when the Christmas season ends, try not to tucking those teachings back away with the ornaments

A CHRISTMAS REFLECTION ON POPE FRANCIS’ ENCYCLICAL, FRATELLI TUTTI

 

     Why bother trying to make sense of a pronouncement from the ‘Vicar of Christ’ when the Church has been shown to be corrupt from the beginning? Tom Doyle points out the corruption of the church in his review of Dylan Elliot’s new book on the pedophile scandal.[i] Still I would contend that it is worthwhile to attempt to understand the point of view of Pope Francis, a world religious leader.  It is obvious that neither Francis nor his followers see the hypocrisy of advocating a change of political structures when the Church ignores the pedophile issue, the catalyst being its own clerical system.  However, the serious life and death situation we are experiencing worldwide demands we look at every point of view without trivializing any opinion, except the trivial.

          Pope Francis uses the parable of the ‘Good Samaritan’ as the keystone of his encyclical, Fratelli Tutti. Dr. Amy–Jill Levine offers some hints for understanding a story teller’s point of view in her book, Short Stories by Jesus.[ii] She asks, “What is Jesus saying in the parable of the Good Samaritan?” (Luke 10, 25-37)  Dr. Levine contends that the purpose of a parable in the first century was to make the listeners uncomfortable.  Many commentaries and homilies are standard and listeners yawn and forget the story until next time.  It is conventional for Christian homilists to comment that Priests and Levites are insensitive to the beaten man on the road because of their Jewish beliefs.  Is Luke trying to say that the message of the Christian Jews is better?  Luke, writing forty or more years after Jesus’ death, was in a contentious situation with the Pharisees after the destruction of the Jewish Temple by the Romans in C.E.70.  Were the Christian Jews to take a leadership role?

          Samaritans were of Jewish heritage and revered the Torah.  Basic to the Torah is the Jewish commandment, “Love God and your neighbor.”  If the source of the story is Jesus and not Luke, then what does the parable mean?  In Jesus’ time the Samaritans were despised by Judean Jews – they were people of another country.  The lawyer in the story asks:  what does love of neighbor mean, who is my neighbor?  The Samaritan tells us by his action; he followed the law of the Torah as advocated by Jesus.  Jesus is telling a story that illustrates what both Judaism and Christianity believe, a cause for both Jesus’ listeners and contemporary believers to be uncomfortable.

          Pope Francis refers to the Good Samaritan in chapter two of  Fratelli Tutti. Francis goes beyond brotherly love. He expands the meaning of charity to charitable political love.  In chapter five Frances writes, “This political charity is born of social awareness that transcends every individualistic mindset.”

          Philia is brotherly love and charity is agape in Greek.  Agape is selfless love, a term used long before Christianity.  Agape is a human trait we strive to achieve, but international political agape?  That’s an ancient consideration and demand for action, like the Samaritan, to a contemporary world under siege.  Is agape the answer?  It’s been suggested before with limited success.

          Marguerite Porete, a Beguine and a mystic who wrote in French, identified the human quality of agape as divine love and stated in her book, The Mirror of Simple Souls[iii], “Such love is a sure guide and more secure than rational morality.”  Marguerite Porete was burned at the stake for heresy in Paris in 1310; William of Paris, O.P., the chief inquisitor, called her pseudo-mulier, a fake woman.  At that time Clement V reigned from Avignon as Pope.

Francis’ solution seems impossible, but it is Christmas time.  Matthew says it was the birth of Emmanuel, God with us.  Can we see the victims of pedophilia, pedophiles, Presidents and Popes in the image of Christ - the Messiah?  For now, perhaps this is the answer.

 

---

[i] Elliot, Dylan, The Corrupter of Boys, University of Pennsylvania Press.       

[ii] Levine, Amy-Jill, Short Stories by Jesus, Harper One, New York, 1989.

[iii] Porete, Marguerite, The Mirror of Simple Souls, Paulist Press, New York, 1993.

The Working Catholic: Advent Surprises by Bill Droel

 

A couple years ago we spent some days after Thanksgiving in Milwaukee. One purpose of the trip was Christmas shopping. Thus we found ourselves in a large shopping mall. I sat on a bench with my coffee while my wife heated-up our credit card. A young Pakistani-American woman and her baby sat down next to me. An older, well-dressed woman approached and presumably mistaking me for the grandfather said: “You are lucky. This child is a great hope to us today.” How did she know that about this baby?

Irony can mean something that is more than expected. This sense of irony is not cynical; it is a surprise. The premise of several TV shows is the lumpy protagonist who ironically turns out to be smarter than the Los Angeles socialites or the high-ranking police officials or the well-paid laboratory researchers. Or there might be a show in which the bachelor gives the rose to a woman who seems to be a duckling. Or there is a show on which the least polished-looking guest wins the contest and goes on to sign a big performance contract.

Over 2000 years ago there was a baby conceived out of wedlock to underemployed political refugees. The baby’s life was in danger and the couple had to spend months away from their home. Yet this child was a great hope to people of that time and even to us today. Many cultures and institutions celebrate his birthday, even in the bleakest circumstance.  

Jesus’ accomplishments were minimal. He did not conquer the Romans nor write outstanding philosophy. He was not even a regional celebrity. When he died, only a handful of admirers were around. If Jesus is a hero, it is in an ironic sense.

So, it wasn’t grand things that Jesus did. It was ordinary things, though they were unexpected. His kindness was unexpected given his cultural environment. His sustained focus was unexpected given the bitterness and arrogance of other holy people of his day.

When the shepherds looked in the stable and the magi visited the home, they had a sense of irony. This baby in this working-class family is a sign of great hope, they said. His circumstances will not limit him from being a savior. His birth is a hint that the rumor of immortality might be true.

This Advent, this Advent in particular, be disposed to the unexpected in people. Look below the surface and believe the great hope that resides in every person. 

Droel edits INITIATIVES (PO Box 291102, Chicago, IL 60629), a print newsletter on faith and work.