And Mary said:
God’s name is Holy, his mercy sure from generation to generation
toward those who fear him;
the deeds his own right arm has done disclose his might:
the arrogant of heart and mind God has routed,
He has torn imperil powers from their thrones,
but the humble have been lifted high.
The hungry God has satisfied with good things,
The rich sent away empty. (Luke 1:50-53)
Some 30 years later, Mary’s Son, Jesus of Nazareth, returns to his hometown synagogue, they give him the “scroll of the prophet Isaiah,” and he reads:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19)
Bill Leonard
Then Jesus audaciously adds: “This day, this text has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Mary and her Son capture the heart of Christianity from the beginning by declaring God’s care for the hungry, the humble, the poor, the blind, the oppressed and Jesus’ commitment to act on that calling.
In “the year of our Lord” 2025, the congressional majority that voted for the so called “big beautiful bill,” signed by POTUS July 4, apparently was not listening to Mother Mary. Instead they reversed her heartfelt words this way: The rich God has satisfied with good things, The hungry sent away empty.
And with that declaration, the idea of a “Christian America” lost all gospel credibility now and toward the future. Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty says:
“The congressional majority apparently was not listening to Mother Mary.”
Christian nationalism is a cultural framework that idealizes and advocates a fusion of Christianity with American civic life. Christian nationalism contends that America has been and should always be distinctively “Christian” from top to bottom — in its self-identity, interpretations of its own history, sacred symbols, cherished values and public policies — and it aims to keep it that way.
To take food and health care from the “least of these” is not a “distinctively Christian” act. These days, Christian nationalist groups and individuals work to abolish abortion, LGBTQ rites and rights, DEI in American institutions, and toward privileging a certain kind of Christianity in the public square. They advocate posting the Ten Commandments in classrooms, tax-funded vouchers for religious schools and Bible classes in public schools.
Yet they appear to have given little or no resistance to a budget plan that cuts Medicaid health care for the elderly and disabled and cuts SNAP food programs for the poor, especially children. Most apparently have overlooked the fact that these cutbacks for America’s most needy were done primarily to enable a huge, permanent tax break for the wealthiest citizens.
Is that the mark of a truly Christian nation?
Concerning the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Christianity Today reports: “SNAP feeds more than 42 million people each month, around 13% of the US population, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service. Children account for 40% of those who benefit from SNAP. Senior citizens (those 60 and older) make up 18% of SNAP participants.
“Is that the mark of a truly Christian nation?”
The CT article continues: “Christian food banks and food pantries have expressed concerns that the reduced funding and higher requirements for SNAP eligibility under the new bill will create an even greater hunger gap to fill. There are also concerns that states may opt out of the program entirely if they’re unable to shoulder the cost of the program.”
The “big beautiful bill” also cuts Medicaid, a health care program enrolling about 71.4 million individuals, in addition to 7.3 million in CHIP, the Children’s Health Insurance Program. These benefits cover almost 23% of the U.S. population.
HuffPost cites Alan Condon, editor-in-chief of Becker’s Healthcare, who writes: “Medicaid really is a foundational pillar of hospital financing in the U.S., particularly for those hospitals that serve low-income, elderly or disabled populations across the country.” Many warn that rural hospitals will face major shutdowns because of Medicaid cuts.
The North Carolina Council on Developmental Disabilities recently expressed its deep concern about the impact the “big beautiful bill” will have on the developmental disability community and many others across our state and country. The North Carolina DD community already was in crisis, with nearly 20,000 on the Innovations Waiver waiting list and a Direct Support Professional workforce shortage due to low wages. The inability to access home and community-based services already had put many in our community at risk.
It continues: “The limitations on provider taxes, state-directed payments and the implementation of a work requirement system will put enormous financial pressure on N.C. Medicaid at a time when the list of critical needs is growing every day and state revenues are shrinking. … It will further limit the ability of those with DD to access health care, particularly in our rural communities.
There are 49 other states that now find themselves in similar situations.
Questions abound:
- Shouldn’t a truly “Christian nation” faithfully demonstrate gospel action on behalf of the hungry, the needy and the broken people in its midst?
- What will happen if millions of Americans lose Medicaid and/or SNAP resources? Will American churches attempt to find ways of funding health care and food care for those individuals and families?
- What will become of those with special needs who lose medical and nutritional benefits? Will the very wealthy who receive significant government tax breaks willingly contribute that largesse to assist in funding programs for those most in need?
- And what of individuals with special needs? Congress has put them in a liminal position without national resources and uncertainty about their particular state’s ability to continue assistance. Some are already asking: Are we now disabled and discredited all at once?
Could the words of the prophet Isaiah be any more prophetic than they are right now?
The LORD brings this charge against the elders and leaders of His people: “You have devoured the vineyard; the plunder of the poor is in your houses. Why do you crush my people and grind the faces of the poor?” declares the Lord GOD of Hosts. (Isaiah 3:14)
Christian nation? Not so you’d notice!
Bill Leonard is founding dean and the James and Marilyn Dunn professor of Baptist studies and church history emeritus at Wake Forest University School of Divinity in Winston-Salem, N.C. He is the author or editor of 25 books. A native Texan, he lives in Winston-Salem with his wife, Candyce, and their daughter, Stephanie.