On St. Patrick’s Day, Donald Trump made a surprise visit to St. John’s Episcopal Church, two blocks from the White House. The interim rector, Reverend Bruce McPherson, must have been warned, because he delivered a pointed message. According to CNN, he called on worshippers to stand against the “hateful rhetoric” that spurred a gunman in Christchurch, New Zealand, to open fire on mosques two days earlier, killing 50 worshippers and wounding another 50. (The alleged shooter called himself a Trump supporter.)
McPherson called the attack “one more gratuitous attack on innocent people at worship” and asked: “What can we do? Well perhaps we’re called whenever we overhear hateful slurs against other people. Perhaps we need the holy courage to call them out, because that’s just not us. It’s not easy to confront someone. It takes courage I know. But it’s up to us. Courage is contagious. And acting courageously especially in light of speech like that catches on and spreads.”
(A cynical person might wonder if being an interim made it easier for Rev. McPherson to say what he thought. Regardless, he followed his own advice about taking courage.)
McPherson’s strong sermon is a reminder that ministers need to be prepared. We need to have a regular sermon ready for each Sunday. But for our own spiritual health we also need an if-Donald-Trump-happens-to-show-up sermon.
“Tell the president that God’s grace is bigger than our need for approval, bigger than our sins and bigger than anything we can ever do. Tell him, ‘God loves and believes in you.’”
Some ministers – particularly Mainline Protestants – dream of seeing the president slide into a pew during the opening hymn. If we ever get the chance, we will seize the opportunity to speak truth to power. We will let loose bravely like the prophets we long to be. We will speak fearlessly for the powerless – children, immigrants and the poor. We will prophesy boldly against the evils of ignoring climate change and dismantling health care. We will thunder courageously against materialism, militarism, nationalism, racism, sexism, gun violence, Islamophobia and homophobia.
After hearing McPherson’s powerful sermon against “hateful rhetoric” on March 17, the president went back to the White House and – throughout that very afternoon and evening – tweeted negative comments about CNN, NPR, Democrats, General Motors, Robert Mueller, Christopher Steele, Hillary Clinton, Ilhan Omar and Meghan McCain.
Letting the president have it for all of the ways we think he falls short is not going to work the way ministers like me want it to. We are not going to convince Donald Trump or his followers that his positions are wrong with louder, more forceful pronouncements.
I feel as compelled as many of my clergy colleagues to point out the ways in which Trump’s actions are antithetical to the Gospel – and we need angry prophets – but anger cannot be everything that Trump’s backers hear from us.
Ministers would be better off, at times, asking the Spirit to help the president and his defenders understand that God loves all people. If Donald Trump shows up at your church, tell him about God’s mercy. Tell the president that God’s grace is bigger than our need for approval, bigger than our sins and bigger than anything we can ever do. Tell him, “God loves and believes in you.”
We should preach the good news of the example we see in Jesus and the hope we see in God. Preaching about anyone’s foolishness tends to becomes less loving than preaching about God’s goodness. God’s forgiveness is deeper than our brokenness. God’s dreams for us are better than we have envisioned.
What would happen if the president really believed in God’s love? Trump could have the most surprising third act in the history of politics. What if God’s grace took hold of Trump and he started working for the good of those who most need help? Imagine how much fun it would be to see Trump’s supporters (including many who stand behind a pulpit every week) have to deal with the president caring for people they have demonized and marginalized. Imagine how much fun it would be to watch Trump’s opponents try to figure out how to campaign against a president whose policies were suddenly more generous than their own.
Many of us find it hard to believe that God could change the president of the United States of America. That says as much about us as about Donald Trump. God invites all kinds of ministers to give up anything that sounds like “hateful rhetoric” and preach the power of God’s love.
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