On Feb. 6, Donald Trump established a Justice Department task force charged with rooting out “anti-Christian bias” in the federal government. As a Christian clergyperson, I believe that a significant threat in our nation to true Christianity is Donald Trump himself, along with his allies.
Washington National Cathedral, an Episcopal cathedral of the diocese of Washington D.C., considers itself a “house of prayer for all people.” It regularly hosts services for our nation, such as the recent funeral of former President Jimmy Carter, and for years the National Cathedral has hosted an interfaith prayer service after the inauguration of a president of the United States.
On Jan. 21, the cathedral hosted this inaugural prayer service. The Right Reverend Mariann Budde, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington D.C., was preacher. At the end of her sermon, Bishop Budde locked eyes with and spoke directly to newly inaugurated Donald Trump, who was seated in the front pew. In a gentle, direct voice, she asked him to “have mercy” — mercy on fellow citizens who were scared, mercy on LGBTQ+ Americans who were fearful, mercy on people fleeing to our nation from other countries in hope of escaping violence and poverty.
The reaction from the man in the front pew was to take offense. Conservative media, podcasters, and members of Congress outdid one another with sputtering fury. Republican Representative Mike Collins of Georgia demanded Bishop Budde be deported, even though she was born in New Jersey. Trump, using a favorite word for women who challenge him, said the bishop was “nasty” in her tone, “and not compelling or smart.” It can be no surprise Bishop Budde has since received all kinds of threats and demands she apologize. She will not apologize, to which I say Amen.
Trump’s allies have also attacked Lutherans, notably former General Michael Flynn, who accused the Lutheran Church of money laundering through Lutheran Social Services (LSS). LSS helps countless people with services, from mental health care, to early childhood support, to assistance to veterans and more. A beam of joy in this ridiculousness was RAYGUN T-shirts of Des Moines — the creators of the T-shirt “Grinnell: Conveniently located between New York City and Los Angeles,” which I think you can get in the College bookstore — wonderfully issuing new shirts: “I’m with Bishop Budde,” and “Lutheran Crime Syndicate.” Right-on, RAYGUN! Two weeks after the service at the National Cathedral, without irony, Donald Trump signed his executive order for a task force to “eradicate” anti-Christian bias in the US government.
The most prominent anti-Christian activity, however, comes from Trump himself — with the support of those who conflate Christianity with our national founding and borders, who advocate for “religious freedom” as a way to allow discrimination, who believe being a Christian is superior to other traditions, who call America a “Christian Nation,” and who, through Donald Trump, intend to grab and maintain power in our country.
I am an Episcopal priest, the same denomination as Bishop Budde. I’ve been a priest for twenty-three years and, for the past twelve, have served St. Paul’s Episcopal Church (the little church with the bell tower, across 6th Ave. from Burling Library). My bishop, Bishop Betsey Monnot, preaches about mercy, about welcoming all people, about every person being beloved of God, about how we are called by God to care for others, all the time. So does our Presiding Bishop, the bishop who oversees the Episcopal Church nationally, Sean Rowe. So do I, a measly parish priest, and so do countless other clergy I have known over the years from a wide range of Christian denominations here in Grinnell and across the country. Bishop Budde’s sermon at National Cathedral on Jan. 21 was a normal sermon, not that unique, other than the context in which it was given, and it was courageous, progressive, Christian, and deeply biblical.
To be a Christian is to hope to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, hope to imitate how he lived, hope to make his teaching about God a way of life (I say “hope to” because none do this perfectly). A central teaching of Jesus is to be merciful. Also, to be humble, compassionate, sympathetic, tender, to literally love kindness.
“Be merciful as your Father is merciful,” Jesus says in Luke. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy,” he says in Matthew. Mark tells us of Jesus’ compassion for a crowd who gathered to hear him because they had nothing to eat. In John, Jesus is moved to tears by the grief of the sisters and friends of a man who died. Repeatedly in the telling of the life of Jesus, and in his own direct teaching, we are shown a God with compassion for those on the margins and those who suffer. And in Christian belief, the story of creation, along with the resurrection of Jesus, reveals God’s love and mercy toward all humanity. Everyone is to be cherished and treated with the love and mercy God extends, period. No exceptions.
Embodied in Donald Trump and his administration is gleeful rejection of these teachings. He and his administration relish in scandal and fear, fomenting anguish at home and abroad with their homophobic, transphobic, racist, fascist, xenophobic, boastful, “let’s-break-everything” stance. I do not recognize anything in this administration as following the teaching or life of Jesus — instead this administration is, simply, anti-Christian. By the measuring rod of Donald Trump, who has often referred to himself as a winner, and has promised we all will be winners under his administration, Jesus would doubtlessly be sized up as a big loser.
I hope I too can be a loser someday — God help me to be among the losers. Losers who care for immigrants, refugees and migrants, who want access to education and healthcare and food security and safety for everyone, who believe God made all people in our wide variety, of all colors, languages, orientations, gender identities and faiths and no-faiths, most lovingly and wonderfully — each one a perfect reflection of the divine. To this, again, I say Amen.
