Christians in America have got to make a decision. Either they follow in the way of Jesus Christ or they submit to the ungodly ways of injustice and oppression. They cannot do both and they cannot weasel a way to accommodate Caesar without ceasing to be faithful Christians.
The public has witnessed accusing voices claiming to be Christian angered by Bishop Budde and other preachers proclaiming Christ’s own words that have angered the president and others in power. They fumed about how dare anyone confront the president with God’s truth and claim to speak in God’s name. Something very similar happened to Jesus in his own hometown and should be a guide to every Christian today.
Jesus is recorded as citing a few sentences from chapters 58 and 61 in Isaiah. He said: “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 let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” and then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he said to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4)
So far, so good, but he went on to tell about two Gentiles in foreign lands who were rescued, one from disease and the other from starvation, while Israelites were also suffering. In anger at Jesus’ words, the local crowd of friends and family are said to have tried to kill him. I doubt they went to that extreme, but I think they were angered over what else he said that was not recorded in scripture.
I think they read a lot more than a few sentences from two chapters in Isaiah. I think they read the entire text, which would have made two things clear. First, people cannot claim to believe in and follow God’s ways while also violating them. Second, he, Jesus, is the one who has the power to both judge and redeem, the long-awaited Messiah, and not for the Jews only but for the whole world. For the carpenter’s kid to presume to condemn his own people and claim to be their savior was intolerable. How dare he speak like that about them, the priests, their ways, and about their status as God’s only chosen people?
So what does the text he read say? God, speaking through the pen of Isaiah, accused the people of worshipping with words but not deeds, that God wasn’t listening to their demands and desires. Your prayers serve your own interests. You oppress your workers. You quarrel and fight with each other. God will not listen to you while you behave that way. If you want God to listen, loose the bonds of injustice, let go of things that restrict others from having freedom and opportunity. Let the oppressed go free. Break every yoke that enslaves people. See that no one goes hungry. See that no one is homeless and ill-clad. Bring them into your community. Stop pointing the finger and speaking evil. Satisfy the needs of the afflicted. Truth is stumbling in the public square.
It’s tempting to set aside God’s words spoken through the ancient prophet Isaiah 2,500 years ago as having little to do with American Christians. It’s certainly what the good people of Nazareth thought about their own time and place. But when Jesus, the Word of God made flesh, said in plain language that God was serious, is serious, and will remain serious about these things no matter what time or place, we who claim to follow Christ better pay attention.
In short, there is no excuse for Christians to excuse any public behavior, public policy, or public leader who deliberately fails to live into God’s ways. Christians are required to live in non-violent non-compliance as best they can. It isn’t easy. Anyone who substitutes self-righteousness for righteousness will stumble badly, as St. Paul discovered in his own life. Nevertheless, in steadfast faith in Christ Jesus, we are to advocate for God’s ways no matter the personal consequences.
The church has not always been faithful in its allegiance to the triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The people acquiesced to Mussolini. The German church acquiesced to Hitler. The church has largely remained silent in Hungary. The Russian church has acquiesced to Putin. American Christians must stand firm against any temptation to acquiesce to Trumpism such as we are experiencing in these opening weeks of the next four years.