Keeping Christ at the Center

One of the strangest tales that will ever be told in centuries to come is how Donald Trump managed to fail at almost everything while achieving great wealth and being elected twice to the highest office in the land. As ignorant and incompetent as he has always been, he does have two well-honed skills that he uses to near perfection.

First, he has the audacity and chutzpah to commit serial felonious acts in public view without apology, in the full expectation that he will get away with them—because he always has. It has been his pattern since childhood. Why would he change behavior that has served him so well, even as he approaches his 80th year?

Second, he has perfected the art of maintaining control over media attention no matter what else is happening in the world. He has learned how to make himself the only center of attention. Others may make an occasional appearance, but only for a moment. One way or another he brings the spotlight back to himself. One wonders how the media can be so gullible, but they aren’t the only ones.

I have been part of an ecumenical scripture study group for more than 20 years. We meet by Zoom each week to engage the Word of God more deeply in the context of the world we live in. What disturbs me is how easily anger and anxiety over everything Trump does shifts the center of our attention, relegating the Word of God to the role of observer and commentator.

As Christian pastors and theologians, it is incumbent on us to keep Christ at the center—not simply as a person, but as the one through whom all that God has commanded is measured. That means Trump and all his minions must be tested by, and made subordinate to, the Word of God we know in Christ Jesus.

Some who claim to be Christian have subordinated their religion to Trump’s nationalism. They have not only made Jesus a bystander, they have pledged their loyalty to a cult leader whose life is antithetical to everything Christ has commanded.

Equally troubling are faithful Christian leaders who, like my own study group, have allowed Trump and everything he represents to occupy the center of attention to the point that bold proclamation of the gospel takes second place to political commentary. It may seem odd for an Episcopal priest who writes often about politics and religion to say this. Indeed, some of my agnostic friends tell me they like what I write on politics but not so much when I fold in too much religion.

But when we dedicate time to the study of the holy Word—whether alone or in community—that should be the singular focus of our attention. And when politics is the subject of discussion, Christian theologians must speak through the lens of Christ’s teaching, even if not overtly. Asserting the promises and expectations of our constitutional liberal democracy is not a theological obstacle; the two complement each other reasonably well.

That allows Christians to participate in public debate while keeping Trump subordinate to, and measured by, the highest standards of both faith and democracy. Trump cannot stand being seen as subordinate to anything or anyone and is gifted at flipping every conversation in his favor. Just as troubling, he is surrounded by aides and followers who intend to remake the United States into a model of authoritarian, state-controlled capitalism, unimpeded by the inefficiencies of democracy, civil rights, and the common good.

This is why it is so important for Christian pastors and theologians to keep Christ at the center of their own thinking and words. Only then can we participate in secular political conversation with integrity, keeping the common good as the primary purpose of our constitutional liberal democracy.