Values You Can Take to the Polls

Pat Liberty

This sermon was preached at Ledyard Congregational Church in Ledyard, CT on November 3, 2024.

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: you shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Matthew 22:37-40

“On this hang all the law and the prophets.” You’d think this love business was one of the most important things in the bible. Oh, wait, it is. This command has its roots in Deuteronomy…it is called the Shema.

The words used for love in Hebrew and Greek have nothing to do with our contemporary understanding of love, which focuses on feelings and warm fuzzies. Romantic love dominates the language of love.

The biblical traditions are far richer. In Hebrew the word is hesed. It can mean steadfast love, mercy, lovingkindness and goodness. It also means a covenantal love. It is characterized by great tenderness and consideration towards others. It is fundamentally a love that God has for creatures and one that is embodied in God’s followers

The Greek word is agape. It is considered the highest form of love. It is self-giving, patient, kind and never fails. Agape is the word used in 1 Corinthians 13, the famous chapter on love.

So from both the Judeo and Christian traditions love is held forth as the defining characteristic of God and how God works through humans. Throughout both testaments the central message is God’s enduring love affair with creation and all that is in it. And as God’s followers we strive to embody that love in all we say and do.

This is the cornerstone value that we are to bring to the world. It is a stance that defines everything else. When we come from a place of hesed and agape we are manifesting God’s greatest love.

So, with love as the central value, we are going to look at several scriptures that underscore values that are central to our tradition. Values we can take to the polls.

We begin in Leviticus. Nobody reads Leviticus, it’s like reading the Manhattan Yellow Pages. There are multiple layers of tradition that get sandwiched together and it makes for a tough read. But there are some themes that run through the book and this is one of them from Leviticus 19:33-34. “When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.”

This stance is fundamentally one of compassion and care, justice and wellbeing. It means that however we approach the issue of immigration we need to come from a place of compassion for the stranger. We are far more apt to “other” the alien than we are to welcome them.

Now we go to Jeremiah 29:7. This is after the Israelites were exiled to Babylon and Yahweh says through the prophet Jeremiah, “But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” God’s word to the Israelites in exile was to not pout and get on with their lives. When we look at those words in relation to the immigrant community in the United States, they take on a rich meaning.

The immigrants who come to the US are by and large some of the hardest working people you will meet. They clean our hospitals and hotels, pick our vegetables and work in slaughterhouses. Not one of my friends has said, “Gee I lost my job at the slaughterhouse ripping the guts out of chickens because some immigrant came and took my job.” It is the stance of love for the alien that needs to inform our politics. Stance becomes action, so where we start matters.

Next we go to Genesis 2: Not a prophet but a prophetic witness about the creation in which we live. In Genesis 1 the narrative is to have dominion over the earth. This has been interpreted as pillage the earth’s resources, use it as a garbage dump, care nothing for the planet. And we see where that is getting us as we teeter on the edge of climate disaster.

Genesis 2 offers a different image that is not nearly as popular. Till the earth and keep it. We are stewards of this great planet. It is ours to use but not abuse. Our stance toward the earth needs to be one of care and conservation, and that needs to inform our politics. How we live day to day matters. The truth is there is enough for everyone’s need but not everyone’s greed. We are stewards of limited resources…John McCutheon sings, this earth was made a common treasury for everyone to share, all things in common, all people one…

Next we go to the prophet Isaiah. The book of Isaiah as we have it today came together over a period of about eight hundred years. All of those years were marked by war, four major conflicts that drastically altered the landscape of Israel and Judah. And we know that region remains a tinderbox today.

In the second chapter verses 4 and 5 we read, “He shall judge between the nations and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshare and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation neither shall they learn war anymore.”

The stance, the value we are to hold in the world is one of peace. Like war, peace must be waged. Being steeped in a stance of peace informs our political commitments. There is something fundamentally wrong when the best economic times are in post war periods. It says something about how our nation’s resources are prioritized. This is a narrative that needs to change for the sake of the earth and for its people.   

Next we go back to Jeremiah, Chapter 29 vss. 12-13. “Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called repairers of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in.” Repairers of the breach…the breach between the rich and the poor…those for whom the system doesn’t work. 135-140 million people live in poverty. It is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. We are repairers of the breach. Our voice and our vote help to repair the breach when we use it with hesed and agape.

We are to use our vote for those who have no vote; we are the voice for those who have no voice. And the reason they have no vote and no voice is because there have been over 1000 bills introduced across the nation that suppress voting rights, mostly of the poor and people of color.

The love that God has for us is the love we are to have for those whom we will never meet…the poor the disenfranchised, those with no health care, those who live on a minimum wage that hasn’t been raised since 2009, when it went from $6.75 to $7.25. In 1965 CEOs were paid 21 times as much as the typical worker. In 2023 CEOs were paid 290 times the typical worker. What might it look like to the poor when we use our voice and our vote on behalf of those who have no voice and whose votes have been suppressed.

We are repairers of the breach when we address what William Barber calls the five interlocking injustices: systemic racism, poverty, environmental degradation, a war economy, denial of health care and the false distorted narrative of religious nationalism.

Jeremiah says we will make the streets fit to live in again when the streets are safe for all people. And that means elimination of unfair labor practices, being generous in feeding the hungry and giving ourselves to the down and out. The streets will be fit to live in again when hesed and agape love for the stranger and outcast are our way of being in the world. We vote our values as God’s people when we vote hesed and agape. Jurgen Moltmann said, “Those who hope in God can no longer put up with the way things are. Hope is a response to suffering that calls people to action in the present to witness to God’s promises in the future.”

Bishop William Barber used these words to close the Inaugural Prayer breakfast…the words of the great American preacher Harry Emerson Fosdick who penned them during the great depression. I invite you to pray them with me.

God of grace and God of glory, on your people pour your power

Crown your ancient church’s story, bring its bud to glorious flower.

Grant us wisdom, grant us courage, for the facing of this hour

Heal your children’s warring madness, bend our pride to your control.

Shame our wanton, selfish gladness, rich in things and poor in soul.

Grant us wisdom, grant us courage lest we miss your kingdom’s goal.

Save us from weak resignation to the evils we deplore.

Let the search for your salvation be our glory evermore

Grant us wisdom, grant us courage, serving you whom we adore, serving you whom we adore. Amen.

The Big Picture

Pat Liberty

An excerpt from my sermon October 27, 2024. Preached at Ledyard Congregational Church, Ledyard CT

“A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, wich are worth a penny. Then he called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.” Mark 12:42-44

Most of the time a sermon on this text goes something like this.  The temple is the equivalent of the church. Jesus notices the widow gives everything; we should be like the widow and be more generous, trusting that God will bless us and provide for us if we are more generous.    

Except, that is not what the text is really about. As Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza suggests, we need to approach the text with a hermeneutic of suspicion, meaning a willingness to question the assumptions we bring to the text.  Like assuming we know what it says and what it means based on previous hearing and teaching.

This text is so frequently used at church budget time that the interpretation that identifies the widow as a model of faithfulness for us is hard to get past, but let’s take a closer look.

First of all, it’s important to remember that the widow is New Testament code language for the poorest of the poor, those most marginalized by a patriarchal society. Second, there is NOTHING in the text, not one word that suggests that Jesus thinks it’s a good thing that this woman put her last two coins into the temple coffers and goes away destitute. Jesus describes her behavior and comments that she gave all she had, but he doesn’t praise her for her behavior.

If we go back to the beginning of the passage, in most Bibles it is subtitled warnings about the Scribes, which suggests the focus is on the temple leaders and not on the widow.  Verse 38 begins with Jesus warning his followers to be aware of those who put on long robes, receive seats of honor, put on a good show of prayers and devour widows’ houses.” 

The role of scribe was important and honorable in the life of the temple. They were learned men whose job was to copy sacred texts, but they also served as lawyers. They had authority to negotiate contracts. They were also a part of the governing council called the Sanhedrin. They had tremendous power in the temple system. And, the religious rulers were in cahoots with Rome in an unholy alliance. Scribes were appointed to settle the estates of widows, who had no legal right to property, and were regularly exploited by these powerful men. Unscrupulous religious leaders and political officials exploited the vulnerability of widows and there was no place for them to go to seek justice, as they had no voice in religious or social structures. Hold that thought.

Jesus is instructing his followers. This is a field trip of sorts to the Temple, showing things not to do…Jesus would later send his followers out to preach to the people. He cautioned them against accumulating wealth, lest they be distracted from their primary role.  They were to trust in God’s Providence as they did God’s will. Any money they were given was to go to the poor. He also constantly warned his own disciples against seeking honor rather than serving others.  Pointing out the ostentatious clothing of the scribes was a way of illustrating that these religious leaders had ceased to care for God’s people.

The greater condemnation that comes to such leaders is calculated on a simple formula: greater knowledge means greater responsibility.  From the one to whom more is given more is expected.

That the scribes failed to be scandalized by the demands Temple worship made on one who had so little is what raised Jesus’ ire.  He neither praises nor condemns the widow; his judgment is on the injustice of the temple system and the lack of compassion for those in need.

Essentially Jesus takes the entire social, religious, economic and political system and goes “BOOM.” He  blows it right out of the water. In order to evaluate a social system we have to ask who benefits from it. In Jesus’ time it was the Scribes, the lawyers. Who is it in our time? The American oligarchs who don’t pay their fair share of taxes? Or is it the legislators we send to congress, who, for the most part, in the time of their tenure become millionaires? How does that happen? What kind of back-room deals do they need to make with the rich and powerful to line their pockets.

Who is victimized by the system? Single moms who work two jobs and have no health insurance. Single dads who fall behind on their child support payments because they don’t make enough to live on. Older Americans who live on Social Security alone and have to choose between paying their utility bill and buying groceries.

Again and again in the gospels we see that what makes a time, a place and a people holy is caring for the poor, the widow the orphan, and the stranger; those whom the world defines as the last the least and the lost.  And Jesus’ harshest words are reserved for the Scribes, whom he calls whited sepulchers. They look okay on the outside, but inside they are filled with death and destruction.

In the realm Jesus brings, everyone has a place at the table. Everyone is part of the community. All people stand on equal ground, because place is defined by God’s welcome and not having things the world deems important.  Jesus’ vision for the religious community and for the social order included understanding equality as something rooted in God and not in the trappings of the world. And for all of his faithfulness to God’s dream for the creation, Jesus was executed as an enemy of the state because he exposed the wickedness and collusion of religious and political leaders.

Jesus bore witness to a time and place where people would seek God and acknowledge God as the author of all that is. Out of that inner faith, that inner conviction, followers would live in faithful, joyful obedience.  It was not an act of volition, of willpower, of thinking the right way.  The in-breaking of God’s realm was rooted in passion for God’s way of being in the world, in faith that was life changing, a vision of success that was dramatically different from the world’s, nothing short of wholesale embrace of the upside-down values of God’s realm.

Jesus’ judgment on the social, religious, political and economic system of his time exposed the system for what it was: rigged by the rich for the sake of the rich. It was a morally and spiritually bankrupt system that failed those for whom God’s realm was most concerned.

Jesus calls attention to the empty prayers offered for the sake of appearance and balances this against the devouring of widows’ houses.  And this is the razor’s edge…Jesus sees their actions as indicative of their faith. Their failures of mission are an expression of their inner emptiness.

The big picture from this story is Jesus’ creating a social order that is committed to justice for the poor. In truth, Jesus talks more about the poor than he does about any other group.

The stewardship that is at issue here is how the system, the establishment, stewards its resources for the benefit of those it is called to serve. 

Gustavo Gutierrez, the founder of Liberation Theology wrote, “the poverty of the poor is not a call to generous relief action but a demand that we go and build a different social order.”

Our ability to be instruments of God bringing faith, hope, light, pardon and joy is about God in our lives and how we live that out in the world, not just through our charity, but through our social activism and political commitments. Faithful actions and deeds are not the source of our salvation but the fruit of it.   We often get the mphasis on the wrong syllABLE, thinking that our good works are the most important thing.  Don’t get me wrong they are important; they become holy when they are expressions of our faith in God and are followed with action in the social arena that works for justice on behalf of those who have no voice.

Beth Moore writes, “When our story is told a century from now-and it will be- how much of the American church ran after idols and delusions, false christs and conspiracies. History will not only fault the pastors for not confronting us with the truth but the congregations who forbade them to.”

This is a moment when our faith commitments need to inform our social, economic, political and religious actions.

Christ is either at the center of those actions, or not. Amen.

Resources:

Myers, Ched. Binding the Strong Man, a Political Reading of Mark’s Gospel

The New Interpreter’s Bible

An Open Letter to JD Vance

Pat Liberty

Dr. Mr. Vance,

Your recent appearance at the Christian nationalist revival tour of Lance Wallnau was comical at best. In your attempt to make a “theological” defense of the GOP’s controversial immigration policies, you demonstrated your complete lack of knowledge regarding sacred scripture.

I offer these comments for your remedial education. In the event that you would like to be educated in a way that has scholarly integrity, I offer to tutor you in both Old and New Testament history, tradition and theology.

First, you posit that, from a Christian perspective one owes the strongest duty to one’s family. I refer you to Matthew 12:46-50. In this pericope Jesus is speaking to the crowds and is interrupted by someone telling him that his mother and his brothers want to speak with him. “Jesus replied, ‘Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?’ And pointing to his disciples, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.’”

From this scripture it is clear that Jesus’ understanding of family is not primarily about biology but about discipleship. He claims as family those who are united in striving for peace, justice and hastening the realm of God on earth. In that realm, all will have enough, there will be no war, no greed, no hunger, no suffering.

Your immigration policies are rooted in promulgating human suffering. Deporting individuals who have lived in the US for years to countries where they will face certain death and privation is not a policy, it is a debacle. Yes, our immigration system is broken, but what you propose will visit untold pain on millions of people. It is inhuman and deplorable. How you can claim this is consistent with the Judeo-Christian tradition shows the depth of your ignorance and lack of compassion.

Second, in Jeremiah 29 the prophet writes to the Israelites who are exiled in Babylon after the fall of Jerusalem.

“These are the words of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent  from Jerusalem to the remaining elders among the exiles, and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. This was after King Jeroniah, and the queen mother, the court officials, the leaders of  Judah and Jerusalem, the artisans, and the smiths had departed  from Jerusalem. The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah son of  Shaphan and Geramiah son of Hilkiah, whom King Zedekiah of  Judah sent to Babylon to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. It said,  ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles  whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. Build houses  and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Take  wives and have sons and daughters, take wives for your sons,  and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and  daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare  of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on  its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.’”

Let me break this down into the simplest of terms so you can understand. The Israelites were exiled to Babylon. Rather than live as an isolated enclave they were encouraged to settle there and work for the welfare of the city to which they were exiled. Surely the immigrants in our midst have worked for the welfare of the American people. They pick our produce, clean our schools and hospitals and hotels. They work in the slaughterhouses that produce our meat and poultry. They often work at the most menial jobs for minimum wage so that we can enjoy our bounteous lifestyle.

I doubt there are many Americans that lament that they were vegetable pickers before the immigrants came.

Immigrants work for the well being of this country in countless ways. They have taken seriously the prophetic words of Jeremiah to seek the welfare of the place where they live. They know that in seeking the welfare of the United States they are also seeking their own welfare.

To see mass deportation as an “immigration policy” is ludicrous. It would be disastrous for our economy, for our food infrastructure and for our communities. We are a nation of immigrants. Unless one is a Native American, they are an immigrant. There are no other options. What you are proposing is making America white again. There is nothing Christian about that.

I suggest that you spend some time learning American history as well as biblical history and theology. It will go a long way toward helping you sound less like the hillbilly you are, though I fear this statement will be seen as an insult to anyone who considers themselves to be a hillbilly.

How to Talk About Political Differences

Pat Liberty

Hello Faithful Readers, it’s nice to be back.

After a few weeks’ hiatus, it is nice to be back in your inbox, and as always, I thank you for reading. My absence was due to a construction issue that ended up flooding a good part of our house and destroying my professional library. Mopping up and digging out has been a herculean task. Now that we are seeing some progress, I can focus my energy back to this forum.

The topic for today is how to deal with people who are politically different from you and maintain a relationship. Admittedly it is a difficult thing to do. If, however, we desire to stay in relationship with people who are politically different from us, we need to learn some skills. Here is a list of best practices as set forth by the Center for Media Engagement. I am indebted to them for their work.  https://mediaengagement.org/research/divided-communities/

Our findings revealed five main strategies for talking across political differences:

  1. Focus on the people, not the politics
    1. Build a relationship before talking politics. Don’t take comments personally. Share your own relevant experiences
    1. Give a relatable hypothetical situation
  2. Find common ground
    1. Bond over less polarized issues. Be open to listening and understanding. Ask questions to understand a different viewpoint
    1. Focus on shared beliefs
  3. Stick to the facts and avoid confrontation
    1. Stick to information that can be verified. Back up your opinions with evidence. Limit emotion in discussion
    1. Avoid confrontational language
  4. Be an advocate rather than an opponent
    1. Adapt conversational style to audience
    1. Avoid words that might upset people
  5. Pick your battles
    1. Talk about local politics instead of national politics. Focus on policy instead of party
    1. Avoid hot-button issues

For more information visit the above website for illustrations and strategies.

One More Circle ‘Round the Sun

Pat Liberty

Today is my sixty-eighth birthday. Most days I live as though I had all the time in the world, but the truth of the matter is, I have lived far more days than I have left to live. I don’t think about it a lot, but when I do it is rather humbling.

There are days I spend enormous amounts of time doing nothing, bingeing on Netflix, thinking something to death and thinking about it some more. I used to say I was wasting time, but in truth there is always something that is working on me unconsciously. There is value to this time, although from an observational standpoint it seems pointless. I have learned not to apologize.

I am a journal keeper and I spend hours journaling my innermost thoughts. I work out a lot of my own stuff on the pages of my journal. Most early morning hours will find me hunched over my journal writing madly away about whatever is uppermost in my mind that day. It is often a stream of consciousness writing that finds me in a place I never imagined I would go. I fill at least one journal a month, and after fifty years of the practice I have boxes and boxes and boxes of notebooks. They tell the story of my life in all its beauty and brokenness.

Spending time with family is a priority. I take care of my ninety-one-year-old dad a couple days a week. In the past eighteen months I have spent more time with him than I have in my entire life. He was a trucker and spent a lot of time away from home. He was always there for the important stuff, to be sure, but day to day found him miles away. I treasure this time with him in his fading years, there is nowhere else I would rather be. I also have a sister, and we squeeze in what time we can. We are on opposite schedules in taking care of dad.

I treasure the time I spend with my wife. I spent years waiting for this wonderful woman to come into my life. Now that she is here, I will not waste a single minute. I savor our time together whether we are doing something special or just hanging out at home. Even cleaning house together is cause for celebration.

Time with friends is also a priority, though at times it gets squished in by the demands of full-time ministry and tasks of keeping home and hearth together. Still, even when we can’t be together as often as we like, the love we have for one another reaches across the void and keeps us connected.

I guess I am one of the lucky ones. I get to put my life together pretty much as I want and I know a great level of contentment in how my days unfold. Sometimes it’s just good to sit back and consider this amazing gift called life.

Sure, the world is a mess, our country teeters on the brink of too many disasters to name, and our planet is crying for help and deliverance from our selfishness and exploitation. That just serves to make me committed to living each day with purpose. Remembering that I can’t fix it keeps me from despair. Yet, I also know doing nothing is not an option. So, I decrease the amount of household plastics we use, buy earth friendly products, recycle and eat lower on the food chain. As the old Native American proverb goes, “If everyone swept in front of their own teepee, the world would be a cleaner place.”

I also use my voice and my platform to speak truth to power and try desperately to wake people up to what is happening. I have the privilege of preaching the gospel each Sunday and pray for the wisdom and humility to feed the flock entrusted to me for this moment in time with faithfulness and integrity.

I learned a while ago that tomorrow is promised to no one. Years of working for hospice and seeing that death is no respecter of persons or of age drove that lesson home loud and clear. Time is not something to take for granted. So even though I may not use every minute in the most productive way, I am not bound by our culture’s definition of productivity. I cherish the rhythm of my days and as I close my eyes to sleep each night I remember to count my blessings, acknowledge my failures and celebrate the gift of making one more circle ‘round the sun.

Check out Peter Mayer’s song on my music page.  

Ageism, Statesmanship and the Common Good

Pat Liberty

The first thing to be said about President Biden’s decision to not seek a second term is that ageism is alive and well in the Democratic party. At eighty-one President Biden is still a vital, viable elder statesman who has more on the ball than half the people half his age. At eighty-one he is only three years older than the former Occupant. The media joined the trope of the former Occupant’s rhetoric that Biden is a doddering old fool. The media is as much to blame as is the former Occupant.

Let’s not forget that.

His poor performance at the debate does not minimize a lifetime of accomplishments as a public servant. Biden is an elder statesman who has devoted his life to public service. In his brief three and a half years as President, he and Vice President Harris have:

  • Passed a 1.2 trillion dollar bi-partisan infrastructure package.
  • Provided cogent leadership to address the disaster the former Occupant made of the pandemic.
  • Created enhanced background checks for gun purchases and provided funds for youth mental health.
  • Made a $369 billion dollar investment in climate change.
  • Pulled troops out of Afghanistan, ending the longest war in American history.
  • Gave $10,000 to $20,000 in college debt relief to Americans with loans who make less than $125,000 a year.
  • Capped prescriptions costs at $2000.00 per year.
  • Achieved historically low unemployment rates.
  • Imposed a 15% minimum corporate tax on America’s largest corporations.
  • Rejoined the Paris Agreement.
  • Strengthened the NATO alliance in support of Ukraine.
  • Gave Medicare the power to negotiate drug prices.
  • Imposed economic sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
  • Increased the budget of the Internal Revenue Service to reduce tax evasion and increase revenue.
  • Created 6.6 million jobs, more than any other president in history.
  • Decreased healthcare premiums by $800.00.
  • Signed the PACT Act to address service members’ exposure to burn pits and other toxins.
  • Signed the CHIPS act to strengthen American manufacturing.
  • Reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act
  • Reinstated the ban on the death penalty.

The media should spend as much time talking about his accomplishments as they do about his stutter and poor debate performance. It is a flaming example of ageism.

There is far more to the story than what the lopsided media reports. It is interesting to note, as an aside, that every major news outlet including national networks is owned by supporters of the former Occupant. There is a stench in the air of neutrality. The media doesn’t report the news, it makes the news. And the one who pays the piper calls the tunes. But I digress.

What Biden knows in his bones is that government is meant to serve the greatest number of people in the best possible way. This requires a wide-angle lens on the big picture and a crystal-clear sense of how the parts move together and influence each other. While this can be described as political savvy, it is also deeply theological. As a man of faith, Biden has a foundation in understanding the public good.

There are instances a-plenty in scripture that illustrate the preferential option for the poor. In the first testament Israel is constantly measured against the plumbline of God’s justice and righteousness.  The witness of the prophets like Jeremiah, Isaiah and Amos is that God’s desire for humanity is to treat one another with compassion and equality and be good stewards of the resource of creation. These premises saturate scripture on just about every page.

The purpose of government is to serve the needs of people. The mark of any civilized society is how well it treats its most vulnerable members–the poor, the ill and the disenfranchised. These are complex social problems that defy simple solutions. The concrete actions of administrations that alleviate suffering, create jobs, sustain social safety net programs and look at the long term well being of creation are in line with biblical values.

The old saying that we don’t mix religion with politics is nonsense. We need the witness of scripture to inform our political opinions. We are called to look beyond individual self interest to the needs of those most in need of protection. We would do well to immerse ourselves in scripture as we approach this election season. If we are to claim our identity as people of faith we need to be grounded in biblical values and let those values inform our actions when we speak with others, cast our vote and assess the options before us in this political season.

Totalitarianism, Authoritarianism, Fascism and Faith

Pat Liberty

The words totalitarian, authoritarian and fascist are used interchangeably, but each of them is a political system in its own right. While there are similarities and overlap, there are important differences that can help us critique the direction in which American politics is heading.

Donald Trump has said that if (or in his mind when) he is elected, he will be a dictator from day one. What the three political systems have in common is that each requires a singular political leader who demands ultimate allegiance. The difference is in the system that surrounds them to carry out their “vision.” A dictator is one who exercises complete authority and has absolute power. They are subject to no checks or balances to prevent the abuse of power.

Twentieth century dictators included Joseph Stalin, General Secretary of the Communist part of the Soviet Union; Adolph Hitler, Fuhrer of Germany; Augusto Pinochet, President of Chile; Mao Zedone, Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party; Benito Mussolini of Italy; and Kim Jong-un of North Korea.

“Totalitarianism, fascism and authoritarianism are all forms of government characterized by a strong central rule that attempts to control and direct all aspects of individual life through coercion and repression.” 

In totalitarianism, there is unlimited power in the state. It controls virtually all aspects of public and private life, morals and beliefs of the people and political and financial matters. “One distinct feature of a totalitarian government is the existence of an explicit or implied national ideology–a set of beliefs intended to give meaning and direction to the entire society. Totalitarianism is typically distinguished from dictatorship…by its goals of replacing all existing political institutions with new ones and elimination of all legal, social and political traditions.”

An authoritarian state has a strong central government and allows people a limited degree of political freedom. However, it is all controlled by the government without any constitutional accountability. Its leaders cannot be replaced through freely conducted elections. The ability to form opposing political parties is limited or prohibited entirely.

Fascism is the most extreme expression of totalitarianism and authoritarianism. It is characterized by the “…imposition of dictatorial power, government control of industry and commerce, and the forcible suppression of opposition. Historically, fascism has kept nations in a constant state of preparedness for war. There is also a quest for ‘racial purity’ that defines anyone other than white Europeans as inferior.” Fascists see democracy and free/fair elections as obsolete. They also emphasize one party rule to accomplish their perpetual readiness for war.

What these repressive forms of government have in common is that concern for the common good is eliminated. To accomplish their goals, these regimes will divert resources from social safety net programs like Women Infants and Children (WIC), Medicaid and Medicare, Social Security, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), early childhood intervention programs and more. All resources are directed toward whatever goals the regime has stated as primary. It creates widespread suffering among the poorest of the poor. Further, it makes those on the bottom of the middle class downwardly mobile into the working poor.

These governmental regimes also tend to create wealthy oligarchs who control the nature and the means of production. Unions are dismantled and worker protections are eliminated in the name of increased productivity for the regime’s stated goals. Wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few at the expense of the many.

Further, such regimes often adopt a singular “religious” emphasis that corresponds to their goals and suppresses all other forms of religious expression as dangerous. There can also be propaganda that lulls religious institutions into a state of complacency. This was clearly on display in Nazi Germany when the German church was hypnotized into a coma that was blind to the atrocities committed by the Nazis.

What this means to us as people of faith is that we must remain alert to the implications of proposed and hinted at changes to our democracy. Government is intended to be “of the people, by the people and for the people.” This means that governmental system, structure and process should benefit the greatest number of people, beginning with the poorest of the poor. Jesus’ primary concern was for the poor, the outcast and the needy. He regularly criticized the powers for treading on that vulnerable population. He advocated for a radical redistribution of goods and services to benefit the neediest among them.

We are tempted to check our faith at the door in favor of some distorted view of the separation of church and state.  In fact, the establishment clause of the Bill of Rights was intended to assure that there would not be a state sponsored church (as there was in England). Further, the first amendment guarantees the right of free exercise of religion. We cannot allow the demands of our faith to be eclipsed by our sense of hopelessness, powerlessness and despair. We must listen carefully to the hyperbole and doublespeak that seeks to lull us into either a false sense of security or an utter mental check out of the process because we are so disillusioned. This is the goal of disinformation and gaslighting political rhetoric.

In this time, we must be “wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” (Matthew 10:16)

Resources

Longley, Robert. “Totalitarianism, Authoritarianism, and Fascism.” ThoughtCo. December 5, 2022.

Political But Not Partisan

Pat Liberty

In the ever-thinning line that separates church and state, there is a lot of confusion and misinformation that clouds an already murky situation. It helps to understand the Constitution, even though it is becoming a less authoritative document for conducting our nation’s business (thank you Supreme Court).

The First Amendment makes two claims concerning religion: the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause. According to www.uscourts.gov

“The Establishment Clause prohibits the government from ‘establishing a religion.’ The exact meaning of ‘establishing’ is unclear. Historically, it meant prohibiting state sponsored churches, such as the Church of England.

Today, what constitutes an ‘establishment of religion’ is often governed under the three-part test set forth by the Supreme Court in Lemon v. Kutzman (1971). Under the ‘Lemon’ test, the government can assist religion only if (1) the primary purpose of the assistance is secular, (2) the assistance must neither promote nor inhibit religion, and (3) there is no excessive entanglement between church and state.

The Free Exercise Clause protects citizens right to practice their religion as they please, so long as the practice does not run afoul of ‘public morals’ or a ‘compelling’ governmental interest.

Sometimes the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause come into conflict. The federal courts help to resolve such conflicts, with the Supreme Court being the ultimate arbiter.” (Somehow this does not inspire confidence given our current Supremely partisan Court).

Historically, these Clauses have been understood to mean that the church does not play partisan politics and government does not manipulate religion. The rise of Christian Nationalism is significantly impacting this practice as right-wing religious views are melded into political positions and political views are melded into religious teaching. Churches are promoting candidates and questioning people’s faithfulness if they vary from the “party line.” The flow of dark money (which I prefer to call anonymous money) into the church to support a political agenda that is anti-just-about-everything is staggering. In addition, anonymous money is pouring millions of dollars into specific congressional races to help assure wins. Rallying the conservative Christian vote is crucial to making their plan work.

This is wrong.

People of faith are, however, confused as to what an appropriate political expression is during these fractious times. The answer is to be political and not partisan.

Scripture has more than enough examples of political integrity and faithful action. First, this includes the preferential option for the poor. Jesus spoke more about economic inequity than anything else. He routinely lambasted both religious and political officials for their collusion to make the lives of the poor untenable. The realm that Jesus ushers in is one of radical inclusion for all people, a redistribution of goods and services to benefit the poor and a perspective on justice for all people, not just the wealthy elite.

Second, there are examples of righteous leadership throughout scripture. David, for all his broken humanness was an instrument of God in the rule of Israel. Throughout the history of Israel, whoever was in power, whether the judges in the early days of national identity or the kings that began with David, one thing that remained the same was the demand of God for righteousness, justice and fairness. This is the standard against which all political actions, past and present, are measured.

The church has a prophetic mandate in this time to put forth the values of God’s realm and preach the gospel as it is revealed in the total message of Scripture. This is not a time for proof-texting and trotting out favorite verses to support a narrow political or religious perspective.

Third, the bible is a political book. There is no escaping this truth. Jesus was political. It’s what got him killed. He was executed as an enemy of the state for preaching about the last being first and the first being last. Our task in this time is to be political but not partisan. The Christian Nationalists are trotting out their favorite scripture verses and twisted biblical perspectives to support a dangerous political agenda (think Project 2025). Most of us don’t know our own bible well enough to counter with a different perspective. It is a sad state of affairs for the church as most of us know it.

There isn’t a lot of time to get educated about the overarching message of scripture. That ship sailed a while ago. This is the time, however, to read! Books like the “False White Gospel” by Jim Wallis is a good place to start. It may be the most important book you read this election season.

Preachers, ours is prophetic duty to walk the fine line between being faithfully political while not being politically partisan. A candidate’s name should never be mentioned in public worship. A political party should never be mentioned in public worship. I believe it violates the separation of church and state.  That said, there are political messages throughout scripture that speak to God’s realm and the demands of righteousness. We need courageous and faithful preachers who aren’t afraid to walk the razor’s edge.

What is at stake is the heart of our democracy. If religious nationalism and radical political conservatism win, fascism is our future.

It’s not too late to change that. Everything is on the line.

On The Right Side of History

Pat Liberty

Christian traditions in the United States stand at a crossroad. This is the moment when we need to choose if we are going to be agents of empire or keepers of the Word. This may sound melodramatic, but I am trying desperately to get your attention.

A lesson in history is instructive. According to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum website:

” The population of Germany in 1933 was around 60 million. Almost all Germans were Christian, belonging to either the Roman Catholic (20 million) or the Protestant (40 million) churches. The Jewish community in Germany was less than 1% of the total population of the country.

The rise of Anti-Semitism in Germany was reflective of the dominant culture in most of Europe and had deep roots in Christian history. Misinterpretation of key scriptures seemed to support their prejudices.

After Germany’s defeat in World War I, the rise of Nazism seemed a welcome relief from the Weimar republic. For the most part, the German Evangelical church saw itself as a pillar of German culture and society with a theologically grounded loyalty to the state. During the 1920’s, a movement emerged within the German Evangelical Church that embraced many of the nationalistic and racial aspects of Nazi ideology. Once the Nazis came to power, this group sought the creation of a national “Reich Church” and supported a “nazified” version of Christianity.

The “Confessing Church” emerged in opposition to the nationalist “Reich Church.” Its most noteworthy leaders were Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Martin Niemoller. These two movements created an ongoing struggle for control of the German Protestant church.  

The Roman Catholic church was not as divided largely because nationalism was not as deeply rooted in Roman Catholic culture.” (Edited for length and clarity)

For the most part the dominant Christian church of the 1930’s made an uneasy peace with the rise of Nazism. Concerned about schism, state interference in church affairs and the rise of “Aryanism,” the church kept its head down and avoided confrontation.

In other words, with very few exceptions, it sold out.

In our time, as we face the rise of religious nationalism and an increasingly fascist political system, churches stand at a crossroad. Will our concern for not pissing people off quell our faithful sensibilities about the demands of the Gospel? Will our unwillingness to speak truth to power eclipse our prophetic responsibilities as people of God? Will our stupid and arrogant notion that “it can’t happen here” blind us to the fact that it is happening here?

The jury is out.

We need to speak out against the Supreme Court’s decision to grant widespread immunity to a president. This, in effect, makes the President above the law. This paves the way for policies that stand in opposition to the Constitution without consequence.

We need to educate ourselves about the Heritage Foundation, Project 2025 and other behind the scenes decisions that are unraveling the heart of our democracy.

Mostly, we need the courage to speak truth to power. To stand firm as followers of Jesus and say no to the agenda of a political machine that seeks to undo decades of progress in caring for our environment, caring for our most vulnerable members of society, and reaching for equality for populations that are “othered.” 

The bizarre notion that America is meant to be a nation for white European descendants, to the exclusion and subordination of all others, dovetails with the rise of religious nationalism. (I can’t bring myself to call it Christian.) A very narrow definition of “Christian” is at the heart of this religious nationalism. It is homophobic, fundamentalist, anti-just about everything and firmly nestled within the political machine. They feed off each other and enable each other’s goals.

Oklahoma now requires the bible to be taught in public schools. You can bet it will be a “bible” that leaves out the verses about justice and righteousness and caring for the alien, widow and orphan. You can be sure that proof texting to condemn homosexuality will roll off the tongues of those who teach the lessons. It is a sure bet that there will be one Christology, one definition of salvation and one understanding of church. Other Christian traditions will be demonized, minimized and ultimately silenced by the onslaught of the joining of (some version) of church and state.

In short, if you aren’t outraged, scared and deeply troubled by what is going on, you aren’t paying attention. By the time the German churches realized where their uneasy peace with Nazism landed them, it was too late. Let’s be on the right side of history this time.  

The views in this blog belong solely to the author and do not reflect the position of any religious institution or church.  

And What of These Years?

Pat Liberty

It seems like yesterday I was sweating bullets on a hot June day, wearing a robe that was ten sizes too big which made me feel even more like the little girl imposter. I was certain the role was right for me, but was unsure of how I would grow into it, because it surely felt far too big for me in those moments, just like the robe I borrowed from the pastor across the street.

I stood knees knocking together as my childhood pastor read my vows and I responded, “I will, with the help of God.” I was pretty sure it was only with the help of God that I had any hope of pulling this ministry thing off in any believable kind of way.

It was forty-two years ago today, the day of my ordination to ministry, the office of word and sacrament.

I knelt in the chancel and felt the hands of all the clergy resting on my head and shoulders as my mentor prayed the ordination prayer. I don’t remember a word of it, but what has stayed with me all these years is the feeling of their hands on my body. It felt like all the history of the church before June 20, 1982 was being infused into my being. I was taking my place with Martin Luther, Desmond Tutu, Martin Luther King, Jr., my childhood pastor, my mentor and the millions who had taken vows before me, whose names I will never know. It was the most humbling moment of my life. I was being entrusted with this sacred office, and with God’s help I would find my way through the myriad of paths, as yet unseen, that would become my ministry.

So, what of these forty-two years? I have been a settled and interim pastor, hospital and hospice chaplain, Executive Director of a non-profit, consultant, seminary lecturer, domestic violence counsellor, advocate for survivors of clergy sexual abuse and a few more things I can’t think of at the moment. At times I have felt like I have professional ADD.

What stays with me, however, is not the jobs or roles I have had, but moments that unfolded in the midst of all of them.

I have raged and cried over the church’s abject failure to be the life-giving radical community Jesus envisioned. I have been rendered silent by moments in and outside of worship that were so holy, so powerful that the only response was wide-eyed awe. I have sat with people as they breathed their last breath and felt the holy silence that comes when breath is no more. I have joined people in their most joyous and meaningful celebrations of life. I have sat with people in their deepest sorrow and faith crises, when all I could do was be with them in the land of no answers. I have railed against the minutiae and bullshit of the church and thought it sometimes survives in spite of itself. It has been a wild and wonderful ride, and it isn’t over yet. For that I am so very grateful.

Every day occasions new experiences of the Holy, whether in joy or sorrow. Life continues to unfold in miraculous, marvelous, mysterious and sometimes very strange ways. This life in ministry is pure privilege. To be invited into someone’s life in their most profound moments is a grace like no other. To stand before a congregation, with the prayer that “the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts (as the old prayer goes) will be acceptable in God’s sight and meaningful to those who people the pews. I get to remind people that cubes of bread and thimbles of grape juice are symbols of the life of discipleship to which we are called. I get to say words of blessing and benediction to the flock that is entrusted to my care for this moment in time. I have the privilege of being called pastor, and every time that word rings in my heart, I am on my knees in the chancel with the hands of those who have gone before me resting on my head and shoulders, blessing me into this life which is the greatest gift I could ever imagine.