Well, of all the thousands and thousands of words I've read of yours, the last thing I ever would have expected -- or wanted -- to read is the opening line of this post: "The United States of America has just elected a dictator for the first time."
You have shared my thoughts...trying to support congregants deeply grieving the results and others who are worried they will be on the list of deportees. It's overwhelming. Staying true to Christ's message of love, and remembering "the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not (cannot, WILL NOT) overcome it" is the only path forward for us.
Thanks for this Jim from over the pond a former intern at Sojourners in the 1990s. My biggest take away is to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, ourselves surrounded by a community of (confessing?) Christians and then make the radical decision to carry on. As a Welsh singer songwriter wrote quoting a Palestinian activist we don't have "the luxury of despair" 🙏🏽🕊️🕊️🙏🏽
While the use of Psalm 137 you cite is common, such use neglects the final two verses of the psalm -- which call for dashing babies heads against rocks. I have recently come to see this psalm as one of revenge, not lament. It's one more example of the selective use of the Hebrew scriptures, which avoids the violence that runs rife through them, violence which Europeans used to justify their entry into the North American 'Promised Land,' and thus pointing towards the Christian nationalism we decry today.
I understand your concern and how misconstruing the violence in the OT has certainly led to cruelty through the ages, but there is a difference between taking revenge for something perceived to be done to oneself versus asking a Holy God to avenge in kind what has been done to others. The concept of God's personal suffering and sacrifice to settle sins among humans was just barely being imagined among the ancients--Isaiah, for example-. At that people were thought of as a unit and so men and children were destroyed in war, and an eye for an eye was a step forward in those cultures.
Thanks, Jim. I’ve often reminded others that God’s people have often been winnowed to remove the chaff by wars, disease, famine and exile. Always for forgetting the goodness of the Lord. We will need to start singing the Lord’s song in this strange land. Our brothers and sisters of color have shown us how. Now it’s past time for us to join in singing.
So many people do not pay any attention to politics until VERY, VERY LATE in the election game, say around the 2 minute warning before the end of the game, maybe about a month before the actual election. If people think that staying away and not voting was a way to express displeasure with the Dems may have given up their opportunity to vote in the future. Dictators don’t hand over power after an election. It generally takes armed resistance to dislodge dictators, who can be murderous thugs. What was necessary to preserve the Union in the 1860’s? What was necessary to get rid of Hitler and the Nazis? I fear a horrible, horrible time is coming, and America voted for it.
Thank you. I needed that sermon, as I too was in despair that my fellow Americans, including my "Christian" family, should sing the praises of this idol, not of Jesus, the Christ.
You seem to have forgotten that Trump was already President for 4 years. He did NONE of the things you seem to be so frightened of, and had an objectively successful Presidency - unlike the current disaster that is in the White House. The American people saw through the constant projection of what the Dems ACTUALLY are doing (weaponization of the DOJ, reshaping the military, etc.) Trump is not perfect, but Harris would've been a complete disaster for the US. If you can't see that, you're truly beyond help.
Well, of all the thousands and thousands of words I've read of yours, the last thing I ever would have expected -- or wanted -- to read is the opening line of this post: "The United States of America has just elected a dictator for the first time."
I'm grieving and lamenting.
You have shared my thoughts...trying to support congregants deeply grieving the results and others who are worried they will be on the list of deportees. It's overwhelming. Staying true to Christ's message of love, and remembering "the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not (cannot, WILL NOT) overcome it" is the only path forward for us.
Thanks for your message to help us make sense of democracy, now that we have a leader who exemplifies facism. Blessings
We might lose Social Security and Medicare. How able will we be then to take care of the newly needy, among whom will likely be my wife and I?
Jim, that is beautifully expressed.
Thanks for this Jim from over the pond a former intern at Sojourners in the 1990s. My biggest take away is to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, ourselves surrounded by a community of (confessing?) Christians and then make the radical decision to carry on. As a Welsh singer songwriter wrote quoting a Palestinian activist we don't have "the luxury of despair" 🙏🏽🕊️🕊️🙏🏽
Choosing “grieving over despair and lament over depression”
Indeed!
While the use of Psalm 137 you cite is common, such use neglects the final two verses of the psalm -- which call for dashing babies heads against rocks. I have recently come to see this psalm as one of revenge, not lament. It's one more example of the selective use of the Hebrew scriptures, which avoids the violence that runs rife through them, violence which Europeans used to justify their entry into the North American 'Promised Land,' and thus pointing towards the Christian nationalism we decry today.
I understand your concern and how misconstruing the violence in the OT has certainly led to cruelty through the ages, but there is a difference between taking revenge for something perceived to be done to oneself versus asking a Holy God to avenge in kind what has been done to others. The concept of God's personal suffering and sacrifice to settle sins among humans was just barely being imagined among the ancients--Isaiah, for example-. At that people were thought of as a unit and so men and children were destroyed in war, and an eye for an eye was a step forward in those cultures.
Thanks, Jim. I’ve often reminded others that God’s people have often been winnowed to remove the chaff by wars, disease, famine and exile. Always for forgetting the goodness of the Lord. We will need to start singing the Lord’s song in this strange land. Our brothers and sisters of color have shown us how. Now it’s past time for us to join in singing.
Teach me how to sing songs of joy in this strange land
Where cruelty, chaos, deception and lying all reign
Where those who claim Christ know nothing at all of Lord Jesus
They hide in the shadows to cloak their delusional brains
As in the days of Noah they were eating and drinking
Believing in lies instead of heeding the signs
Suddenly heaven opened and poured out a deluge
God purged the earth of evil that very first time
As in the days of Lot they were feasting and lusting
Abraham pled for mercy with his Lord
But no one believed in goodness or caring for others
Fire rained down as a sign of God’s Holy Word
Now we have chosen a criminal to lead our country
Who assembles a team to destroy the image of God
He may be Your choice to usher in the Judgment
But woe to all who choose to call evil good
Mercy! I cry out, Mercy!
So many people do not pay any attention to politics until VERY, VERY LATE in the election game, say around the 2 minute warning before the end of the game, maybe about a month before the actual election. If people think that staying away and not voting was a way to express displeasure with the Dems may have given up their opportunity to vote in the future. Dictators don’t hand over power after an election. It generally takes armed resistance to dislodge dictators, who can be murderous thugs. What was necessary to preserve the Union in the 1860’s? What was necessary to get rid of Hitler and the Nazis? I fear a horrible, horrible time is coming, and America voted for it.
Singing the same tune...with a slightly different twist...
https://open.substack.com/pub/jonathanbrownson/p/i-gotta-have?r=gdp9j&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
Thank you. I needed that sermon, as I too was in despair that my fellow Americans, including my "Christian" family, should sing the praises of this idol, not of Jesus, the Christ.
You seem to have forgotten that Trump was already President for 4 years. He did NONE of the things you seem to be so frightened of, and had an objectively successful Presidency - unlike the current disaster that is in the White House. The American people saw through the constant projection of what the Dems ACTUALLY are doing (weaponization of the DOJ, reshaping the military, etc.) Trump is not perfect, but Harris would've been a complete disaster for the US. If you can't see that, you're truly beyond help.