Saturday, January 16, 2021

No Peace

It is “a date that will live in infamy.” Those words spoken by FDR were about the attack on Pearl Harbor by a foreign enemy on December 7, 1942. January 6, 2021 will live in infamy as the date the U.S. Capitol was besieged by a domestic enemy during a joint session of Congress. To make matters worse it was an attack incited, watched and cheered by a sitting president.  

People died. Many more could have died. Weapons, pipe bombs, and Molotov cocktails were found when the mob retreated. The crowd shouted for the Vice President to be hanged for not overturning the presidential election. The same fate awaited the Speaker of the House. A noose was erected on a gallows. A week later on January 13, President Trump was impeached for “incitement of insurrection.” That is another day that will live in infamy.

The consequences of his actions on that day will be with us for a long time. Any hope that Trump might fade from the spotlight after Inauguration Day seems unlikely. It is possible that the ex-president could stand trial in federal court. If this happens, his supporters would undoubtedly respond with more political violence. Violent action has already been planned for the days leading up to the Inauguration according to the FBI. I expect a sharp rise in domestic terrorism in 2021.

What word does a pastor speak into this chaos? My first instinct is to speak a word of peace. God knows we need peace at this time! But such a word seems disingenuous. In a tumultuous time in the history of ancient Judah, the biblical prophet Jeremiah spoke against preachers who prematurely spoke words of peace. He compared it to a person applying a superficial bandage to a deep wound.

He proclaimed: “They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace.” I agree with the prophet. This is not a time to comfort people with words of peace. The wound of the American people is too deep. This is a time for surgery. The cancer must be removed before healing can begin.

There is disease at the heart of America. It is rooted in racism and xenophobia. It is expressed as homophobia, misogyny, and Christian nationalism. It is articulated as anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. Its source is fear voiced as hate. 

Sadly this disease resides deep in American culture and religion, including the American church. A religion that should be expressing truth, love and forgiveness is fueling fear, lies, and hate. The only cure is heartfelt confession and repentance. Unfortunately I do not see much of it.

This is not a time to speak words of peace. Not yet. As the chant says, “No Justice, No peace.” During the American Civil War, poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow penned the following words, which were put to music and found in many hymnals today. “And in despair I bowed my head; "There is no peace on earth," I said; "For hate is strong, and mocks the song of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

I only hope that one day in the not too distant future we will be able to sing the final stanza of the hymn: “Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: "God is not dead, nor doth He sleep; The Wrong shall fail, The Right prevail, With peace on earth, good-will to men."

5 comments:

  1. Thanx, Marshall. You and Jeremiah got it right: No time for anodyne words.

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  2. Thank you. You gave words to how I'm feeling.

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  3. Amazing how you can interpret the events of that day from a leftist perspective. Pipe bombs, Molotov cocktails....it all smacks of Antifa. But we'll never get to the truth. The truth doesn't conform to the narrative of the mass media. The defeat of Trump is the death of an ideology on the Christian right, which viewed Trump as the "savior" of America and American nationalism, including American Christianity. This is the way all idolatry goes -- all idols are destroyed. Now it's the left's turn. All the lies, all the intimidation, all the "cancel culture," all the propaganda to bring the nation to this point...it too will be toppled because it too is idolatry.

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    1. Yes, on and on it goes until we can see the futility of having a left and a right, an us and a them. When we can stand together united, in spite of differing beliefs, then we'll be living in America once again.

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  4. Thank you, Marshall. "The cancer must be removed before healing can begin." The truth is more reassuring to me than a wish for peace. Let's hope the surgery is successful.

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