Today, the Capitol Building of the United States, a symbol of democracy and freedom all over the world, has been stormed. Congress has been evacuated. Prevented from performing its constitutional duty of counting the votes of the electoral college and affirming the will of the people as expressed in a fair and open election. God only knows what happens next. Who among us, just a few short years ago, would ever have imagined that such a thing could happen?
As I preached on the Sunday after Christmas, followers of Jesus should not place their hope in the politics of the world. They should stand for Kingdom values and live with Jesus, and no one else, as their king. What is happening now has been helped along by many who have rejected such a stance. Too many professing followers of Jesus have placed their hope in an imperial savior who cannot save, who has fed their grievances and stoked the fires of hate and fear. What we are seeing now is the fruit of such complicity.
Whatever side of the political divide you have been on to this point, I call upon all who claim the label Christian to put the politics of the world behind them in this moment and embrace the politics of Jesus by condemning those who would, by force or otherwise, attempt a takeover of a legitimately elected government. This is not the way of Jesus. It is the way of imperial madness. It is the way that always leads to destruction and darkness.
While as Christians we are not to entangle ourselves in the politics of the empire, we are to seek the welfare of the society in which we live. To that end, I call upon each of us to work to restore peace to this troubled republic. And I ask you to pray. Pray for the safety of Capitol police and members of Congress. Pray for peace. Pray for sanity. Pray for an end to the madness, hate, and fear that has for too long gripped this nation and led to this dark day. And yes, pray as well for those who would destroy the very fabric of our society – that they will come to their senses before harm comes to anyone, them included. Pray also for the Church across this nation, much of which has, tragically, accepted a devil’s bargain and sought power, power that has led to violence, the weakening of the Church’s witness, and untold trouble in the days to come. Pray that she, that is we, will come together in a spirit of repentance and follow the way of the Lamb.
Pray that somehow, in all of this, people everywhere will wake up and discover that the hope of this world is not found in the politics of empire, but in the politics of the Prince of Peace.
Under Christ’s Mercy,
Brent