‘Drop your sword’ – Matthew 26:52
I remember the first time I saw it. Driving down the street of my hometown, I noticed the sign on a former neighbor’s front lawn. Emblazoned in red and white were the words, ‘Trump 2020.’ Eye roll. Above this were the words that caused me to do more than an eye roll:
‘God, Guns, and Country.’
I nearly puked.
For starters, I find it almost impossible to believe that people dare to juxtapose the names ‘Trump’ and ‘God’ in a manner that suggests they are on the same team. Paula White, the prosperity Gospel heretic who serves as the President’s spiritual advisor, has gone so far as to suggest that ‘saying no to Trump is like saying no to God.’ And she’s not alone. So many Church leaders and politicians have said pretty much the same thing: Trump is ‘God’s anointed;’ ‘the Lord ordained this Presidency; those who oppose him are ‘demonic.’ Yes, somehow, even professing Christians have concluded that a racist, misogynist, white nationalist, fear-mongering bully is God’s man. Not, mind you, in the Nebuchadnezzarian sense of God sending a wicked king to teach us a lesson and turn us from sin. Trump is God’s man because he is carrying out God’s moral agenda for America.
As a follower of Jesus, this flummoxes me. I wonder what sort of god such people follow. Trump’s values fly in the face, not just of the Christian faith (which is undoubtedly the professed faith of most who will buy one of those signs), but of all major religions of the world. No right-thinking Jew, Muslim, Buddhist, or Hindu could possible look at the policies and manners of Donald Trump and say, ‘Yup. That’s what God is like!’
In the words of Bart Simpson, ‘Aye caramba!’
But beyond that, there is the juxtaposition ‘God and Guns.’ That’s another one that flummoxes me. Shane Claibourne, citing the fact that 41% of American Evangelicals own guns, echoes my surprise with the exclamation: ‘the followers of Jesus are packing heat!’ In my own experience, it seems that Christians are most often the most likely to at least figuratively stand alongside Charlton Heston and dare the government to pry their guns from their ‘cold dead hands.’ Christians are often the most likely to defend their ‘God given right’ to bear firearms.
Which is strange given what Jesus said on the subject.
The scene was the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus wrestled with the cup he was about to drink under the light of the Paschal moon. His enemies came for him. Judas. Temple Guards. 200 Roman soldiers. All carrying torches to arrest the Light of the World. Armed to the teeth to arrest the Prince of Peace.
Jesus was ready for them all, and ready to teach his disciples a crucial, if often neglected, lesson.
Peter decided not to let Jesus go down without a fight. After all, if there was ever a moment when the use of force would be justifiable, this was it. He pulled his sword from his sheath and swung wildly. His poorly aimed blow glanced off the head of, not a soldier, but Malchus, the High Priest’s servant (you know, collateral damage). It did nothing more than chop away the small lobe of the servant’s ear. But soon the disciples were scuffling with the guards and soldiers, as together they teetered on the brink of calamitous violence.
That’s when Jesus spoke up.
‘Enough of this! Drop your sword! Those who use the sword will die by the sword.’
Seems clear to me. But just in case you think Jesus didn’t mean it, you should go back and read the rest of the Gospel story, in which Jesus allowed his enemies to have their way with him, never striking back, never taking up the sword, but instead following the way of Calvary Love.
At the end of the story, the wisdom of Jesus’ way would be vindicated. Those who use the sword will die by the sword. Violence begets violence. But those who follow the way of Calvary Love will find life. For Calvary Love begets Resurrection.
There’s a lot to think about in that. But getting back to what this post is about, I’m pretty sure that when Jesus said to drop our swords, he didn’t mean to pick up guns instead.
Mind you, followers of Jesus do possess weapons. It’s not like Jesus sends us into the world defenseless. He gives us the most powerful weapons of all: prayer and unlimited love.
Not guns.
Sorry Trump followers. The juxtaposition ‘God and Guns’ is antithetical to Christianity. Maybe not to the violent, nationalistic Christianity you have been taught to believe. But certainly, to the Biblical Christianity found in the pages of the New Testament. Followers of Jesus do not carry swords. And they do not carry guns.
And if you don’t understand that, well, you just don’t understand the Biblical Jesus.
Oh, and by the way, the ‘God and country’ thing isn’t right either. But that’s for another time.
Under Christ’s Mercy,
Brent