I don’t mean to sound cynical, but I suppose I am. Regardless, the last five years have presented nothing new, not in the history of Christianity nor in American history. “Holiness” is not a fixed object with definite dimensions and characteristics. It’s not a stone. It’s an idea and, as such, as much in the eye of the beholder as beauty, and as much subject to definition. Its employment has always been a matter of how it benefits the employer.The last five years gave a certain segment of the church the permission to strip away even the pretense that holiness matters. They’re fighting their “righteous” cause, and increasingly anything goes. https://t.co/6VDdj0u57Z
— David French (@DavidAFrench) November 14, 2021
Nothing, in other words, has changed. We are not living in interesting times, or unusual times, or in (at all!) unprecedented times. This is as normal as it ever is. All that ever changes is who’s in the barrel. Most of the time it’s not people like “us.” And most of the time it’s people using the structures, the institutions of society, for just this purpose. Their own purpose. And it’s all too easy to call it “justice” or “holiness” or what-have-you. The problem is the same as it ever is: none of us are talking about the same thing. Almost all of us are talking about what’s best for ourselves. That’s not what justice or holiness is. But that seldom matters.
It’s not at all surprising this is at John Hagee’s church. The only surprise is that Hagee is still around. “Righteousness”? Righteousness is always the last dismissal of Christian humility. When it’s about an attribute of God it is right and good. When it is an attribute of us, it is the last refuge of the scoundrel.
Mr. French and Mr. Hagee have never agreed on what “holiness” is. That hasn’t changed in the last five years.
I was on the NYT site (I only have a subscription to the crossword puzzle, so no link) and saw the following item headline. "Faith groups are pushing to remove a nondiscrimination provision in President Biden's childcare plan" This pretty much sums up the current condition of much religion in America. 60 years ago churches were starting schools in reaction to Brown v. Board of Education. So it's the past condition too, nothing really has changed.
ReplyDeleteYesterday I sat in a church for an actual service, only the second time since January of 2020. Social distancing, masks, no singing (although a bell choir anthem and organ prelude and postlude). The spareness of the service matched the spare white walls, plain pews, clear glass windows and minimalist alter of the old Congregational church. My heart ached for the traditional Lutheran service with singing and music for almost every part of the ritual. Communion, the chanting of the psalm between cantor and congregation, the old German stenciling on the sanctuary wall. But this is the new reality. The minister (when I meet her I am sure I will call her pastor, some old habits die hard) gave a good sermon on Psalm 16. "Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge" was the centerpiece of the sermon. There was no promise of relief from our struggles but there is refuge and this is enough. I kept being drawn to the later part of the psalm, "You alone are my portion and my cup". A good reminder. This is the new reality, and it was enough. Stripped down to the barest form, what mattered stood out. The prayers for those in need, the gathering as a community of faith, our sharing. It was enough in every way. It was my daily bread yesterday, it is today, so it will be tomorrow if I can just trust in God.
I need to surrender to the new reality that life has changed. And also surrender to the old reality that the world has not changed and I am still called to do justice. I don't recognize my faith in a church that lobbies to discriminate, but I am guessing they wouldn't recognize me as Christian for objecting to their discrimination. So be it.