What Price To Pay for Power – A Brief Reflection

I believe that, in light of the current religious and political landscape in the US, it is time for me to revisit an old friend and mentor of mine whose writings I was first introduced to in seminary in 1984. In class we had the opportunity to read Howard Thurman’s writings and listen to cassette tapes of his talks. This African American theologian and mystic has had a profound influence on my own ministry.

Many and varied are the interpretation dealing with the teachings and the life of Jesus of Nazareth. But few of these interpretations deal with what the teachings and the life of Jesus have to say to those who stand, at a moment in human history, with their backs against the wall. To those who need profound succor and strength to enable them to live in the present with dignity and creativity, Christianity often has been sterile and of little avail. The conventional Christian word is muffled, confused, and vague. Too often the price exacted by society for security and respectability is that the Christian movement in its formal expression must be on the side of the strong against the weak. This is a matter of tremendous significance, for it reveals to what extent a religion that was born of a people acquainted with persecution and suffering has become the cornerstone of a civilization and of nations whose very position in modern life has too often been secured by a ruthless use of power applied to weak and defenseless peoples. — Howard Thurman (Jesus and the Disinherited, p. 11-12)

As I watch the continued unfolding of christian nationalism, especially in light of the results of the 2024 Presidential election, I am at once horrified, angered, and deeply saddened. Notice that I didn’t say that I was surprised. I have seen this rise coming and even experienced it during my time in the military as a Chaplain. The idolatrous images of guns, flags, the cross, and the Bible being wrapped into a horrid package have been around for a long time. Watching christian nationalism being normalized in the media and in some parts of the “church” has not been easy.

The older (and hopefully wiser… 😉) I get, the more I have experienced my faith development as a deeper study and embodiment of the message of Jesus and the prophets and a broadening of my understanding of who Jesus is calling me to be. As long-time readers of my blog know, I call myself a Christ-follower to differentiate from the lower case “c” christians who have hijacked Jesus and wrapped him in the American flag and given him a golden assault rifle to carry. I am not alone. I have been hearing from and reading blogs of pastors who are struggling with their calling and specifically the churches they serve. They feel isolated and are afraid when they face those within the church who are hostile.

I’ve had those experiences myself and know how challenging they were for me. I was condemned by a young airman in a deployed location because I was teaching an Introduction to Islam course at the chapel. Besides confronting him with the fact that he was disrespecting a senior officer, I told him that I supported the commander’s thinking that we should learn about our host country and the majority religion of that country. After retiring from the chaplaincy and going back to the church, I’ve been condemned as a pastor (and they tried to shame me as a retired military chaplain) for seeking to remove the flag from the sanctuary or preaching the Gospel message that they find offensive. They didn’t stop me. While it isn’t easy these experiences make me thankful for the support and encouragement that I have also experienced in the midst of the fight from parishioners and friends.

I am well aware of my privilege as a cis-gender, white male minister who is retired from the military and the church. At the same time I am aware of those who are condemned or made to feel like second-class citizens by the church and society and my heart is breaking as they suffer. Where do I go from here? To be honest, I don’t know.

I am prayerfully trying to discern where God is calling me to continue ministry. I firmly believe that Jesus is walking with me as I stumble along on his path. I am also seeking opportunities to listen to and support those who are being oppressed and are under attack. In that journey, I will also continue to pray with another of my spiritual mentors, Thomas Merton. Like Thurman, Merton was an activist and a mentor to many in the peace movement. He wrote from the solitude of the monastery and later his hermitage on the grounds of the monastery. Thurman’s writings encouraged leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Congressman John Lewis, and so many others in the civil rights movement. Merton’s writings and retreats encouraged peace and anti-war activists like Fr. Daniel Berrigan and Dorothy Day to keep up the good fight against the forces of war and oppression. And so, I will leave you with Merton’s prayer.

My Lord God,
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think I am following your will
does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you
does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.

And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road,

though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always though
I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.

I will not fear, for you are ever with me,
and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

Source: Thoughts in Solitude, p. 79

Dear reader, will you pray with me and walk with me as I seek to be, in the words of St. Teresa of Avila, the hands and feet of Christ in this broken and hurting world?