Dear Mr. President – December 2019
Dear Mr. President,
But, enough about you.
This past week I was at a clergy meeting. We meet once
a month and talk about churchy things. At this meeting we had a new pastor join
us. She has taken a position in a local church. She went around the room, shook
each of our hands and asked where we served. When she got to me, I told her my
name and said, “I’m not serving at this time.”
Serve. That’s what we
call it, we clergy folk. We “serve” congregations. We listen to the needs of
our people and we care for them. We bring them Good News from the pulpit. We
serve them communion and remind them of God’s goodness, mercy, and grace. We
pray for them. We show up at their bedside when they are in the hospital. We
baptize babies. We bury the dead. Our time is often not our own. We serve our
people 24/7.
It’s interesting that people who run for political
office also call it “serving.” Public service. I have heard people say,
“I serve at the pleasure of the President.” But you, sir, are the highest
elected official who serves us: the citizens of the United States of
America. You weren’t elected to take our taxes for your weekly golf trips. You
weren’t elected to use the office to enrich your family and your private
businesses. You weren’t elected to surround yourself with a gang of mobsters, many
of whom are now in prison. As a public servant you were elected to
discover the needs of the people and enact policies to protect and promote the
rights of all individuals. You have failed.
Servant: a person who performs
duties for others, especially a person employed in a house for domestic duties
or as a personal attendant. A person employed in the service of a
government. A devoted and helpful follower or supporter. A tireless
servant of God.
(Isn’t that interesting? Clergy and
politicians are both covered in this definition. So is every single soul who
looks out for those in need.)
It’s almost Christmas.
As a Christian, Christmas is what I celebrate. I also honor and respect the
celebrations of other religions during the holiday season. There is enough room
for all of us. There is enough room for all celebrations.
But for me, when I am
led by God to serve a congregation, Christmas is a time to celebrate now, and also
what is to come. Have you heard of Mary? Yes, THAT Mary. The mother of Jesus (I
know you aren’t a church-going man. I’ll try to keep this simple)
Mary was a young girl,
very young. Probably a little younger than Greta Thunberg.
Mary was stopped one day by an angel. She was told
that even though she wasn’t married, she was going to have a baby. Yep, she and
God were going to have a baby. The Savior of the World baby. Being unmarried
and pregnant should have gotten her stoned to death outside the city gates. That’s what
happened to women.
Mary heard this angel news and set off to visit her
cousin Elizabeth. Elizabeth, also pregnant (and quite aged) gave Mary all the
affirmation she needed. Mary’s baby was going to be someone special.
Mary said:
“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in
God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.”
A couple verses later she says, “…the Mighty One has
done great things for me, and holy is his name…He has shown strength with his
arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought
down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled
the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty…”
The thing about this remarkable Magnificat, is the
tense. It is said in the past tense. As if it had already been accomplished. Not,
“he will do,” but, “he has done.” The proud have already been scattered. The
powerful have lost their thrones. The lowly have been uplifted. The hungry have
been filled with good things. And the rich have been sent away.
Little, unwed, pregnant Mary understood that the baby
she would bear was the promised one. The one who would turn everything upside
down and change the power structure of the world. He would also be a humble
servant to all.
Perhaps Mary knew, as a lowly servant, that the
things that buffer the rich and powerful must be removed so that the rich and
powerful can finally see what life is really all about.
Servanthood. Uplifting
the ones in need, feeding those who hunger, seeking those who are lost or least
or different.
People like you Mr. President, have thrown us into the
present tense and our future looks grim. You don’t give, you take.
You are being
impeached. You deserve impeachment, removal from office, and imprisonment. You
are a thief, a crook, and a dirty dealer. You have committed crimes against
humanity, and innocent people have died in Syria and within our borders because
of your reckless and sociopathic actions. You are trying to bully and bribe
your way into stealing another election. Your followers have disconnected their
brains and sensibilities and spend their time screaming and shouting as if the
rest of us were deaf. We’re not. Your anger and hatred have spread like a
deadly disease. You are the disease.
A majority of us are working as hard as we can to fix
your cruelty. You won’t be removed from office because you have that rigged
too. More bribes (or threats) to the Senators of your party. But we will vote
you out. We will work through these dark days bringing light and hope and the
past tense of all good things to those around us. Because we are servants.
We put others before ourselves. We don’t judge people by skin color, religion, education,
possessions, income or employment.
We see the God-ness in others.
Where is the God-ness in you, Mr. President? Where is
your public servanthood?
We want to know.
Pastor Barb
