A Quiet Voice in an Loud World

The Voice in the Cathedral

Now and then a gentle voice cuts through the cacophony of our conflicted culture. In contrast to the loudest shouts of blaring braggadocio or political pandering, a quiet voice is heard, not because of its incessant volume but because of its persistent truth. In this case, it was the voice of a small woman in a large place.

It was the voice of Episcopal Bishop Marianne Edgar Budde, who presides in the National Cathedral. It stands on the highest geographic point in the District of Columbia, looking out over the most powerful city in the world.

You need to hear her sermon in the context of the entire Service Of Prayer for the Nation. At the very least, you need to watch her sermon before paying attention to the MAGA voices that have aligned with fearsome force to attack both her and, in effect, the First Amendment promise of freedom of speech and religion.

The Plea Heard Round the World

The words that caught the world’s attention and fired up the opposition were not a demand, an attack, or an insult. The Bishop’s words were not politically rooted. They were a biblically rooted, compassionately spoken plea for the mercy a preacher of the gospel is called and ordained to announce and incarnate.

Mercy is not the world’s word. It’s not the politicians’ word. It is the Word of God that became flesh in Jesus. It’s the word of the One who called us to be merciful because, sure enough, only the merciful can receive the mercy we all need. (Matthew 5:7). Here is the mercy for which the Bishop pleaded.

Let me make one final plea, Mr President. Millions have put their trust in you. As you told the nation yesterday, you have felt the providential hand of a loving God. In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now. There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families who fear for their lives.

And the people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings; who labor in our poultry farms and meat-packing plants; who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shift in hospitals – they may not be citizens or have the proper documentation, but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. They pay taxes, and are good neighbors. They are faithful members of our churches, mosques and synagogues, gurdwara, and temples.

Have mercy, Mr President, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away. Help those who are fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome here. Our God teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger, for we were once strangers in this land.

May God grant us all the strength and courage to honor the dignity of every human being, speak the truth in love, and walk humbly with one another and our God, for the good of all the people of this nation and the world.

The (Tragically) Predictable Response

And so, the reaction came, just the way Jesus predicted it would.

“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”(Matthew 5:11-12)

The Sunday following the Inauguration, Diana Butler Bass preached on the (providentially?) assigned lectionary reading for that Sunday. It is Luke’s account of Jesus’ first sermon in Nazareth and the reaction to it. (Luke 4:16-30) Her sermon brought Jesus’ experience in Nazareth and the Bishop’s sermon in the Cathedral into the daily headlines and called us to follow Jesus more closely even in these days when nearly everything coming from Washington is a bold-faced contradiction of the message of the Bible and the values upon which our nation was built.

As the grand old hymn prays, “Grant us wisdom, grant us courage, for the living of these days.”

Grace, peace and hope,

Jim