I am not a person who follows every detail of politics. I don’t always know all the issues or all the players, but I do my best to keep up. I would probably have been quite oblivious if I was not watching and disturbed by the events of the US election and its subsequent ramifications in the past months. Particularly startling was what happened on January 06 in Washington. The unnecessary and evil invasion upon the US capitol, the heart of their government, was ominous. The cause of the violence is even more bothersome. The chilling power of a leader inciting people to choose lethal force and vicious aggression to solve a political dispute over the fairness of an election was so dire, it left many reeling.
In the weeks following, the impeachment of Donald Trump and
subsequent trial of his alleged insurrection in the Senate filled our news
feeds. Over the weekend, I read President Joe Biden’s reflections on the
outcome, and his words struck a chord with me.
“This sad chapter in our history has
reminded us that democracy is fragile. While the vote did not lead to a
conviction, the substance of the charge is not in dispute.” He praised the courage of those who made efforts to protect
the integrity of the US democracy. “Democracy
must always be defended. We must be ever vigilant. Violence and extremism have
no place in America. And each of us has a duty and responsibility as Americans,
and especially as leaders, to defend the truth and to defeat the lies.”
Democracy, a system of government meant to protect equality
and social values of truth and integrity where power is vested in the people is
fragile. It is imperfect. It is fashioned and shaped by those who use it –
whether for its intended purpose or the opposite. For democracy to prevail, it
must always be defended. Each member has a responsibility to ‘defend the truth
and defeat the lies.’ Is there a lesson for the church here?
The Christian church is a body of people who base their
creed and, subsequently, their life and values on the teaching of the Christian
Bible. Though denominations differ in
Biblical interpretation and liturgical traditions, what unites us (I hope) is
our belief in a Creator God whose nature is love, mercy, and justice for all. It is the character of God that forms the
truth of Christian faith and practice. There is no evil with God. There is no
hypocrisy with God. There is no power abuse with God. With God, there is
equality and grace for all humankind. The manifestation of this was given in
the incarnation of Jesus. His life, teaching, and sacrificial death and
resurrection illuminate how we are to live. In the gospel narratives of Matthew, Mark,
Luke & John, Jesus instructs and models for us what harmony with our
Creator and with each other looks like.
This week, I am reminded that, like democracy, the church is
fragile. It is imperfect because it is shaped by all who own it, including
those who do not always live out its purest form and intended purpose. The
recent posthumous sex scandal of Ravi Zacharius is a grievous example. When
this happens, the church is profoundly fractured and flawed. It is acutely disappointing,
especially if the substance of the charge is undisputed. This does not represent God’s nature or
intention and we cannot hide such failure. We must
lament and feel genuine remorse for the victims affected.
As we face such shortcomings, individually or corporately,
we can however resolve to preserve what the church was meant to be. We can
remain unshaken in our faith that God created the church to be an image and
demonstration of His love, compassion and goodness. The life and teaching of
Jesus is not just a creed for a particular people group to recite or memorize. When followed, it brings transformation! Despite our failures, there is countless
evidence of this. The church must remain vigilant. As Christians, and
especially as leaders, we must never abuse our positions. Our ‘authority’ is
given for the good of others. As members
of the church, when our daily choices and influence resemble Christ, we will defend
truth and defeat lies. This does not happen automatically. It means we ‘make
every effort’ to protect Christian integrity. We own our sacred responsibilities.
Remember, we cannot control the actions of others AND we are always accountable
for our own.
In the Bible, our faith and commitment to Christ is
described as “a treasure in jars of clay” (2 Corinthians 4). The treasure is
truth. The jar is us. We are fragile and
often marred, but the truth is a pearl, an unsoiled gem of eternal value worth
protecting. The way we guard this treasure is to keep returning to its original
design. Jesus told Peter that the way
the church would prevail in its truest form, is when it is built on the cornerstone
of His life. Read the Passion
Translation of these verses and hear Jesus speaking: “This truth of who I am will
be the bedrock foundation on which I will build my church—my legislative
assembly,[i] and the power of
death[j] will not be able to overpower it!” (Matthew 16:18)
I guess political
analogies are okay after all. 😊
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