Jesus, Put in a Cage & Denied a Flu Shot
It’s been one hell of a week in December. This Second Week of Advent has played host to a host of head-scratching headlines with the actions and reactions of Christians taking center stage. Being a fan of Aaron Sorkin’s work on The West Wing, the storyline outlined below seems to be made up, but I kid you not, this stuff really happened.
Getting things started, a United Methodist congregation and this pastor in California set off an internet storm when their display of the Nativity scene depicted the Holy Family in separate enclosures (you could also read this as separate cages). No, the firestorm was not because the congregation placed sweet baby Jesus in the manger before Christmas, bypassing Advent alright, but instead, the uproar was because (for some) depicting the Holy Family separated and caged was an unfair critique of the current United States policy to separate immigrant families at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Rev. Karen Clark Ristine invited folks to come into Claremont United Methodist Church where they would see “this same family reunited, the Holy Family together.”
Christians across the theological spectrum chimed in on the image which has been shared across every major news outlet and social media platform. The congregation and pastor have been praised for their witness and at the same time received threats of violence from those (Christians?) opposing the display.
Jump ahead (not even 24-hours) and a group of doctors and nurses extended an offer to the U.S. government that many taxpayer could not refuse: free, no cost to the taxpayer flu shots for those being detained (caged) at the U.S.-Mexico border.
I receive a free flu shot each year at the suggestion of my doctor and since it is free I don’t complain and accept the opportunity to avoid illness happily. Now as the father of two young children who spend the better part of the day in a petri dish I am grateful for the opportunity to receive this basic medical procedure on a routine basis. Better yet, my free flu shot comes with a $5.00 gift card to Target - win win!
According to C.B.P. people are held less than 72 hours in these holding facilities meanwhile the C.D.C. remains concerned about the spreading of the flu in these facilities.
A self-described “religious person” and champion of the Christian faith, President Trump could reverse the decision of the agencies he overseas however according to the New York Times, “Under the Trump administration’s new, more restrictive policies, thousands are being sent back to Mexico, where many wait in teeming, unhealthy border camps.”
Like I told you, this seems more like a Sorkin storyline than real-life but friends, these are the times we find ourselves living in.
Official White House Photo by Tia Dufour
Jump ahead to Tuesday afternoon - Christian pastors and worship leaders in the oval office. On first glance this image appears to show a more diverse group of clergy/leaders than any United Methodist clergy gathering I have attended, the timing of this gathering could not be more important.
Just hours before this meeting basic healthcare we denied to those in the custody of the United States government. Hours before this group of pastors and worship leaders reach to touch the hem of Trump’s garments the vulnerable and the poor were denied care by an administration committed to (in the past) care for Christian refugees.
If those being held (like animals) in cages at the U.S.-Mexico Border knew a group of Christian leaders would be meeting with the President of the United States, it would have been a safe assumption on their part to assume the Christians would appeal to the President to come to their aid.
Instead, here is what came out of the meeting:
"When America is strong, the world is a better place. What a great opportunity it's been to see some of the initiatives that are happening to help freedom of religion." @BrianCHouston pic.twitter.com/NAzBDsFF9t
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) December 9, 2019
And…
.@karijobe and @codycarnes shared about their visit to the White House with fellow worship leaders! pic.twitter.com/wTQE6EEvVr
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) December 9, 2019
Thank you @realDonaldTrump for an epic time in the Oval Office the other day! Incredible moment getting to pray for you! 🙌🏼🇺🇸🙏🏽🔥 pic.twitter.com/u5zrj4T8jP
— Sean Feucht (@seanfeucht) December 10, 2019
If you have kept up with me thus far, congratulations, I promise you, this is not a political hit-piece against the Donald. Rather, this post is a critique of the Church during the holiest and most observed and at the same time overlooked seasons of the year.
The Church is all over the place during Advent 2019.
Dr. Stanley Hauerwas has written, “Christians look different from other people’s lives.” But come on, looking different doesn’t mean we need to be all over the freaking map. Jesus was pretty clear about caring for the poor, immigrant, and the marginalized and at the same time clear about holiness. Paul’s words to the early church speak of unity, not division.
It should come as no surprise to you to find I am spending Advent with Rev. Fleming Rutledge. In her book, Advent: The Once & Future Coming of Christ, Fleming writes of the location Christians find themselves in during the season Advent, and that location is pointing towards Christ’s reign and nothing else.
“It is about the second coming, ‘in glory, to judge the quick and the dead.’ It is about the final breaking in of God upon our darkness. It is about the promise that against all the evidence, there is a God who cares. Where is God? Until he comes again, he is hidden among us, ‘the wounded surgeon,’ the bleeding Victim, the One who hung on the tree, accursed for our sake.“ - Fleming Rutledge, Advent: The Once & Future Coming of Christ
Christians, please read this, we are sending mixed messages. I am no PR-professional but I can tell you in the three national stories I have highlighted that we have missed the reign of Christ. We have missed God's ultimate acts of salvation in the incarnation and in the empty tomb. None of the national news stories, during the time where we are supposed to be fixed on nothing but Christ, have pointed to the mercy and sacrifice of Christ.
During this season of Advent, we are missing the reign of Christ. The reign we supposedly proclaimed just a few weeks ago on Christ the King Sunday.
So where do we go from here?
All I can think to do is to reclaim the vocation, established back before the birth of Christ, of John the Baptist.
Prepare ye the way of the Lord!
Advent is the time when God makes us look a little different.
The time called Advent forces to act a little different.
We, with everything we do point, to the redemption extended to creation by Christ and away from the seductive bright lights of the empire because through God’s Church (not ours), particularly the practice of Advent, is making us a little different.
Instead of being a season of choosing whether or not to leave the bright lights of the commercial Christmas behind, Advent is a time when we acknowledge that because of God’s mighty acts of salvation in Christ we are indeed different. For God’s church, there is no getting around it - whether you like it or not you are different.
Fleming wrote, “To be the witness, to point away from himself to Jesus Christ—this is the destiny of John, and in these things, he is a model for every Christian preacher.” I would venture to say Fleming would take that line a step further and say it is John the Baptist is the model for all Christians, not just those foolish enough to step into the pulpit week after week.
In all we do, in all we post and tweet, in all we pray, may we, Christ’s body the Church, point away from ourselves and to Jesus Christ. When we point towards the One who has promised to “come again to judge the quick and the dead” and away from our own self-righteousness we are living into the differentness God has created the Church to be.
Fleming gets the last word, “Let the news go forth: God is on the move. He is creating a new humanity. You and I belong to it. Let us honor the Master by holding our piece of territory, and by remembering the needs of “the least of these his brethren” (Matt. 25:40). ‘Rejoice, rejoice, believers, and let your lights appear!’”