Scripture
Matthew 20: 25 – 28
“Jesus called them together and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many’”
Luke 4: 18 – 21
‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’
And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, ‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’
Reflection
We have to be honest with ourselves, regarding what is happening in the world, especially around the place and role of religion in the world. As I have really thought about what I have seen from religious communities, and supposed people of faith, posted on social media, I have wondered how any of these posts can be a reflection of following Jesus? I have wondered what does it all mean? In the midst of all of these experiences and questions I have come to understand the idea of Christian Nationalism. What is Christian Nationalism and how does it reflect being a Christian.
What is Christian Nationalism? It is an ideology that usually has three common elements. First it is an understanding that one’s country was explicitly founding on Christianity and should remain that way. Second, it is the belief that the country should be governed by a set of selected “Christian” values (which according to Allyson Carr, from the Presbyterian Church in Canada, conspicuously lacks grounding in centrally important scriptures such as calls to love one’s neighbour and demonstrating the fruits of the spirit). Third is the understanding that anything the diverges from the narrow understanding of these, so called,“Christian” values is inherently evil. When one ascribes to this understanding of their world, and their nation, they see that their nation has a special role to play in God’s plan for the world, and if you are against anything that the nation does, then it equates to you being against God and God’s work in the world. Christian Nationalism conflates both the political and the spiritual so that anything that a country does is seen as working towards God’s divine plan for the world. One of the protesters at the Rolling Thunder protest in Ottawa in 2022 stated the following, “We want this government removed by God and righteous government put in place. The people in charge of this government are accountable to God.” For Christian Nationalists, the government is not accountable to the general population, rather it as accountable to those who believe the same way they do and to God alone. This goes against what democracy is all about. In many ways we see this playing out in countries around the world and there are shadows of it here in our own country.
Let’s be honest with our own scriptures. There were many in Jesus’ day who thought that Jesus had come to physically overthrow the Roman occupiers. They understood the need for Jesus to be political, but in a way that was actually just a mirror to the Roman empire, with the Temple at the centre of both the religious power and civic power. Yet, that was not what Jesus was interested in doing at all, he was not interested in replacing the Roman occupation with another structure that was considered righteous, Jesus was not interested in political power for power’s sake. The scriptures that were chosen speak to the world that Jesus spoke about and challenged the people to build. It was a world that was not based around some embedded and conflated religious and national identity. Did Jesus speak truth to those who held power? Of course! But in his speaking to power Jesus was not interested in gaining it for himself. What he did do, was to challenge power to look at the world around them and in particular the least among them. I believe that the alignment of religion and power has never been a good thing, since Christianity became the religion of empire with the conversion of Constantine.
Yet it seems as if many religious communities are doing just that these days, seeking power for powers sake. In some ways it might explain how so many “Christians” can support government policies, candidates, and already elected officials, who seem to do anything but follow the teachings of Christ. It appears as if the only thing that matters is proximity to power and lifting up those who believe that same things that they believe, whether it is based on the life of Christ or not. It is a challenge being a follower these days because the term Christian has become equated with those who, rather than being followers are in essence Christian Nationalists, who seek the power that Christ challenged. So I have wondered what are we to do, as Christians? I believe that that answer once again lies in looking to Jesus. We too must be willing to speak truth to power. We must also be willing to challenge Christian Nationalism as Christ challenged the powers of the day, speaking about those who are marginalized, those who have been oppressed, the poor, the newcomers, and challenge political power to care for the least among us. It is doing this that we truly follow Christ. It is challenging power and the status quo that we can truly bring about a new kingdom of God’s making, a world where power is not hoarded by the privileged few but all have access to what they need. Let us all work towards that world.
Prayer
God of humbleness and mercy, give us strength during these times, when it seems as if Christian Nationalism is gaining more power and those who truly follow Jesus are being persecuted. Give us the courage to truly follow Jesus and not to be blinded by power, ambition, and privilege. Help us to see Jesus clearly and to follow his example as we reach out to, and care for the least among us. Give us the wisdom to know that you call us, not to power, but to care, compassion, mercy, and love, and help us to live these each day. We ask this in the name of one who came to be our guide, your son, Jesus. Amen.
Rev. Patrick Woodbeck
Minister
Grey Street United/ Bird’s Hill United/ The Big Red Church (Gordon-King Memorial United)