Lord Jesus Christ, son of the Living God, have mercy upon me ... and upon my friends ... and those who slug it out in the trenches of faith and politics ... who know that every statement of faith is chock full of politics, for how we think about God, or try to live with and for God, is nothing but a riff on how we think about this earth, and our neighbor, and the children at the Border.
And that every political claim, made by a fool or a foe, or a friend and a fellow traveler, is a confession of faith, some kind of a "higher" purpose ... wherein gold is god, and power is truth ... or love demands a hearing. Where victory is kindness, and kindness is justice, and justice is the voice of God, noting the blood of the dead crying out from the very earth from which we are all construed.
Someone said to me in a post: let there be no politics in religion.
I thought: What a curious thing to say - and what a deeply political sentiment to express ... I think the writer was saying:
Leave me a lone in my tiny little briar patch of roses and lilies.
I have my thoughts, and that's good enough.
I have my faith, and it's all I want.
Don't trouble me with the Jerusalem way.
The way of Christ who takes upon himself the sins of the world.
The sins of the world, you say?
Well, if you're gonna talk sin, just be sure it's not political.
Keep it general, and I'll confess my sin morning, noon, and night.
I love to confess my sin.
As long as I don't have to specify in detail.
So, preacher, forget the politics.
Just preach faith.
My faith.
My little briar patch, with its roses and lilies.
Where I'm comfortable.
Even as I quietly bleed.
