In the course of more than three decades as a crisis chaplain, I have encountered a lot of blasphemy. It didn’t usually upset me, as it was often coming from the lips of people in massive suffering. But now.
In the surging mass of violent people who breached our nation’s Capitol, some people carried bright yellow signs and flags reading “Jesus,” “Jesus saves,” and “What Would Jesus Do?” The words G-- d--- pale beside the blasphemy of those words – that name – in that context.
I tried to imagine the humble Man of Galilee leading the charge into the Capitol, perhaps Peter, James and John charging right behind Him. Peter, of course, would be swinging his sword. And we all know how that worked out last time (John 18:10, 11).
A lot of prominent religious leaders have supported this president all the way. When he bragged about grabbing p-----s, they said he was a godly man, just a little spiritually immature. The son of a widely respected evangelist revealed that his late father felt this was a man sent by God to rescue our nation. One of these godly men was called on to justify how he could support a president whose policies were so contrary Jesus’ commands. He replied that it had been some years since he had allowed the Bible to shape his political beliefs.
Many of these Christian leaders backed Trump because he would use his power to support them in restoring their vision of biblical standards to the country. In order to keep tapped into that political power, they had to repudiate the Bible as their moral standard. Sacrificing Jesus’ words in order to cultivate power – Jesus who said, “I am meek and lowly in heart,” (Matthew 11:29). And the terrifying irony never registered with them.
That yellow sign waved by violent people pillaging the heart of our nation asked a question. “What would Jesus do?” Let’s let the Man answer it.
What would Jesus do if an illegitimate government took power? He said to give them whatever they claimed was theirs. (Matthew 22:17-21).
What would Jesus do if a hostile government was persecuting Him? He said when His people were persecuted in one place, to move on to another place – and He set an example of doing just that. (Matthew 10:23; 4:12)
What would Jesus do if corrupt officials falsified vital testimony? He took the false accusations in a spirit of dignified meekness and didn’t open His mouth. (Matthew 27:12-14).
What would Jesus do if a corrupt government compelled His cooperation? He said to cooperate with them and then go the extra mile for them. (Matthew 5:41).
What would Jesus do if someone took away something that was rightfully His? He said to let it go and even give up more. (Luke 6:29).
What would Jesus do if evil people took power? He said, “Don’t resist them.” (Matthew 5:39).
Now for the big one.
What would Jesus do if His rightful place as King of His people was taken from Him?
“Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight…” (John 18:36).
So what about the Christians who stormed the Capitol? What about the Christian leaders who supported a vile man because of the power he afforded them?
What did Jesus do? The keynote of His gospel was one uncomfortable word – “Repent” (Matthew 4:17).
Christians don’t get a pass on this just because we thought it was a good idea to put political power ahead of Christ’s commands. We don’t get a pass because we thought putting an amoral man in the White House was a good way to advance the cause of Christian morality. We don’t get a pass from Jesus because we thought insurrection was a godly thing to do.
Jesus loves us too much to let us off the hook. He reprimands and disciplines us for our lapses. “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.” (Revelation 3:19).
Repent means “wake up, sober up, vomit out the fake Kool-Aid, and express our sorrow for the blasphemous damage with which we have defaced His Name.
So who among the Christians who stormed the Capitol or who applauded it is willing to repent?
Who among the Christian leaders and preachers who enabled this blasphemy is willing to repent?
We need to tap into Christlike meekness. We need to do it now, do it clearly, and do it publicly if we have any hope of undoing the damage we have done to the name we love.
Chaplain Julia C.S. Vernon, Grantsville, is a conservative Christian, a Republican and a retired medical chaplain with 32 year of professional experience including ER, veterans, hospital, and hospice care.
