Hello Darkness My Old Friend...
The Simon and Garfunkel folk rock song is, according to Paul Simon, about people’s inability to emotionally communicate with each other. If that isn’t apt for the era we now inhabit, I don’t know what is.
There is a darkness of another kind that’s also now undeniably present. A darkness that covers a multitude of sins. I am intentionally contrasting this to the 1 Peter 4 passage that says, “above all things, love one another. Because love covers a multitude of sins.”
This darkness casts a shadow over the convictions of millions of people; not just in America, mind you, to the obvious and outrageous lust, greed, murder, dishonesty, and slander that so-called leaders exhibit.
I am specifically referring to second election of Donald Trump, but I am also generally referring to the context and culture that has given rise to Trump and the countless people who now aspire to his likeness.
Instead of lamenting the shocking mistreatment of “the least of these,” this darkness celebrates the mockery and abuse meted out in the name of power. We willfully choose this in our politicians (and our pastors). And make no mistake this is the will of a majority of the people.
As much as this is an indictment of those wolves amongst the sheep, it’s more of an indictment of the sheep who’ve welcomed the wolves in so long as they’re eating someone else — not realizing or not caring they’ve devoured themselves in the process.
It reveals, to call on John 10, that we don’t know the Father’s voice.
What’s clear is that for those of us who choose the path of light—of loving one another—there is no other way but into the darkness. We will not be the majority, we will not be influential, we’re not even likely to be heard.
Those things, however, have never been the call of Jesus. Instead the embodied reality of Jesus was that of giving power away; of rejecting Satan’s temptation in the desert to rule the kingdoms of the earth; of telling Peter to put his sword away.
To quote the last line of Jon Guera’s brilliant song, “Citizens”
Love has a million disguises
But winning is simply not one
To put it another way, the religion of empire will not become more pure or right or trustworthy with new emperor — and certainly not the Bright Orange One.
Framing the years ahead in this way does not make it easier or less overwhelming. It’s disorienting in a way that truly fails words to see a convicted criminal, and admitted sexual predator, and blatant conspiracy theorist hailed as God’s deliverance and worshiped as demi-god himself in American churches.
It’s maddening to hear the rationalizing and, frankly, self-loathing of people who know better succumb to the whataboutism that creates the permission structures to endorse evil in the name of righteousness.
It’s genuinely sad to watch others self-censor in fear that speaking out against this cult will cost them their jobs or safety.
So please don’t read this as an attempt to minimize our currently reality. It is, though, an explicit attempt to contextualize and prioritize.
The faithful response of a person seeking to follow Jesus in America is not to elect Democrats or different or better Republicans. The faithful response is to step into the void and love your neighbor. Its to use your personal privilege, wealth and access on behalf of people who cannot.
It’s to seek the peace and welfare of the places in which you live; which might mean political activism, but not under any other banner than that of Jesus — which I can assure you does not and will not fit neatly into the partisan political categories contemporary America.
If you truly desire to be a follower of Jesus in America strive with me to be a light in the darkness.