In a nutshell, the Confessing Church was a loose affiliation of Christians (and others) who worked against the Nazis during WWII. They kept a low profile, working against fascism underground while many churches and Christians kowtowed to Hitler’s regime. Many of them, including my hero Dietrich Bonhoeffer, were killed with 6 million Jews and millions of non-Jews. There were even plans, and possibly attempts, to kill Hitler, all of which failed. Six years ago, I asked this simple question during a gathering of clergy and lay leaders in our community: is it time for a new Confessing Church? The answer for most present, at the time, was no. Now, that answer is changing.
The pope, along with some Episcopal bishops and numerous other denominational leaders, are speaking out against many of the policies of this administration. None of them are advocating open borders; this idea, for anyone who thinks, is a ridiculous concept made up by MAGA as an accusation to rile up its base. None of them are advocating any of the accusations being made against them – that’s all political theater. What they – what we – what I – have been saying is that while we need to have safe borders, we also cannot treat immigrants like they aren’t human. The Christian and Jewish faiths both demand fair treatment of foreigners in your land. Nobody wants more crime, which immigrants commit at far less rates than native-born Americans. We see through the fake nationalism. We know what they are doing.
We – people of good conscience – must continue to advocate for what is right. To those people of faith who have bought into the hysteria and fear, please take a moment to talk to God. There is no way any good person can believe that God is on this administration’s side, or that God chose Trump for a higher good. He, like presidents before him, is a flawed person who was elected by the electoral college to serve a four-year term as president of these United States. He, like those before him, is not a messiah or prophet. Out your pictures of Trump walking with Jesus away and look at what is happening with an objective eye. Then join us – the Confessing Church called to speak truth to power. Called to stand with oppressed people against those who would dehumanize them. Called to do what’s right.
Prayer – Holy God, give us the courage to stand up for what is right. It is really hard to do, so we need Your Spirit. Amen.
Today’s art is a photo outside a church. Many churches in Germany had Nazi flags in their sanctuaries.