It has been said that our theology is often best expressed in our hymnody. I woke up on January 21st thinking about hope. A hope that is sustainable, resilient and disciplined. The refrain to one of my longtime favorite hymns came to mind and lifted my spirit: “On Christ the solid rock I stand; all other ground is sinking sand; all other ground is sinking sand.”
My hope is indeed built on the blood, righteousness, and witness of Jesus. Yes, along with me, I invite the collective We, to wholly lean on the name of Jesus Christ. Jesus, the one who was and is the way-maker, healer, teacher, liberator and prince of peace, “God with us.”
Jesus, the one who rebukes retaliation and calls for a radical commitment to a love that extends to neighbors and “enemies.” This same Jesus that calls for an expansive understanding of neighbor and a generous grace that compels me to pray more and worry less.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life…” (Matthew 6:25 -NRSV)
As a United Methodist, I am inspired by a Wesleyan motivation to do all the good we can because of a call to love God and neighbor. This good we do is not because we are so “good,” but because the Bible tells us that our sacredness is connected to the sacredness of the rest of God’s creation and humanity, which we have stewardship responsibility.
President Trump’s Predictable Action on Day One
As the peaceful transfer of power has taken place and President Trump begins his term as our 47th President, he has on day one, made decisions that call into question our commitment to global humanitarian justice, fair and equitable concern and treatment for all citizens and our global neighbors.
By Presidential order, he decided to suspend the aid to foreign countries for ninety days. According to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), 60- 70 billion dollars is annually budgeted for foreign aid. Many of the poorest countries in the world rely on U.S. humanitarian aid through the congressionally approved budget to provide food assistance, health clinics, roads and buildings, schools and health workers.
Some of President Trump’s executive orders are to revoke previous presidents’ executive orders. A sample includes the following:
- Revocation of #13985 (Advancing Racial Equity and support for underserved communities through the federal Government)
- Revocation of #13988 (Preventing and combating discrimination on the basis of Gender Identity or sexual orientation)
- Revocation of #14019 (Promoting access to voting)
- Revocation of #14031 (Advancing equity, justice and opportunity for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders)
- Revocation of #14037 (Strengthening American leadership in Clean Cars and Trucks)
President Trump’s numerous actions are also to do away with the Federal Government’s role in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in the federal workforce, and ignore the causes contributing to immigrants and asylum seekers coming to America.
United Methodist Response of Compassion Over Cruelty
Most Americans believe a country has a right to control its borders. However, we as a Church have been called to promote the dignity of every person and resist the temptation to embrace criminalization, incarceration and mass deportation as though these are the best and only solutions to the complex issue of U.S. immigration.
Mass deportations is incompatible with our recently adopted Social Principles of the United Methodist Church, and many of the proposed Trump administration policies are deeply un-Christian.
“We affirm the dignity, worth and rights of migrants, immigrants and refugees, including displaced and stateless people…We urge United Methodists to welcome migrants, refugees and immigrants into their congregations and commit themselves to providing concrete support, including help with navigating restrictive and often lengthy immigration policies, and assistance with securing food, housing, education, employment and other kinds of support.” (United Methodist Social Principles: Migrants, Immigrants and Refugees, Political Community)
The President’s proposed plan to deport millions of immigrants highlights a question of moral significance if we claim we want to do no harm to address the problem of undocumented immigrants in the U.S.
Jesus does not give us the example of building walls and excluding the poor and the sojourner on the move. Jesus does not foster faith and build hope by devaluing those who are desperate or different. The judgement of nations is based on a choice of compassion over cruelty and indifference, attentiveness and mercy over selfishness, grace over greed, and love over hatred.
When folks were hungry, did we offer food? When they were thirsty was there water? For persons sick or in prison, did we visit? If they needed clothes, did we provide clothing? When we saw strangers, did we welcome them? “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.” (Matthew 25:40 NRSV)
The Hope and Vision of The Beloved Community
In his book “Every Monday Matters,” Matthew Emerzian says, “None of us chooses to be born, but we all choose how to live.”
We all must choose how to live together. We are a world full of people, who are both different and the very same all at once. The truth is as Jesus taught and as the South African luminary Bishop Desmond Tutu once articulated; “The truth is we need each other. In our world, we can only survive and experience freedom together.”
A helpful image is that which Bishop Tutu and other Africans have described as Ubuntu. “Our humanity is bound up with others in the bundle of life.” Ubuntu does not say I think, and I own therefore I am. It says rather, “I am human because I belong, I participate, and I share.” Bishop Tutu writes, “It is not a great good to be successful through being aggressively competitive succeeding at the expense of others.”
The Jesus who teaches us to love also reminds us we cannot serve two masters. The danger of idolatry and corruption always lurks close by. “You cannot serve God and wealth.” (Matthew 6:24 NRSV)
Just as Jesus demands all be fed with whatever resources are at hand, so we as followers of Jesus must declare that there is more than enough for all of humanity to thrive in health, peace and harmony.
In this new season of facing problems and seizing opportunities, we pray for wisdom to be kind, courage to do justice, to love mercy, to walk humbly with God and one another with sustained hope and disciplined faith.
This sustained hope and fervent prayer was demonstrated by Episcopal Bishop of the Washington D.C. Diocese, Mariann Edgar Budde, who gave the sermon during the Inaugural Prayer Service at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. this past Tuesday, January 21, 2025.
“To lead with compassion and see all people” was Bishop Budde’s prayerful appeal to President Trump, who looked on from the front pew of the Cathedral. Her overall sermon was eloquent, cogent and compelling. She, like the good Samaritan, did not ask, what will happen to me if I speak words of sacred truth to power? Bishop Budde was thinking of those who are fearful and vulnerable – those who are in our families and neighborhoods.
The call to love and not lump all immigrants into a caste system of incorrigible criminals is wise council from a Bishop who was tasked to bring a sacred word to servant leadership.
We should never be offended when we are asked to lead with grace and mercy. This is the way of Jesus Christ and our United Methodist way. And so, we sing “On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.”
Bishop Julius C. Trimble, GBCS