Park Hill Congregational UCC, Denver Rev. Dr. David Bahr, Pastor June 3, 2020 I have a message this morning that may surprise many of you. I want to say thank you to Mr. Trump. Thank you, Mr. Trump, for not opening the Bible, or claiming it was yours. Thank you, Mr. Trump, for not entering the church. Thank you, Mr. Trump, for not saying a prayer. Thank you, Mr. Trump, for not saying a word of any kind. Any word of comfort you might have read from a script would have been a lie, and we’ve had enough of those. Thank you, Mr. Trump, for simply posing for pictures so they could immediately be turned into campaign ads. Thank you for making it so baldly obvious that this was just a publicity stunt for your supporters. And thank you to your supporters who applauded the move, praising you for holding up the Bible “like a boss.” Thank you for pushing away peaceful protesters with tear gas and rubber bullets. Thank you, Mr. Trump, for proving that your words about “law and order” are just dog whistles to white supremacists. While we’re at it, thank you, Mr. Trump, for insisting that churches reopen during a pandemic and then going golfing. Thank you for crystalizing all of your moments of blasphemy, your sacrilege, your disrespect for Jesus, your contempt for God, so that it momentarily unnerved even some of your supporters. Thank you. You see, many of us were getting distracted by images of looting, starting to question our commitment to justice. Equivocating. Thinking false peace would be OK in exchange for property. Thank you, Mr. Trump. You shocked us back into our mission of hope. To honor the life of George Floyd, call out the behavior of racist cops, defeat white supremacists and build a movement that coalesces people of all races around the vision of our nation that is open, inclusive, just, and compassionate. Have you seen it happen? It’s beautiful. Thank you. Thank you for reminding us of the Kingdom of God that Jesus proclaimed. A world filled with love. With food for the hungry, shelter for the homeless, comfort for the grieving, liberation for the oppressed. Thank you, Mr. Trump. We needed the kick in the pants.
3 Comments
Diann Levere
6/3/2020 03:50:59 pm
Thank you so much for seeing him clearly, and your response. I allowed myself to become so angry. I am a Christian and I see God's hand in all of this, but I am imperfect also.
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Roger Butts
6/4/2020 07:43:39 am
Bravo!
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6/4/2020 10:30:23 am
WORD! The accumulated pains pushed out by this President must be named and renamed as passionately as you have here, David. Thanks
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