On Monday, June 1, rubber bullets, flash grenades and tear gas were used to disperse a crowd of peaceful protesters outside of the White House, even as the president was sharing that he was “an ally of all peaceful protesters.”  

Why was he in a rush to exit the White House? What was so important that he needed to do?  He needed to go to church.  The same church he attended on the day of his inauguration in January of 2017. This was so important to him that he brought along some of his most trusted executive staff.   Were they surprised to find that the church was boarded up?  It was a Monday night at 7 pm.  Was he trying to get there for choir practice?  Was he just going there to pray, as is his custom?  He may have been going for a Bible study because he did have a copy of the good book in his hands, which he proudly showed to the nearby reporters.  

The clergy associated with the St. John Episcopal church had no idea that the president was coming for a visit.  I would imagine that kind of thing would be cleared through the Secret Service as well as the church.   Clearly, the president and his friends/co-workers were disappointed when they saw the plywood over the doors and windows because their beloved church had been vandalized the night before.  That is probably why they all turned at the same time and looked at the photographer who just happened to be there chronicling the president’s sudden religious fervor. 

Luke 19:41-44 (NRSV)

As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, “If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace!  But now they are hidden from your eyes.  Indeed, the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you, and hem you in on every side.  They will crush you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave within you one stone upon another; because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.” 

On Friday of last week, the president and his family were ushered into a secure bunker.  Was it there that the president read this passage?  Was there a pastor in the bunker leading the first family in a private Bible study of this passage?  If that were the case then I could understand why he came out of the White House and headed over to the church with amazing urgency, because the perceived enemies were surrounding the city (and the White House) on every side. 

He felt hemmed.  And there is probably no worse feeling than being a prisoner in your own home.  Maybe only trumped by being a prisoner in a secure bunker in your own home because you fear that your subjects or constituents want to harm you. 

The tear gas parted the protesters like the waters of the Red Sea, as the police in their riot gear herded the people and drove the protesters from the patio of St. Johns, formerly a place of peace, respite and medical care. The president would have had to step over medical supplies that were abandoned by medics so that he could stand in front of the church. He did not pray, sing hymns, preach or offer words of compassion for George Floyd. He held up ‘a’ Bible.

Jesus is crying over Jerusalem.  He says, “If you had only recognized on this day, the things that make for peace!”  I think it is safe to say that ‘that train has left the station.’  Restoring peace was a missed opportunity.  So many things could have been said or done.   This work of peace should have been done years ago.  Now while the temperature is fever pitched and the tempers flare, it will take incredible compassion and empathy to put out the flames of anger, desperation and injustice.    

I have said very little to this point for fear of offending.  If you are offended by my words, I understand.  But please know that I am offended, and I invite you to honor that for a moment.  I am offended that a person who clearly roots for the villain and aligns himself with the Caesar’s, Herod’s and Pharaoh’s of the Bible has a total disregard for the teachings of Jesus, and then has the audacity to do a photo-op holding a Bible in front of a vandalized church.  Many Christians around the country will be pleased that the president is doing this.  My guess is those are the same Christians who are willing to look the other way for all his lack of modeling Christian behavior or his utter disregard of ‘What Would Jesus Do?” 

I am not implying that those who are willing to look the other way are being ‘un-Christian’ or are not real Christians.  I am not suggesting that.  May God continue to bless them in their faith journey and our understanding of God’s holy word.  But how long can we stand this blatant hypocrisy?  How can we allow our sacred buildings and books to be used as props? What would Jesus do, indeed?