How to be Truly Political
We should be really careful to distinguish Zion from Central Park in how we do our exegesis.
One of the critical concerns and critiques about a church people that is/are too political is that we would violate the “horses and chariots” (Psalm 20:7) principle. The principle means that we move too quickly to trust in messianic suits. We pour too much affection into the visible. This concern is valid. I want first to express my desire to preserve the biblical principle, and then I want to add a few caveats.
Living in a patriotic environment like the South can be beneficial in many ways. There are, however, factors that make the patriotic ethos harmful to the church. Among them is the exaltation of national causes over kingdom ones. The kingdom is above the nation, and when the nation becomes eerily close to the affections of the kingdom, we may find ourselves led by the wrong flag.
There are times in church history when the two overlap quite nicely, like a colorful mosaic in a Constantinian palace, but then there are times when the two need to be far apart: as distant as Simon from Garfunkel. Those bridges over troubled waters are not meant to be crossed lest confusion arise.
I have argued over the years that the Christianization of the American civic calendar is too close to the abyss and can endanger the church's health. I have also argued that 4th of July parties, Memorial Day gatherings, and even that notorious purveyor of evil, Columbus, should be celebrated as wildly as one wishes. I am not against hotdogs in the backyard or the park, but I am Bucerian regarding my sacraments. I take my loaf fat and puffy, and my wine red like crimson. In short, I don’t want my earthly politics mixing with my heavenly liturgy. When that happens, flags sneak into the holy places and Tim Tebow pronounces the benediction. No, thank you.
The central way to avoid the primacy of the civic calendar is to allow an alternative calendar to take its place in the church. For Christians, the church calendar is that alternative calendar. I grant that it is a monumental battle uphill, but overall, we are making some good progress, and lest I forget, “And also with you.”
We should be really careful to distinguish Zion from Central Park in how we do our exegesis. Our interpretation does not serve the cause of the country, but the country submits to interpretation and dogma. And our dogma is all pronounced on Sunday morning for everyone to see. As Nancy Pelosi once gloriously said, “Good morning. Sunday morning!”
And if one wants to preserve that heavenly trip on the Lord’s Day, he would do well to keep it the LORD’s DAY and not an extension of our favorite cable news. This leads me to observe that when people demur the liturgical year by calling it “yuck” or some other philosophical variation but declare how tasteful it is that sister Diane sang “God bless America” on the holiest week of July the 4th, that, ladies and gentlemen, is when you know they have violated the “horses and chariots” principle. They have galloped their way into it faster than sweet tea into a 7-11 Big Gulp.
Political Deliberateness
If we do, however, keep the church's work first, then we are free to deliberate about politics all the way to thy kingdom come, which incidentally is where all politics should start: in the context of the kingdom. The fact that I may find Bolsonaro charming and Trump’s antics really effective at times does not mean I put all my stocks into politics; it simply means that I have done my duty on the Lord’s Day and cannot help myself from speaking about the shenanigans happening on Pennsylvania Avenue. The “horses and chariots” critique only applies when you take the glory of the Lord away from the church and confuse it with whatever happens in D.C.
Further, my care for political implications stems precisely because there is a certain order to things on earth. Even though I may make a few wrong chess moves on the way, it doesn’t mean I don’t checkmate my opponent in the end, especially if we commit together to trusting in the name of the LORD our God first. So, no, don’t confuse my political interests with belittling the role of the church or the salvation of Jesus. In fact, I don’t think I am trusting in sturdy animals to guide me into victory, I think I am distrusting them the right way and using them just right; thanks for asking.
Notations
Doug Wilson says that the Church needs more tattooed men in our midst. And what he means is that we need to have men who come into the church from rough and turmoiled places. What fascinates me is how few, if any, of these men would actively encourage their own children to get tattoos. They may not express the anthropology of the thing, but instinctively they know that tattoos are a deformation of the body. It reveals an uncertainty about the future by forming a present iconography to still the present. Further, it creates a world in which baptism is not enough. If the font reforms, bodily paintings deform. So, blessed are the tattooed who come into the Church, but may their children leave the paint brushes behind.
Singing unchristian songs confirms that we live in two cities—the city of God and the city of man. We sing about false loves in its captivating rhythms precisely because we know the true loves.
Kuyperian Commentary host, Rick Davis, will publish his interview with Presiding Minister of the CREC, Virgil Hurt, tomorrow at Kuyperian Commentary. Virgil offers an overview of the job of the PMOC and what the future of the CREC looks like.
I wish the PCA and SBC meetings would reveal a muscular contempt for soft compromises and a desire to rebuild the broken ruins.
Oh, Jayber Crow, to see and experience the deforming of your world is not an easy thing. I did not imagine these last few pages would torment me so much.
Solomon says that a foolish son brings grief to his mother. I can only think of a few things more unholy than to crush the cheerfulness of a mom.
From my graveside homily at the death of Alan Stout Sr:
Even in the midst of death, Jesus declares: “I am the resurrection and the life!” Death is not the centerpiece of creation. Death, the last enemy, exists by God’s command, but it is there in the great house of creation, that death is overcome by the Easter morn.
May you long for better things,
~Uriésou Brito