Bishop asks Trump to “have mercy” on immigrants and gay people

The Presidential Inaugural Prayer Service is a tradition that stretches back to 1933 and the inauguration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The service is held at the Washington National Cathedral, the second-largest church building in the US. The cathedral is the seat of the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church and the bishop of the Diocese of Washington. Since 2011, the latter role has been held by Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde, the first woman to serve in this position.

In her sermon during this year’s service on Tuesday, the bishop made a direct appeal to President Trump: “I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now. There are gay, lesbian, and transgender children in Democratic, Republican, and independent families, some who fear for their lives.”

Then she spoke to the issue of illegal immigration and deportation:

The people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings; who labor in poultry farms and meat packing plants; who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shifts in hospitals, they—they may not be citizens or have the proper documentation. But the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. They pay taxes and are good neighbors.

Toward the end of her sermon, she said:

I ask you to have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away, and that you help those who are fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome here. Our God teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger, for we were all once strangers in this land.

“To do justice, and to love kindness”

The bishop has long been a strong critic of Mr. Trump. He responded in turn after the service, calling her “a Radical Left hard line Trump hater” who “brought her church into the world of politics in a very ungracious way.” He added, “She failed to mention the large number of illegal migrants that came into our country and killed people. Many were deposited from jails and mental institutions. It is a giant crime wave that is taking place in the USA.”

How should we see this issue through the lens of Scripture?

As I note in my book, The State of Our Nation: 7 Critical Issues, illegal immigration is a complex issue. Scripture teaches, “You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 22:21). The Bible consistently calls us to care for immigrants (cf. Leviticus 19:33–34; Deuteronomy 10:18–19; 24:19–22; Ezekiel 47:21–23; Zechariah 7:10; Malachi 3:5; Hebrews 13:2; Matthew 25:35). And we are told that God loves all of us, regardless of our place of origin (Galatians 3:26–29).

At the same time, immigrants or sojourners in the Bible are not in their countries illegally. Immigrants are to obey the law and customs of the land (Isaiah 56:6–7) and to assimilate into the culture of their host country (Deuteronomy 5:14; 16:9–15). They are not to break the law, no matter how difficult their circumstances (Proverbs 6:30–31).

In addition, the Bible consistently affirms the importance of border security: “When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the borders of the peoples” (Deuteronomy 32:8). The Promised Land’s borders are delineated in Numbers 34:1–15 and Ezekiel 47:13–23. We are told, “Do not move the ancient landmark that your fathers have set” (Proverbs 22:28).

With regard to LGBTQ persons, Scripture teaches that all people are made in God’s image and likeness (Genesis 1:27a) and that the Father loves each of us as much as he loves his own Son (John 17:23, 26). However, we are also told that “male and female he created them” (Genesis 1: 27b). Marriage in the Bible is clearly a covenant between one man and one woman (Genesis 2:18–25; Ephesians 5:22–33; Colossians 3:18–19). Sexual relations are intended only for men and women within this covenant (Exodus 20:14; Hebrews 13:4; Leviticus 18:22; 20:13; Romans 1:26–27; 1 Corinthians 6:9–11; 1 Timothy 1:8–11).

While Scripture repeatedly calls us to be merciful to others (Luke 6:36; James 2:13; Matthew 5:7), it also calls us to seek justice and to uphold the rule of law (Isaiah 1:17; Amos 5:24; Proverbs 21:15), a role that is especially assigned to governmental leaders (Romans 13:1–7).

Micah 6:8 expresses well the biblical balance we seek: “What does the Lᴏʀᴅ require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (my emphases).

“The greatest favor I can do for others”

As you can see, the issues raised by Bishop Budde are complex, both from a biblical perspective and with regard to practical factors and consequences. In fact, I plan to write a website article later today that explores this complexity in greater detail than space permits here.

However, with all due respect to the bishop, rather than challenging the president directly while giving voice to only one side of the debate, I believe she should have taken this opportunity to focus on Jesus and invite those in the Cathedral and around the world to personal faith in him.

She later said the service was intended as a “one-on-one conversation with the president.” But what about everyone else in attendance and those who would hear later about the controversy she had to know would ensue?

I agree with my friend, the Anglican leader David Roseberry, who said the bishop “closed a door” when she “delivered a lecture—aimed not at the congregation, but at a single member in it. The pulpit became a podium, the sanctuary a platform for ethical and political instruction.”

In his view, “The subject of every sermon should always be Jesus Christ and no one else.” He believes the bishop’s message “would better have been said in another place at another moment” and adds: “The sermon was an opportunity—a singular, sacred one—to speak to the hearts of those gathered and to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to those in attendance and around the world.”

Let’s not miss the opportunity to “speak to the hearts” of the people we meet today. We can win debates and lose souls. When we address the issues of our day, we should leverage them to lead to personal faith in Jesus (cf. John 4:19–26). He alone can change the human heart and bring his kingdom “on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).

Paul Little was right:

“Witnessing is that deep-seated conviction that the greatest favor I can do for others is to introduce them to Jesus Christ.”

To whom will you do this “greatest favor” today?

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Quote for the day:

“To the world you may be just one person, but to just one person, you may be the world.” —author unknown