Brave Bishop Budde

We all knew it was going to be an unpredictable week, that’s for sure. But honestly, did anyone have on their bingo card that a preached homily would be trending and The Episcopal Church would be at the center of the talk of the nation???

I don’t believe that the themes found in Bishop Marianne Budde’s homily are really controversial for Episcopalians. They seem to reflect not only the path of Jesus but the foundation and realities of the Episcopal Church:

Unity without uniformity:

relational rather than agreement

“to care for each other even when we disagree”

unity in action, not just in prayers

Caring for one another, against a “culture of contempt that has become normalized.”

Empathy: “Honor the dignity of every human being” (right out of our Baptismal Covenant).

Honesty in our words and actions.

Humility which allows us to recognize each other’s humanity.

Mercy: Be merciful as God is merciful, and forgive as God forgives, especially to the most vulnerable.

I would like to believe that no one here would have been surprised if my sermons reflected any of these themes, and I would hope that you’ve heard me preach most if not all of this in previous sermons.

What seems to be shocking to the country, and maybe to some Episcopalians, is that Bishop Budde said some of these things directly to The President of the United States in the context of a sermon.

The Rev. Eric Funston wrote that Bishop Budde’s sermon was extraordinary:

“It was extraordinary not for its particular content; Christian clergy have been preaching about what the bishop called the “foundations of unity” for centuries. She said there were three of them and then actually preached about four. The three she named are respecting human dignity (another word for which might be “justice”), honesty, and humility; the fourth, which attracted the most press attention, is mercy. Her sermon wasn’t extraordinary for its delivery. She didn’t raise her voice. She engaged in no histrionics. Her timbre was even; her tone, respectful. No, what made her sermon extraordinary was its audience; she spoke to power. She addressed the highest leaders of our nation and at the end she spoke directly to our newly-inaugurated president:

"Let me make one final plea, Mr. President. Millions have put their trust in you. And as you told the nation yesterday, you have felt the providential hand of a loving God. In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now.”"

(From Bishop Budde’s homily)

The context is incredibly important here! If our Governor or Mayor walked into St. Paul’s one Sunday morning to attend services, I wouldn’t dream of addressing them in the pulpit or directing my sermon towards them. One does not do that on any given Sunday when someone comes seeking Church community. But this was a special occasion. The Washington National Cathedral was hosting this prayer service for the nation as part of the inauguration events, a tradition dating back to 1933. It was a prayer service planned and hosted by the Episcopal Diocese of Washington and the Episcopal bishop was the presider and preacher, and it was an interfaith service.

Jim Naughton wrote:

“The Bible is full of instances in which a religious figure asks a secular ruler to reflect on what they have done or plan to do. Bishop Budde, who did not lecture or admonish the president, but simply asked him for mercy, stands in this tradition.”

(FaceBook post)

One illustration of this is my favorite N.T. Wright quote: “By the end of the second century, Roman officials were not particularly aware of the nuances of Christian teaching, but they did know what the word ‘bishop’ meant—it meant someone who kept on agitating about the needs of the poor.” Similarly, Oscar Romero once said, “The homily is not being ‘political’ when it points out political, social, and economic sins. It is simply the word of God becoming incarnate in our reality, which often reflects not God’s reign, but sin.”

Finally, there’s this observation from Ethan Bishop-Henchman, an Episcopal Deacon also in The Episcopal Diocese of Washington:

"Bishop Mariann's message this week was directed just as much at those who oppose the President as it was a call for his mercy: Unity in community does not require uniformity of ideology; power can be exercised with gracious restraint; and gentleness—not incessant outrage—is a force for transformation, not a sign of weakness.”

(FaceBook post)

In my opinion, Bishop Mariann honored the traditions of the Bible and The Episcopal Church.

Now before we finish today, I have to do some lectionary preaching.

Luke’s gospel tells us that Jesus begins his public ministry filled with the power of the Spirit, and is preaching everywhere and being praised. But it’s only when he comes to his home town of Nazareth when we actually hear him speak. He’s given a scroll of Isaiah, and reads the prophetic words:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me

to bring good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives

and recovery of sight to the blind,

to let the oppressed go free,

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:14-18)

These are long dreamed for words of an oppressed people, which include the people of Nazareth. Jesus sits down, in the custom of the teacher, and says “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” They were thrilled by these words. However, what happens next is confusing. It quickly goes wrong, I believe, because they think they will have special status and power. After all, this is their hometown prophet! Jesus gets furious with them, reminding them that in previous hard times, God only helped a couple of outsiders rather than the insiders. And the crowd was filled with such rage they tried to throw him off a cliff. Brave preaching indeed!

But it’s Paul who really grabs my attention today, with his powerful metaphor of how the body needs each part fully, no matter it’s individual function or believed importance (1 Corinthians 12:12:31). This is what community is all about: our interdependence in the context of our difference, and our needed connection to the wellbeing of each other. And then, brilliantly, Paul utters these compelling words, “And I will show you a still more excellent way.” Do you know what comes next? I’ll give you a hint, you probability last heard it at a wedding you attended. That’s right! "If I speak but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. Love is patient; love is kind." Paul wasn’t actually writing about a couple’s love, but about what should matter in communal living.

That is exactly what Bishop Budde was talking about.

Finally, there is one last charge for us. My colleague and friend The Rev. Rich Simpson refers to Bishop Budde’s book “How to be Brave: Decisive Moments in Life and Faith." He said,

“Bishop Budde didn’t just wake up this week and decide to preach truth to power. She’s been learning to be brave and inviting us along on that journey. I’m proud to be a part of a denomination that has raised this bishop up. But now is the time when bishops, priests, deacons and lay persons all need to learn to be our most courageous selves, with God’s help.” (Facebook post)

Thanks be to God.