TRUMP'S "BACK TO CHURCH ON EASTER": FAITH OR PRESUMPTION?

“Back to Church on Easter” by Trump: Faith or Presumption?

Fred Vergara

The title of this sermon is “Back to Church on Easter”: Is this Faith or Presumption? To those of you who follow the headlines, the basis for this topic is the announcement from President Donald Trump that the American people should return to work, children return to school and Christians return to church on Easter Sunday, April 12, 2020. This announcement was made by the president as the nation was reeling from this crisis brought about by Corona Virus.

This announcement is contrary to the advice of health experts, scientists and immunologists and many religious and political leaders who caution that a precipitous return to normalcy would exacerbate the situation.

The rate of infection from COVID19 continues to increase. “Worldometer.com” reported, at the time of this writing, that there are now 710,290 infected persons globally with 33,550 deaths. In the United States, there are now 135,510 confirmed infections with over 2,384 deaths. The epicenter of US infections is currently New York but California is not far behind. I live just a few blocks from Elmhurst Medical Center in Queens, NY where some 13 COVID patients died last Wednesday.

At the outset, let me say that this sermon is non-political and this is not a criticism of President Trump. My only purpose is to help enlighten my audience, particularly my church members, Facebook family and friends to help understand divine guidance from the standpoint of Scriptures, Tradition and Reason, the three-legged stool of Anglican faith and ethos.

To be fair to the President, he qualified his injunction by saying that this return to normal would be done in phases and based on areas classified by the risk of infections such as high risk, medium risk, low risk. At the moment, New York, New Jersey, Washington State, California, Louisiana qualify as high rate while Alaska, Wyoming or Hawaii may qualify as low risk.

The motivation behind the president’s apparent impatience is because our economy is reeling, businesses are closing down, and many people have lost and are losing their jobs. Millions have already applied for unemployment. The government has legislated a 2.2 trillion economic stimulus, a historic first in gargantuan amount, designed to provide assistance to businesses, individuals and companies.

School children on lockdown and shelter-in-place are getting impatient and churches are not meeting the need for physical interaction and congregational gathering for worship. The attraction of Easter Sunday seems to be addressed to the Christians, especially the evangelicals and conservative who desire nothing more than to rejoice together and proclaim victory on the Day when we remember the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Truly, our president who identified himself as a “wartime president” would have nothing but great honor to proclaim victory as the great Commander in Chief who defied the odds and triumphed in this World War III. It would also position himself as a man of faith because faith is defined in Hebrews 11:1 as “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” He would continue to gain the admiration and support of the evangelicals and surely gain reelection.

The problem in this War, however, is that we are facing an invisible enemy and “he” seems to dictate the terms. This Corona Virus has neither shame nor guilt, he does not  discriminate, he kills both young and old, famous or unknown, whatever the color of your skin.

This virus is comparable to the devil, the anti-Christ with legions of demons afflicting and destroying anyone on its path. The devil comes to kill, steal and destroy and so the solution, from the minds of religious people can be perceived from the eyes of faith. If Americans people return to normal life and churches are filled on Easter Sunday, and nothing bad happens to them, what a great victory in the realm of spiritual warfare. The wartime president is not only victorious in the viral war but in also in the spiritual war.

THREE STATEMENTS

Having now painted the canvass of the context in which we find ourselves, I would like to make three statements: (1) With regards to my church (and I mean the Episcopal Church, particularly the Diocese of Long Island where I serve); (2) With regards to what I believe leadership should be in times of crisis; and (3) With regards to discerning God’s will in moments when decision-making is difficult.

1.   My first statement is that my parish, in compliance to my bishop’s directive, has already decided that our buildings will be closed from March 15 up to May 17, 2020 (unless otherwise changed by my bishop), so the President’s announcement is moot and academic as far as my church is concerned.

That decision to temporarily close our church, though difficult, was arrived at after a sobering fact-based, universally-recommended advice that physical distancing, along with hygiene and immunological strengthening, is the most effective way to stop the exponential spread of the virus.

In the Episcopal Church, we have a historical precedent with the Flu Epidemic of 1918 when a group of clergy in Philadelphia insisted that it was their bounden duty to bury the dead and comfort the dying, visit the sick even at the risk of their own lives. As a result, not only that many clergy died but they also became carriers in the infections of their parishioners.

Our situation in 2020 is radically different from 1918 because now we have the internet, the telephone, the social media and other online services. So in place of actual, physical gathering, we now gather via Facebook Live such as what I am doing now through Zoom, You Tube, Webex and other live stream services.

The Presiding Bishop and Primate of the Episcopal Church, The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry, advised all the clergy and faithful to “be creative and proactive in the use of technology, both high tech and low tech.” We are only practicing physical distancing but we continue to connect to one another socially, by way of virtual reality. We continue to follow the commandments to love God with all our hearts, with all our souls, with all our minds, and with all our strength---and love our neighbor as we love ourselves---even from a distance.

This love of God, our neighbor and ourselves is now being stretched to the limits as our holy worship is being heard and received beyond time and space. Right now, it is morning in the USA, afternoon in Africa and Europe and evening in Asia and some of you who listen to me via Facebook Live are coming from these areas of the world.

2.  My second statement is about leadership in times of crises.

To be fair, let me first qualify this statement by saying that it is easier to criticize than to lead and act. Personally, I would not like to be in the position of US President Donald Trump or China President Xi Jinping or Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte or any other political leader in these moments of crises. But in a very small drop of the bucket, I am also engaged in leadership as national Missioner for Asiamerica Ministries in the Episcopal Church and as priest of a local church, Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Hicksville, New York.

Often, it is easier to program your action but hard to program your reaction. And leadership in crises is always a reaction. It is in times in crises when your real character as a leader is put to the test. Like being put into the furnace of fire, it is in crises that a leader shines out like gold or gets incinerated like hay or wood.

So how is President Donald Trump standing up to the test of COVID19 pandemic crisis? I have researched many opinions on this matter and I found this article from The Atlantic, written by Peter Wehner who asserted that Trump is “utterly unsuited to deal with this crisis, either intellectually or temperamentally.” Wehner wrote thus:

 “The qualities we most need in a president during this crisis are calmness, wisdom, and reassurance; a command of the facts and the ability to communicate them well; and the capacity to think about the medium and long term while carefully weighing competing options and conflicting needs.”

“We need a leader who can persuade the public to act in ways that are difficult but necessary, who can focus like a laser beam on a problem for a sustained period of time, and who will listen to—and, when necessary, defer to—experts who know far more than he does. We need a president who can draw the nation together rather than drive it apart, who excels at the intricate work of governing, and who works well with elected officials at every level. We need a chief executive whose judgment is not just sound, but exceptional.”

I leave it to you to weigh this critique of Trump’s leadership but in the Book of Daniel there was a strange inscription on the wall of Belshazzar’s palace that says, “mene mene tekel upharsin” which translated means “you were weighed and found wanting.” In Filipino language, “Tinimbang ka ngunit kulang.” The prophet Daniel interpreted it to mean the impending end of Belshazzar’s kingdom (Read Daniel 5).

In China, there a legend of a peasant who rose up to become an emperor following a popular revolt against a dynasty. He became the emperor, neither from any divine right of kings nor an election by the people, but simply because he was the fastest horse rider and arrived at the palace gates ahead of the others. But as he was sitting on the throne, his people asked how he would lead them especially as the retaliating enemies are now surrounding the gates. The peasant-emperor replied, “I don’t know; I just rode my horse and came here to eat dumpling!”

I am not implying here that the presidency is in trouble or lack the competence needed. Shakespeare’s said through Mark Anthony’s speech on Julius Caesar: “The evil that men do lives after them, but the good is often buried with their bones.” History often judges leaders, emperors, kings and presidents rather harshly.

So it is important that in our own lives and in our own leadership, either as religious or political leaders, even pastors and teachers or parents and community leaders, to always remember that it is in crisis that our leadership is tested and tried.

In normal times, leaders are expected to provide vision, direction, protection and order. In times of crises, these functions of leadership are magnified, tantamount to the degree of the challenges the crisis posed. When a leader fails to provide these functions, the people will revolt or as in democracy, the people will vote you out of office.

HUMILITY, COMPASSION AND CONSCIENCE

It is paramount for leaders, in addition to other skills and capacities for crisis-management, to have three basic virtues: humility, compassion and conscience. 

Humility enables you to listen to voices coming from many directions. If the advice is good, you may follow it. If the advice is not good, you may disregard it, but for all intents and purposes, never to punish the advisers. Proverbs 11:14 says, “In the abundance of counselors, there is safety.”

Compassion enables you to feel the pain of others, hear their cries and see their tears. The image of compassion is like being gripped in the intestine to the point that you are aching to help. In Matthew 9:36 Jesus was moved with compassion for the people because “they were harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd.”

Conscience is like an umpire of baseball who makes the call when the player is safe or stricken out, one who judges the rightness or wrongness of a decision. It is said that “conscience makes a coward of us all” but this is only in a pejorative sense especially if you had been sitting on the fence for too long and unable to make a decision. In its positive sense, however, conscience is like the brake that you have step on either to slow the car or stop it altogether, lest you crash.

Years ago, I was in Macao and visited Macao Tower where there was a bungee jumping. I really wanted to try and feel the experience of falling down. I had a fear of heights and wanted to conquer it. But thank God, my conscience kicked in and I applied the brake to my recklessness. (I did not tell my wife, though).

3.The third statement, I like to make is that “there are many voices in the world and none of them is without significance” (1 Corinthians 14:10).

In the age of the information glut and abundance of fake news, there will be many competing noises a leader has to deal with. I repeat what I said earlier, “It is easier to criticize than to lead and act in times of crisis.” But if you have chosen to run for the highest public office, you won and now you sit on the throne, the people expect you to lead and act. If the trumpet does not sound, who will go for battle? And if the sound of the trumpet is unclear, the troops will be confused and the enemy will overrun the camps.

So it is important for a leader to resist the temptation to self-congratulations and triumphalist presumption. This is because it is in times of crises that you have to listen to many voices, weigh them against your value system and sift them carefully in order to arrive at a wise and just decision. Even Jesus had to step back amidst crises, return to the Father in prayer to get an intimate reassurance of His identity, gain a clearer sense of His mission and receive insight into the future consequence of His actions.

A leader needs an introspective time to reexamine his values, his character, his motivations and before barging into pronouncements and actions. Sad to say that throughout these past days and weeks of crisis, it was frustrating to see our president wishy-washy in his decisions. First, he “so-soed” the virus as nothing, then he tweeted that it was a Democratic ploy, then he blamed China. He did not focus decisively on the problem at hand.

This leads us to back to the topic “Is the President’s announcement to return to normal on Easter Sunday an act of Faith or a Word of Presumption?” Is he being guided by divine revelation? Or is he being presumptuous?

SEVEN GUIDING LIGHTS

Years ago, I listened to a great Bible Teacher and missionary, Ralph Mahoney, founder of World MAP, who lectured and published what he called “The Seven Guiding Lights toward Discerning God’s Will” and I would like to apply these to the question at hand. As a missionary myself, I find these helpful to help me discern where I go next, what next field or mission I will be, what next project I will undertake.

Mahoney said that these seven guiding lights to discerning God’s will are as follows.

1.   Inner Conviction (Hebrews 11:1): When God plans to do something through you, God starts within your inner conviction. This is the meaning of faith. After having considered and made sense of the facts at hand, do you have an inner conviction that this is indeed going to be the way of God’s will? Having calculated the risk, having been familiar of facts and exhausted your reasoning power, does your inner impulse still lean towards that decision?

2.   Scriptural Confirmation (2 Timothy 3:16-17): “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” What scripture does God impresses upon you? In Greek language, there are two words used to describe the Word of God: Logos and Rhema. Logos is Word in general but rhema is a specific word to you. Is your conviction being confirmed in Scriptures?

3.    Prophetic Confirmation: One of the incidents that happened in the missionary decisions of St. Paul was the prophetic word from Agabus. Agapus was not one of the twelve apostles but one of the 70 disciples who Jesus commissioned. In Acts 21. St. Paul had planned to go to Jerusalem but Agabus took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with this belt and prophesied, “The Holy Spirit says ‘In this way, the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and hand him over to the gentiles.” The people therefore pleaded with Paul not to go to Jerusalem but he was so insistent saying he was ready to die for the gospel. Sure enough, after arrival in Jerusalem and doing ministry there, Paul was seized by the Jews and handed over to the Romans. Paul underwent tremendous suffering and later beheaded during the reign of Roman Emperor Nero in 64 A.D. What are the prophetic voices saying to President Trump? Will he listen to the prophets nor not?

4.    Godly Counsel: In the context of the War against COVID19 in our 21^st Century America, godly counsel comes from the scientists, health experts, immunologists, mature politicians and other well-meaning leaders. In his book, “The Ruler’s Guide,” my good friend Michael Tang wrote about the leadership of Tang Taizong, China’s wisest Emperor. Tang Taizong (Li Shimin) said, “What is an enlightened ruler and what is a fatuous ruler? The enlightened leader listens to different opinions whereas the fatuous one listens to only one side…The enlightened leader needs to hear complaints, heed different views and listen to the people’s voice.” Applied to President Trump, if the advise is good, he should accept it, even it comes from the Democrats or his critics. If the advice is bad, he should reject it, even if it comes from the Republicans or from his political base.

5.    Serendipity: Those who are sensitive to the Spirit are able to discern God’s leading through circumstances. God speaks in so many mysterious ways. God even spoke through Balaam’s donkey (Numbers 22:21-39). Jesus said, “By looking at the sky, you know what kind of weather is coming. But do you know how to interpret the signs of the times?” (Matthew 16:3)

6.    Provision: This is the stuff of the missionaries who go boldly where no one has gone before. They believe that “where God guides, God provides.” The great American missionary and church planter, Hudson Taylor, suffered many trials while serving in China but he never complained of financial lack. Hudson said, “God’s work, done in God’s time and in God’s way will never lack provision.”

7.    Peace of God: In the Bible, there are two verses that need interpretation: “Peace with God” and “Peace of God.” Peace with God is what happens to a person when he receives Christ in his life. He is reconciled with God and have peace with his neighbor. Peace of God, however, is what happens when you made the right decision. This is akin to peace of mind. This is often referred to in the benediction where the priest says: “The peace of God that surpasses understanding keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God.”

I think one example of “peace of God” in Trump’s leadership, maybe the recent approval of the 2.2 Trillion dollars “economic stimulus plan.” Although it started as a one party hush-hush initiative, it evolved into a bi-partisan bill. Then Senate and the House of Representatives have both approved it. When it came to the president’s table, he signed it. What made it a “peace of God” moment was the process it went through. It has gained the consensus of both Democrats and Republicans. No one person, no one party, can now claim sole credit because it is bi-partisan and the common motivation, at least one that is visible, is the welfare of the American people. That is one good credit to the presidency. May he continue to follow that style.


CONCLUSION

So in conclusion, a friend of mine asked: “If you are one of Trump’s advisers, how would you advise him?” Of course, it will never happen, but hypothetically, I would advise him three things:

a.   My first hypothetical advice, forget about the coming election and instead focus on the task at hand.

This Corona Virus crisis is the be-all and end-all of his presidency. This will either become his worst nightmare or his most shining moment. The whole nation, the whole world is watching how this will all play out. This is the moment that summons the best, the exceptional grit of a leader.

Trump, like all political heads of nations in the word today, is on unchartered territory. Trump could not blame the Mexicans, the Chinese or the Democrats. This virus cannot be seen and cannot be handled the way you would handle a Mexican, a Chinese or a Democrat. He cannot blame Obama or Bush. Bush had his own test in 9/11; Obama had his own test in the War in Ukraine and the financial crisis in 2018, among others. Bush and Obama are already in the court of history, being weighed how they handled the crises of the nation in their watches.

But for Trump, this COVID-19 is, and will become the mettle of his resiliency. It is high time for him to regret his words “I take no responsibility.” With contrite spirit and a new resolve for sincerity, it is time for him to say, like Harry Truman, “the buck stops here!”

(b) My second hypothetical advice to Trump is that he should muster enough courage to fight his urges.

I’m talking about his tweets and pronouncements. The Book of James said that “out of the same mouth comes blessing and cursing. Can the same spring bring forth both fresh and salty water?” (James 3:10).

Words have power. They can kill or destroy; they can lift up and inspire. Proverbs 25:11 says “Apt words are like apples of gold in a setting of silver.” When Trump named Corona Virus the “Chinese Virus,” it immediately put many Asian Americans in grave danger from the haters and the racists who were just looking for scapegoat for their anxieties and fears. A reckless word from the president, though unintended, can become their license. So when he announced “back to Church” on Easter he would succeed in only giving false hopes to the faithful. Faith does not negate facts and reason---it goes beyond reason---and so his announcement to have church on Easter Sunday is precipitous and therefore presumptuous. It is not faith; it is presumption.

In normal times, a clever leader can ‘pavlovanize’ his supporters to hear what they want to hear. But in these times of crisis when your people are dying, your doctors are dying, your nurses are dying, your health workers are dying, your police forces are dying, no amount of pomposity and self-congratulation can appease the nation. People will see through the veneer of your public persona and they will demand a change of heart or a change of regime. “Mene, men tekel upharsin.”

 © My third and final hypothetical advice is to pause and reexamine his value system, his soul, the moral and ethical framework on which his leadership stands.

Jesus asked a rhetorical question: “What does it profit a person if he gains the world and lose his own soul? And what does a man do in exchange for his own soul?” (Mark 8:36)

I believe the biggest enemy of a leader in times of crisis is himself or herself, particularly one’s arrogance and pride. So he or she must have the courage and wisdom to humble himself or herself and become vulnerable in receiving correction. The prayer by Alexander Pope is apropos: “If I am right, thy grace impart; still in the right to stay. If I am wrong, O teach my heart to find the better way.”

Again, this is not an attempt to criticize the President, remembering that when we point a finger to someone, there are three other fingers pointing to us. In the Episcopal Church, every week we pray for the president, the governor and the mayor of our land, that they may make wise and just decisions, respecting the dignity of every human being. We pray that all leaders of the land will be guided, that they may govern with truth, justice and peace.

I believe, like most of you today, that this crisis will pass. As to when, we do not know. But the lessons it gives us---leaders and followers---would be valuable. Shall we emerge a better people, a better nation, better children of God, better citizens of the planet earth? I daresay, from the words of Bob Dylan’s song, “The answer my friend, is blowing in the wind; the answer is blowing in the wind.” Amen.

(The Rev. Canon Dr. Winfred (Fred) B. Vergara is national Missioner for Asiamerica Ministries in the Episcopal Church based in New York City and priest at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, 130 Jerusalem Avenue, Hicksville, NY 11801. This article is the written text of his sermon delivered via Facebook Live, March 29, 2020 at 10AM Eastern.)