Bishop Misuses God’s Mercy to Excuse Sin

The day after their inauguration, President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance, along with their families, other elected officials, and numerous clergy, attended a National Prayer Service at Washington’s National Cathedral. This Inaugural Prayer Service dates back to FDR’s first inauguration in 1933. It has a long and established tradition which, up until this week, has been largely bi-partisan and free of partisan politics. Thanks to the service’s presiding bishop this year, that establishment tradition has been radically upended.

In a display of grandstanding leftist “speaking truth to power,” the first female bishop of the Episcopal Washington, D.C. diocese, Mariann Edgar Budde, left a lasting impression on all those in attendance. As she concluded her sermon, she addressed the new President with an impassioned plea for mercy:

Let me make one final plea, Mr President. Millions have put their trust in you. 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. There are transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families who fear for their lives.

And the people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings; who labor in our poultry farms and meat-packing plants; who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shift in hospitals – 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. They are faithful members of our churches, mosques and synagogues, gurdwara, and temples.

Have mercy, Mr President, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away. 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 once strangers in this land.

May God grant us all the strength and courage to honor the dignity of every human being, speak the truth in love, and walk humbly with one another and our God, for the good of all the people of this nation and the world.

To say that the new President and Vice President were stunned by what the Bishop had to say would be an understatement. On his way back into the White House, the press asked President Trump what he thought of the service. In a response that no pastor wants to hear, he said “it wasn’t very exciting.”  In other words, the sermon was boring. While pastors should never “entertain,” there simply is no excuse for preaching an uninspired sermon.

What can you expect when a pastor — or, in this case, the presiding bishop of the National Cathedral — twists the Word of God to score political points at what is supposed to be a non-partisan prayer service? However, looking at Mariann Edgar Budde’s resume, the only sermon one could expect to hear from her is a mish-mash of progressive Christianity that appears to be Biblical but is far from it.

Many, including me, were rightly offended by the Bishop’s remarks, but not because of the injection of “politics” into the sermon. Morality and politics often intersect. Just last Sunday, I spoke about the evil of abortion. Abortion is not simply a moral issue, but a political one as well. I don’t doubt that Budde, speaking in her “pastoral” role, thought she was speaking Biblical truth to those in attendance, including President Trump and Vice President Vance.

I would wholeheartedly concur that God is merciful, loving, and kind. It’s how He describes Himself:

The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation. Exodus 34:6-7 (ESV)

But, God is also holy. God’s mercy (grace, steadfast love, faithfulness) will never contradict His holiness. To do so would be to reject God’s self-proclaimed character, replacing it with a character of our imagination. And, that’s exactly what Bishop Budde and so many progressive “Christians” do.

In her plea to President Trump, Budde used God’s merciful character to justify lawlessness (illegal immigration) and excuse gross sexual sin (transgenderism, particularly the mutilation of children). That is not simply wrong. It is evil The Bible warns of a greater condemnation for false teachers who lead their flocks astray and, a greater judgment upon those who abuse children (millstones hung around necks and such).

When a pastor, priest, or bishop misuses the Word of God to redefine or twist its meaning, the response should be clear and unequivocal. In responding, which can’t help but touch on the political, I reaffirm God’s character of mercy AND holiness. May we never abuse or misuse God to suit our political agendas, justify lawlessness, or excuse sin. May it never be!