Is Wright Wrong? Part 2

In the first installment of this series, I dealt with antisemitic and hateful remarks made or supported by Jeremiah Wright, one-time pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, for twenty years the pastor of Senator Barack Obama. I said that antisemitism particularly, and any prejudicial slur invoked against ethnic or religious groups generally, is not Christian discourse.

But, based on the affirmations of at least some of Wright's ministry made by people I respect, I also wanted to examine other of his pronouncements. I specifically wanted to listen to or read his entire post-9/11 sermon. It has, ostensibly, been the objectof intense debate and, I would say, vilification of Wright. Many have pointed to that sermon and called him unpatriotic. (I say ostensibly, because on YouTube and in other media, some of his other pronouncements have been presented as though they were part of this particular sermon. He did not, for example, speak of the "US od KKK A" in the post-9/11 sermon. Nor did he speak of the crazy notion that the US government had infected African-Americans with the AIDS virus. Those suggestions from him came in other contexts.)

In short, as revolted as I am by the prejudices and the dangerous silliness Wright has uttered or to which he has given credence, I also wanted to be fair. Growing up, I had extended family members who said silly, stupid, prejudiced things. One relative was absolutely convinced, for example, that Franklin Roosevelt put a pistol to his own head at Warm Springs, rather than dying from a cerebral hemorrhage and palmed off this nutty theory as gospel truth. Some family members canceled reservations at a state park lodge in Ohio after they learned that an NAACP gathering was scheduled the week before their scheduled stay. One member of my extended family was convinced that some medical problems I experienced resulted from my being assaulted by some of my African-American friends, an assault that only happened in his bigoted imagination. Yet, for all their faults, prejudices, and lunacies, I experienced these family members as loving people, in much the same way that Senator Obama experienced Jeremiah Wright.

In my own theological tradition--I'm a Lutheran Christian, there is a heavy emphasis on the fact that sin is a condition, an inborn rebellion against God which causes even followers of the God of the Bible to sin. "In sin did my mother conceive me," Israel's greatest king, David, wrote in repenting for murder and adultery (Psalm 51). "Wretched man that I am!" Paul writes in the New Testament, "Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with my mind I am a slave to the law of God, but with my flesh I am a slave to the law of sin" (Romans 7:24-25) We Christians confess that we are sinners deserving of death, but saints because of what Christ has done for all who are willing to follow Him.

As a saint saved by God's grace, I have no bragging rights, no call for gloating or spiritual superiority. Jeremiah Wright's pronouncements are, at times, reprehensible. But they may not always be wrong or signify that he isn't part of the family of God. Indeed, there may be much that's commendable in him and in his ministry. I thank God every day that a preacher doesn't have to be morally perfect or devoid of blind spots to be accounted faithful. Truth to tell, I am deeply mindful of my sins, which is why one of the prayers I utter every single day is, "Thank You, God, for not killing me for my sins as I deserve!"

Nor does a preacher have to be an unblinking patriot. A story. Some months ago, I was in a meeting involving other clergy from my own faith tradition. We were talking about the war in Iraq and there were strong feelings around the table. The discussion widened beyond mere consideration of the war itself to the more general subject of patriotism.

Anybody who has read this blog very much knows that I am an unabashed patriot. I freely acknowledge the faults of this country and that things like slavery, racial prejudice, and the subjugation of Native Americans are sins, the effects of which continue to pollute our national soul.

But I also believe that there is something exceptional in the US character: the first nation to decide itself into being has, by fits, starts, and convulsions, been on a two-plus century-journey toward fulfilling the promise of its founding documents, to be a nation of liberty (as enunciated in the Declaration of Independence) and of mutual responsibility (embodied in the Constitution).

America does, in fact suffer, as Martin Luther King, Jr. said, from "a schizophrenic personality." But were it not for these public pronouncements about a very specific national identity, about the vision we are pursuing, that description would be inapt. We can be described as schizophrenic quite simply because we fail to meet the very standards to which we are supposedly committed.

In our conversation about patriotism, my colleague said, with an ironic laugh, "I used to be a patriot. I really did." He said it as though patriotism was unworthy of a Christian.

Other Christians I know put patriotic fervor for the United States on a par with faith in God.

I disagree with both camps.

I think that as a Christian, it's possible to love one's country. But the God we meet in Jesus Christ demands that we always put God first. Above personal desires. Above family and friends. Above career. Above country. Above everything.

The first commandment tells us, "You shall have no other gods before me." A god is whatever we give highest priority in our lives. If forced to choose between the God I love and the country I love, I hope that God will win every single time. It should really be no contest.

And sometimes, my faith in God and my love for my country will compel me to say things that are critical of my country. I feel no hesitation about condemning our materialism and our racism, for example. I am bothered by those whose patriotism is xenophobia, rather than an honest, historically-attuned appreciation for America, flaws and all.

For any preacher of the Gospel, be it Jeremiah Wright or Mark Daniels, there are two great strands that must appear in preaching: the pastoral and the prophetic. The pastoral declares the love of Jesus by pointing to His gracious handling of sinners. Jesus, God in the flesh, promises life to all who turn from sin and believe in Him.

The prophetic declares the love of Jesus by pointing to the sins that demonstrate our need of forgiveness, both as individuals and as societies. The prophet says, "You have wandered far from God and here are the ways that can be seen."

We tend to like preachers when they're speaking pastorally. But those who speak prophetically are, shall we say, less appreciated.

In his classic overview of the Old Testament portion of the Bible, Bernhard Anderson, onetime professor at Princeton University, calls his chapter on the Old Testament prophets, "Prophetic Troublers of Israel." Anderson explains that prophets believed that God had sent them to deliver messages to God's people, ancient Israel.

The prophets weren't sent by God to make predictions about the future, although that's how some stereotypically see them. Rather, they were sent to tell God's people, "This injustice, that sin, this forgetfulness of God...is not pleasing to God. You are severing your relationship with God and that has its consequences."

To put it in more modern terms, the prophets were sent to tell God's people that if they kept rebelling against God, those "chickens would come home to roost." God, they would tell Israel, is patient. He is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. But if you keep flouting the will of God--God's will that we love God and neighbor, there will be consequences. Paul talked about this in the New Testament. "Do not be deceived," Paul writes in Galatians 6:7, "God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow."

The preacher who isn't both pastoral and prophetic, who fails to display both sides of God's love, who fails to call people both to repentance for sin and to confidence in God's grace, and who doesn't preach both Law and Gospel fails to fulfill the preacher's call.

Now, with all of that in the background, take a listen to Jeremiah Wright's post-9/11 sermon. I'll come back in a day or two to give my reflections on it.

Wright's text is Psalm 137, here.



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