“And Mary said, ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for God has looked with favor on the lowliness of the Almighty’s servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is God’s name. God’s mercy is for those who fear God from generation to generation. God has shown strength with God’s arm; God has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. God has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; God has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. God has helped servant Israel, in remembrance of God’s mercy, according to the promise God made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.'”
— (Luke 1:46-55)
At various times and places in history, the public recitation of “The Magnificat” has been banned. “The Magnificat” was the joyful song of hope that burst forth from Mary when she found out that she was pregnant with Jesus. During times of political upheaval, it has been considered a dangerous encouragement for the oppressed to resist the status quo; “God has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; God has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.” Hence, Mary’s song was banned in British-occupied India as well as in Guatemala and Argentina during times of military rule and repression.
From time to time, I am asked to participate in mock interviews for churches that are entering into the search process for a new pastor. Mock interviews give the search committee an opportunity to practice interviewing and to ask an experienced pastor for constructive feedback.
During the last mock interview I participated in, a member of the committee asked me, “What about politics? Do you preach about politics?”
“I’m not sure what you mean,” I responded.
“You know; do you talk about politics from the pulpit?” she reiterated.
“Well, I talk about Jesus, who was about as political as it gets; he died by capitol punishment for being a political agitator.” She looked genuinely stunned, as though she didn’t know about the events leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion. So I continued, “Everything is political; hunger, health care, war and peace, sexuality, poverty, immigration, child welfare. Those are all issues that Jesus had quite a bit to say about. I wouldn’t know how to talk about the relevance of the Gospel in our lives today, without reflecting on the state of the world.”
The famous Swiss Reformed theologian Karl Barth (1886–1968) once famously said that we “should preach with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other.”
Partisanship from the pulpit? Absolutely not; the preacher’s job is to teach the congregation to think theologically, not to tell them what to think. If we take the Gospel seriously, it will challenge us from time to time. That challenge invites us into deeper prayer and theological reflection, not dismissal.
These are challenging days. The threat of White Christian Nationalism not only to our democracy but to Christ’s beloved church is serious. It is incumbent on all of us to learn about and to reflect prayerfully on what our sacred scriptures teach us about the pressing issues of our times. After all, Jesus had a lot to say about our responsibilities to address hunger, health care, sexuality, poverty, immigration, child welfare and bloodshed.
Do you remember way back when the WWJD bracelets and T-shirts were so popular? WWJD stood for “What Would Jesus Do?” I think this election year is a great time to bring them back, so I got a bunch to give away at church. Let me know if you want one; I’ll gladly share.
The Rev. Rona Tyndall is pastor of West Gloucester Trinitarian Congregational Church.