Searching for Grace

Reflections on compassion, justice, and the lost lessons of faith.

Letter to my congressman, Tim Walberg.

Pastor Walberg,

Recent thoughts.

With the rise of Christian Nationalism and the Jesus-less Christianity of the GOP, I find myself wondering what has changed since my childhood lessons. The message of my youth was twofold. First, it was a love for our fellow humans — particularly the poor, the weak, the sick, the children, and the immigrant. Second, there was my childhood lesson about Hell and the fires of eternal damnation.

The GOP Christians, in their quest for power, seem concerned with neither. Curious about what they’ve lost, I began searching for answers.

I’ve re-read Paul’s letters and the Synoptic Gospels, explored scholarly works on the historical Jesus, and am now working through the Nag Hammadi and the Gnostic Gospels. I even found a 1950s copy of 𝘚𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘑𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘱𝘩’𝘴 𝘋𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘭 — the one I carried to Mass each day. By fortunate chance, I’m currently taking a fascinating class on the Protestant Reformation.

It has been an interesting few months of reading — a journey through lost writings, hidden agendas, politics, power struggles, the suppression of truth and myth, and, of course, the burning of heretics.

I am not a theological expert, nor do I wish to debate the divinity of Jesus. I’m curious about how his teachings remain relevant today. It is the pre-Easter Jesus I find most interesting — and, unfortunately, the most forgotten.

Jesus spoke most often to, and for, the poor, the sick, and the stranger. He broke the rules, eating with outcasts, sinners, tax collectors, and women. He offered everyone a vision of compassion and justice — “on earth as it is in heaven.”

Yet today, two thousand years later, we witness the cruelty of a regime — the Grand Old Party — steeped in hate, with a professed dislike of empathy and nothing but racism behind the empty blue eyes of their false Christ. I wonder: is the spirit they hear during their thoughts and prayers truly the one they believe it is? Or is it a voice of lies, deceit, and the ultimate con man?

Perhaps each of us needs to give more thought to caring for one another — for all of humanity. To be less concerned with petty tribalism, imaginary lines on a map, or who might be getting “undeserved” help. At one time, at least in our minds, we were a welcoming nation. Maybe someday we will stop worrying about being great and could simply, and humbly, find our grace.

Respectfully

—Mark

𝑅𝑒𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑠:

𝐽𝑒𝑠𝑢𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑁𝑎𝑧𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑡ℎ, 𝐾𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐽𝑒𝑤𝑠: 𝐴 𝐽𝑒𝑤𝑖𝑠ℎ 𝐿𝑖𝑓𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐸𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝐶ℎ𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑦 — 𝑏𝑦 𝑃𝑎𝑢𝑙𝑎 𝐹𝑟𝑒𝑑𝑟𝑖𝑘𝑠𝑒𝑛

𝑀𝑒𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐽𝑒𝑠𝑢𝑠 𝐴𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐹𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒: 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐻𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝐽𝑒𝑠𝑢𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑟𝑦 𝐹𝑎𝑖𝑡ℎ — 𝑏𝑦 𝑀𝑎𝑟𝑐𝑢𝑠 𝐽. 𝐵𝑜𝑟𝑔

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑁𝑎𝑔 𝐻𝑎𝑚𝑚𝑎𝑑𝑖 𝑆𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑝𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑠: 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑅𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑈𝑝𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑇𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑆𝑎𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝐺𝑛𝑜𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝑇𝑒𝑥𝑡𝑠 – 𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝐸𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 — 𝑏𝑦 𝑀𝑎𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑛 𝑊. 𝑀𝑒𝑦𝑒𝑟 (𝐸𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑜𝑟)

𝑆𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑡 𝐽𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑝ℎ 𝐷𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑦 𝑀𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑎𝑙 - 𝑀𝑎𝑟𝑐ℎ 19, 1957

...𝑎𝑛𝑑, 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑒 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐵𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒: 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑂𝑙𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑁𝑒𝑤 𝑇𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐾𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐽𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝑉𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛