Inaugural ‘Gospel Preaching’ with gentle voice and strength

Text: Luke 4:14-22

One month ago at the Inaugural Prayer Service, Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde preached a call for “unity that incorporates diversity and transcends disagreement — and the solid foundations of dignity, honesty, and humility that such unity requires.”

Initially, her sermon elicited nods of approval: who could object, to a goal so noble? She concluded with a plea for mercy, delivered directly to the president: mercy for those who are LGBT+; mercy for those who are not citizens or lack documentation, mercy for those fleeing war and persecution, mercy for any who might be seen as a “stranger.” All of whom, in today’s United States of America, live in fear.

Some responses levied blistering criticism against Bishop Budde. Accusations of politicizing an event that ought to have been above politics. Calls for her to be deported. Denunciation of her status as bishop because she is a woman. Disparagement of her tone.

She preached the Gospel, with a gentle voice and with strength. She relayed Jesus’ teachings, and their implications today. In that setting, the Gospel stung.

The Bible’s uncomfortable teaching says that we who believe in God may not be first in line to receive mercy. But if we are to follow Jesus, we had better be the first in line to act mercifully — regardless of whether we think the recipient is deserving, because in God’s sight mercy is a measure of the giver, not the receiver. God is no tribal deity, belonging to one people only, and God will pour out saving help on any person in need, including unbelievers and those whom our society decides to expel.

The Bible is full of references to land and borders, and wars fought over the same, but Jesus flagrantly ignored borders, crossing them at will.

There are thoughtful arguments, both secular and religious, in favor of protecting borders. Yet Jesus did not make them, and they contradict a core Gospel teaching: those who would follow Jesus’ Way are to consider every person on this planet as a family member, whose well-being is as important as our own.

To the argument that talk of immigrants or LGBT+ neighbors or economy is political talk, inappropriate in a religious setting: read the prophets and the Gospels. The Bible’s religious topics — by definition, religious topics — are resolutely focused on the wellness of all living beings, and how we treat one another, and how we organize our common life. When a policy or an administration has created hardship, especially for those who are vulnerable in our society, it is not the church or synagogue or mosque or meeting or gurdwara wading inappropriately into political territory, it is the politicians flouting the core message of God’s Living Word.

In the Gospel, might does not make right — vulnerability makes right. In the Gospel, there is no justification for harsh treatment or expulsion of persons who are here illegally — because every person is our neighbor, and such laws fail God’s requirements of morality and mercy. In the Gospel, the accumulation of wealth is a grotesque abomination — an act of blatant infidelity which deserves no reward, and certainly no position of influence. In the Gospel, there is no outsider in God’s eyes, only in human eyes, and God often will give first attention to someone we think of as unfit or undeserving or unwelcome as if to deliver a message laser focused on each believer: “Your way to me, beloved, is through a loving relationship with them. Your way to me is by all of ‘them’ becoming ‘us.’”

In times and circumstances that are hostile to Gospel values, preaching the Gospel will sting. God knows, all that I am saying may be dismissed as political. Call it what you will. I take my stand on the Gospel, and I pray to be accountable to the Gospel alone.

From Sermon preached at the Congregational Church of Salisbury, UCC, Salisbury, on the Third Sunday after Epiphany, Jan. 26, 2025.

The views expressed here are not necessarily those of The Millerton News and The News does not support or oppose candidates for public office.

Latest News

Village will not pursue local ICE law; police say they will cooperate with federal agencies

Village of Millerton and Town of North East residents crowded into the NorthEast-Millerton Library annex to have their voices heard on police policies regarding immigration enforcement for the Tuesday, July 29, Village Trustees meeting.

Photo by Aly Morrissey

MILLERTON — After a packed public meeting brought immigration enforcement to the forefront of village politics on Tuesday, July 29, trustees signaled they will not pursue a proposed local law aimed at limiting police cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Local police, for their part, said they would fully cooperate with federal agencies — including ICE — tempering hopes for the kind of change some residents had called for.

Keep ReadingShow less
Deputies respond to downtown Amenia political dispute

Kimberly Travis, right, during the early days of her daily "No kings" anti-Trump administration protests at downtown Amenia's Fountain Square in front of the Bank of Millbrook on Saturday, July 5. Travis has become a regular fixture on downtown Amenia after weeks of the daily protests.

Photo by Leila Hawken

AMENIA — Dutchess County Sheriff’s Deputies broke up a political dispute between two Amenia residents at Fountain Square in downtown Amenia on Tuesday, July 15.

Kimberly Travis of Amenia was conducting her daily “No Kings” anti-Trump administration protest at Fountain Square at 1:15 p.m. when Jamie Deines of Amenia, a candidate for Town Board in the Nov. 4 election, approached her.

Keep ReadingShow less
East Twin Lake
finds new hope 
as hydrilla fades

Gregory Bugbee, associate scientist at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES), where he heads the Office of Aquatic Invasive Species (OAIS), was a guest speaker at the Aug. 2 annual meeting of the Twin Lakes Association.

Debra A. Aleksinas

SALISBURY— A fierce and costly battle to halt the spread of hydrilla in East Twin Lake may have finally paid off.

All but three remaining small patches, one near the shoreline at O’Hara’s Landing Marina and two others in deeper water as boats exit the marina and head out, have been destroyed by this summer’s treatment with the aquatic herbicide fluridone, which began on May 20. None of the remaining plants are thriving.

Keep ReadingShow less
Oblong Books to celebrate 50 years with block party bash

Dick Hermans in the Oblong Bookstore on Millerton's Main Street in 1985.

Photo provided

MILLERTON — To celebrate its golden milestone, Oblong Books is throwing a “good old-fashioned block party” this Saturday, Aug. 9, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on South Center Street in Millerton. The free, family-friendly event will feature live music, food trucks, raffles and entertainment for all ages.

While the festivities mark 50 years since the founding of Oblong Books, co-owner Suzanna Hermans sees the party as something more. “We want to celebrate our friends, neighbors and generations of customers who have kept us here for 50 years,” she said. “It’s a thank-you to the people of Millerton, in particular, without whom we’d never be here.”

Keep ReadingShow less