The Weeping Woke

“Between the Christianity of this land and the Christianity of Christ, I recognize the widest possible difference – so wide that to receive the one as good, pure, and holy, is of necessity to reject the other as bad, corrupt, and wicked.” -Frederick Douglass

“Love is profoundly political. Our deepest revolution will come when we understand this truth.” -bell hooks

I’ve been thinking about the times Jesus wept in the Bible, and imagining how much he weeps at the state of our world, and the USA. I’ve been frequently commenting and lamenting with, “Jesus weeps” in response to the horrors of current events. Jesus’ tears in scripture are tears of empathy, compassion, and courage- the very values that will get us through this terrible time. When we are filled with overwhelm and despair, when we weep in response to scary leadership, wars, genocide, exploitation, human caused climate catastrophe, and harm to others, it is valid. If you are grieving right now over the state of “everything happening” you are not alone. Grieve. Be disturbed. Be angry. As Cole Arthur Riley said, “Anger is an acceptable form of grief. You don’t have to make your emotions palatable to those who are unmoved. Rage isn’t the curse, apathy is.”

And, may we be reminded that the large majority of us are embodying these Jesus-y characteristics of empathy, compassion, and courage, in direct opposition of the cruelty that only throws its tantrum because it knows we are here, and we are always rising. We aren’t going anywhere. It is their last ditch attempt to hold on to power, because they know their time is limited.

One example of courage played out profoundly last week during the National Day of Prayer Service in D.C. as I’m sure you’ve heard, when the spirit of Jesus’ core message came out in the brave words of The Right Reverend Marian Edgar Budde. She spoke the Truth in her affliction of the comfortable. The smirks and squirming of our “presidential” leaders were quite telling as her words of empathy fell over the pews. The Bishop’s courage is something I would hope to summon myself if I were in her position to preach, pray, and make a Christ-filled plea of mercy from the pulpit in the presence of this president. Unfortunately, we all know that trying to garner empathy from a narcissist is almost impossible. Trump’s comment about it was unsurprising. Predictably, he went straight to demeaning words, and questioned the Bishop’s authority and intelligence. In other words, he went straight to one of his weak ego’s favorite defenses: sexism. GOP Rep. Mike Collins made a despicable comment that this Bishop should be deported. Later, he introduced “a resolution to fully condemn the distorted sermon that was preached at President Trump during the National Prayer Service on Monday” and continued, “I strongly urge my colleagues to act quickly on this resolution to show President Trump that the sermon given is not reflective of the faith community at large.” Unacceptable. Additionally, the fragile “King” with his hurt ego insisted an apology should be made by the Bishop. For what? Being asked to have empathy and compassion? He calls the Bishop “political”. Well, welcome to the politics of Jesus, POTUS! Making you uncomfortable? That’s the point. White Evangelical Christian Nationalism does not want to hear the call of Jesus. It would rather mistakenly merge the Kingdom of God with empire. Bishop Budde stated quite rightly after the service, “…One of the qualities of a leader is mercy.” Those who try to dismiss her message as political as if derogatory, have forgotten or denied that Jesus was and is political. “Jesus was a liberator of the oppressed, not a mascot for the powerful.” One cannot be more political than that.

Jesus wept in Jerusalem because the people refused to see him for what he was. When we have the threat of Christian Nationalism, and a resolution to condemn a “distorted” message, such is a refusal to see Jesus- right in front of them! Rep. Collins said Bishop Budde’s message was “not representative of the ‘faith’ community at large”. My initial response to that is, “Whose faith?”A blanket title of “faith” in this assumption is exclusive in and of itself. (It’s why I get annoyed every time sports teams have a “faith night” at their venue. Whose faith? What kind of faith? Just be transparent and say what it actually is, please. And btw- it’s always a Christian Evangelical faith night.) Second, Collins is perhaps correct, that the message of Bishop Budde was not reflective of *that* specific kind of Christianity- the one called white evangelical Christianity in its bow to Christian Nationalism. Because that kind has chosen another god: an orange one. What it really “condemns” is the very message of Jesus. What it really distorts is the peace of Jesus, and turns him into a soldier of retribution. This cult of Christianity is fused with the cult of Trumpism and projects its own distortion on to Christian communities and leaders who are spreading a biblical message of mercy. The message Bishop Budde spoke, with courage and gentleness (not in a “nasty” tone as Trump lied) is indeed, biblical. The Bible is packed with references about caring for the immigrants and refugees in our midst: The Bible says we are called to empathize with foreigners. The Bible says we are not to oppress the foreigners. The Bible says God defends the foreigner residing among you. The Bible says political leaders should not turn away the needy from justice. Jesus said it is most important to desire mercy, especially those that the religious leaders scapegoat and falsely accuse. Jesus said to love our neighbors as ourselves. Jesus proclaimed that love of others trumps laws that would lead us to harm others, by desiring mercy, not sacrifice. And more. It’s all there in the scriptures. Bishop Budde’s plea to the president is an act of duty for ordained clergy. She is compelled, as am I, to speak out for protecting the most vulnerable and marginalized in our communities. But Trump’s response was a sexist, hate fueled, scapegoating filled with lies. These dangerous narratives claiming to be Christian are blasphemous. It is a theocracy in the making. Good for Bishop Budde for her courage. If the hardened hearts of those in power cannot be cracked, may ours be broken open.

I am baffled by the things that are happening which have been deemed ways to “Make America Great Again”. Is this what makes America great: Trying to suspend the constitution to end birth right citizenship? Signing executive orders to rule that people Trump doesn’t like don’t exist? (As if something written on a piece of paper determines gender? Our Trans siblings have always existed, and always will, created in the image of God.) Continuing: Releasing violent J6 insurrectionist criminals as Trump’s own “brown shirts” if you will, in an absolute betrayal of justice and those who fought and died to protect democracy? Knowing one of the pardoned is out buying some “MOTHA FU*KIN GUNS!!!” (His words)? Knowing Officer Fanone who bravely testified before Congress is under greater threat and that his 76 YO mother was swatted and had feces thrown at her? Pardoning a drug dealing hitman son of a prominent libertarian leader? Signaling that violence and crime is okay? (So much for “law and order”.) When Trump’s billionaire puppeteer does a N*zi salute behind a presidential podium viewed around the world, followed by gaslighting us into thinking we didn’t see what we clearly saw…twice? Banning scientists from informing the public with important information about health risks, and disease? Dismantling democracy with bigotry and incompetence? Making school children less safe by ending school boards that work to prevent school shootings? Seeing droves of white supremacists show up to see their POTUS speak at an anti-abortion rally? Killing and suppressing women with draconian anti-abortion laws? (Abortion is healthcare.) Threatening to withhold aid to a state devastated by fire damage? Attacking Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programming? Coming after the civil rights movement in full force? Blaming a devastating flight crash on previous admins and DEI, and insulting people with disabilities (again), when his own actions disbanded the ASA Committee which puts aviation security and the flying public at risk? Ironically stating a desire for competency, expertise, geniuses, merit, and common sense leadership when this administration is the least qualified in each of those categories? Freezing civil rights cases and preventing civil rights attorneys from filing new ones? (i.e. How do you support white supremacy without saying you support white supremacy…) Opening a concentration camp in Guantanamo? Coming after books, education, history, and intersectionality because they know that knowledge is power and only by perpetuating ignorance can they continue their authoritarian agenda? By making prescriptions and healthcare more expensive for seniors and vulnerable people and working people? By removing protections from prominent individuals who have credible threats against them because he views them as enemies and as disloyal? By trying to remove independent inspectors general and replace them with loyalists so Trump can continue his fraudulence and abuses of the government without being held accountable? By ending cancer research? By consolidating power and forming an American oligarchy with a deceptive pecuniary agenda? By implementing a massive power grab for billionaire buddies at the expense of the common people, including the ones who voted for this? Deporting and traumatizing immigrants including those who aren’t criminals, and including indigenous people? Pretending mass arrests of immigrant/refugee families is about “safety” when the Criminal-Insurrectionist-in-Chief just pardoned 1500+ criminal insurrectionists? And when Immigrants-those in the U.S. legally or undocumented-commit crimes at lower rates than U.S. citizens? Where sexual assault, it seems, has practically become a qualifier on a resume for this administration? Where an oligarchy symbolically has front row seats at the inauguration and in actuality seeks profit over humanity and controls all major social media outlets? (Increased propaganda.) When an inauguration speech by a president puts himself at the center instead of Americans? When a draft dodger decides who can’t serve in the military, ousting those who volunteered and risked their lives to serve our country because of transphobia? By using the authoritarian playbook to implement an agenda the vast majority of Americans are against? Pretending his election win was a landslide when in reality in only garnered 1/3 of voters, and used gerrymandering, disinformation, culture wars, and exploitation of human beings to manipulate the masses and gain power? When empathy, awareness (wokeness) is seen as weakness? Do I really need to go on? It’s only been 10 days, folks…

We should not be surprised that Trump’s presidential photo looks exactly like his official mug shot. Symbolic. He does not intend to abide by the constitution, and fully intends to break laws, to be a dictator, and already is, above the law. In part, we have SCOTUS to thank for that. Fascism is already here, I’m afraid. But it won’t win.

We knew there would be a barrage of executive orders and actions meant to send a metaphoric message, as much as they are to be taken seriously. “Shock and Awe” is supposed to be implemented in war toward an “enemy”. But this shock and awe is directed toward us, the American people. Many of these actions will face legal road blocks from what’s left of our already weakened by Trump guardrails of democracy. Some EO’s are performative at best, some are nods to the Evangelicals Trump exploited to win, but some will have devastating consequences. Much of this has to do with Trump’s petulant need to look powerful. The toxic, fragile masculinity that has harmed our society is being blown up in an effort to appear “tough” though it has missed the meaning of true strength. Jesus weeps at what such a movement believes will make America “Great”. He weeps at the hubris that harms. He weeps at the flawed theologies of Christian Nationalism, and the error of being anti-woke, which is to be anti-scripture (“Stay awake!”), which is to be anti-Christ. Part of the agenda of this presidency is about dominance, so it comes of no surprise that the mercy of God is immediately rebuked, and that empathy would be rejected and deemed a sin.

Speaking of woke- the combination of Inauguration Day and Martin Luther King Day, a rare occurrence, while the former this year was an absolute insult to the latter, was perhaps also juxtaposed in a way to clarify the dangerous counter narrative that occurred in D.C. to MLK’s vision. I recall MLK’s speech from the Alabama State Capitol on March 25, 1965 when he said, “I come to say to you this afternoon, however difficult the moment, however frustrating the hour, it will not be long, because truth crushed to earth will rise again. How long? Not long, because no lie can live forever.” Ibram X. Kendi said on this year’s Inauguration Day, “Today we inaugurate our courage as power hopes to inaugurate our cowardice. Courage is not the absence of danger, but the strength to do what’s right in the face of it, as has been said. We can begin amassing the strength to be anti-racist in dangerously racist times. We can be courageous today…courage is the fuel to resistance, the building block of a new world.” The daughter of MLK Jr., Bernice King, gave a powerful message in contrast to a perilous and misleading speech in D.C. that day. “To be WOKE is to be aware of oppression and committed to justice,” Bernice King said. In the spirit of her father, but with her own voice, she laid out the call we all have before us. In direct contrast to the 2025 presidential inauguration, may the spirit of her message, MLK’s message, and Jesus’ message, move us along the right side of history and faith. When you hear people disparage being “WOKE” they are countering King’s vision, and the history that term surfaced from, as a long and important part of Black culture. Not only that, but as the very Gospel itself.

“We will remain woke because too much is on the line.” -Bernice King

“One of the great liabilities of history is that too many people fail to remain awake through great social change.” -MLK Jr.

Remember that there are far more of us who care, and who have been, and are, on the right side of history. Remember that although they try to squash DEI, they will not succeed. (Austin Channing Brown said, “You’ll never convince me that this attack on DEI isn’t a specific and coordinated attack on Black women (the 92%) because it is our work that erected these programs, created those budgets, challenged administrators and executive teams, etc. But they can’t outpace our creativity, or our strength.”) Organize your outrage, aim it toward justice and purpose by finding your niche, and using your gifts, resources, passions, and remember that rest is part of the resistance effort, too. They are trying to silence us and exhaust us, but only because our voices, our lives, our purpose, and our callings have immeasurable and unstoppable power.

Hold on to hope. Although this all comes down to capitalism, white supremacy, false narratives fueled by fear of the other, and scarcity, as per usual, the majority of us will not allow the spineless to rewrite history. We will not give in to apathy. We will support our local libraries, and read the books they try to ban, and share them. Small acts of kindness, and grand gestures of justice will light the way. Experiencing joy, modeling decency, mercy, integrity, and love will add to the Beloved Community endeavor. It will deny empire and empire’s demagogues of their attempt to crush spirits and to squash the work of liberation. Because fighting for what’s right is for everyone, even those who voted against their best interests. Because resurrection always follows crucifixion. Because light is never overcome by darkness, love is greater than hate, and communities arm in arm are bigger than the violently armed, engagement and shaking voices of dissent are louder than lies.

Many have already written about the events of this week, and will continue to write about them, and all that is to come. Many have written, and will write far better than I can. But writing is one thing I do, and we are writing down history. We narrate these truths for the legacy of love. Every voice is needed, as we speak and write about the same topics of truth and justice in our own unique voices of dissent and truth. We must decide what is ours to do. What is yours? Are you an artist, a marcher, a singer, a preacher, a person making calls to congress, an organizer, one desiring to run for a local office or board, a care-giver, a teacher, a philanthropist, a volunteer for a non-profit, a volunteer in your church, parish, mosque, temple? We can focus on what’s ours to do, staying informed while taking care not be overwhelmed by the agent of chaos who wants us so inundated as to give up. Balance your efforts and justice work with rest, and moments of small and simple joys. No joy will be stolen.

While no political party nor any one of us is clear and free from a complicity with empire and colonial violence; this is part of the work of being woke: to be aware, to do our work, to repair and heal, to learn of and from our histories and families of complicated and painful legacies, and to do better when we know better. Part of pleas for mercy is continuing to work on the mercy we seek for ourselves and the institutions that have caused so much harm. And even though particular “Christians” who are called to care for the “least of these” will continue to support the evil policies of this administration, Good people of a healthy Christianity of compassion, empathy, and courage, mirroring the tears of Jesus, along with Good people of multiple faiths and various identities and backgrounds will rise above.

We may be weepy while woke, but so is Jesus.