Jesus And Other Noisy Leftists

Some of you may know that a few days ago I went before the Holland City Council. I asked the council to pass an ordinance barring discrimination of people because of sexual orientation or gender identity. And I was shocked by a couple of things that happened that night.

First I was shocked that the Holland City Council didn’t laugh me out of the room. Then I was shocked to walk out of the chambers and have a TV reporter, a radio reporter and two newspaper reporters all wanting to talk to me. Perhaps I was most shocked when several of our parishioners who were there that night - who heard me apologize to the council for not knowing exactly how to get an ordinance passed, because I’m a pastor not a politician – and those members of our congregation later were laughing at me for saying that. They said something along the lines of: You might be a pastor, but you’re also a politician. I was shocked, shocked.

Back in 2004 on election night I was at the Wealthy Street Theater in Grand Rapids, along with other Democrats, watching the election returns. I was there till about 2 in the morning and was devastated by the results. So I went home to my apartment, devastated. I got my mail and I opened up a letter. It was from the AARP congratulating me for being eligible to becoming a member of their organization. So it was a double devastation for me: not only did my candidate lose, but I was now old enough to join the AARP.

Okay, maybe I am a politician, but I would rather refer to myself more as a political animal. I love politics. I love watching Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews. I love watching President Obama give a speech. I love the fact that he graduated from Harvard Law School, that he taught constitutional law and that he’s the one who gets to nominate the next Supreme Court justice. So I love politics. I talk about politics on the radio show I do with Fred Wooden from Fountain Street Church. (By the way, the program is called “Faith and Reason” and it’s on Friday mornings from 10 till Noon on 1680-AM, 95.3-FM and online at publicrealityradio.org – a little plug!) Although, rather than say we talk about politics, I prefer to say we talk about justice. Some people might have seen politics in what happened a few weeks ago.

As you may know, Erik Prince was invited to speak at the Holland Tulip Time Festival luncheon. Many people were upset about that, because Erik Prince founded Blackwater, a mercenary army, accused of killing innocent men, women and children in Iraq. So I invited Jeremy Scahill, author of the book “Blackwater," to come to Holland to speak on the same day as Erik Prince. Jeremy accepted, didn’t charge a speaking fee and even paid for his own plane ticket – bless his heart.

In his speech, Erik Prince said he has three main enemies: al-Qaida, the Taliban and noisy leftists. Now I realize what Erik Prince was doing. He was trying to make a joke. Ha, ha, ha – it’s not just al-Qaida and the Taliban that are my enemies, it’s also those noisy leftists – ha, ha, ha! I imagine that Erik Prince would count Jeremy Scahill as one of those noisy leftists and perhaps even me. I’m not sure, though, if I’m a noisy leftist. On some issues, I’m a libertarian. On some issues, I’m a conservative. And on some issues, I’m a Republican.

When it comes to the issue of abortion, I’m a libertarian – I don’t think the government should be involved in a woman’s decision. When it comes to the issue of the environment, I’m a conservative – I want to conserve our streams and rivers and lakes and oceans and earth and air. When it comes to the issue of the budget, I’m a Republican – I believe the government should live within its means, and not just when a Democrat is in the White House, but also when a Republican is in the White House. So I guess on that issue I’m more Republican than some Republicans. But I suppose on most issues I am a noisy leftist. But I think I’m in pretty good company.

Jesus goes up to a mountain, sits down and begins to talk to his disciples and the thousands of people who gathered around. Jesus says, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” Jesus says, “You have heard that it was said, "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer.” Jesus says, "You have heard that it was said, "You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies.”

Blessed are the peacemakers? Do not resist an evildoer? Love your enemies? My goodness. Jesus sounds like a noisy leftist. I bet he’d be on Erik Prince’s enemies list. So would Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dr. King says, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” My goodness. Dr. King sounds like a noisy leftist. I bet he’d be on Erik Prince’s enemies list. So would Gandhi.

Gandhi says, “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” My goodness. Gandhi sounds like a noisy leftist. I bet he’d be on Erik Prince’s enemies list.

Is it such a bad thing to be called a noisy leftist, to be on Erik Prince’s enemies list? Or is it a badge of honor? I wonder how many people in Holland would be considered noisy leftists. I wonder how many people in Holland would be on Erik Prince’s enemies list.

The other day I was channel surfing and came across a program on the History Channel. It was called The History of the Earth. The program said that for hundreds of millions of years, the earth has been shifting. Tectonic plates under the earth move. The program said that at one time all the continents of the earth were one. You can sort of see that when you look at how the continent of South America fits into the continent of Africa. The program said that all continents were like that, all continents fit together as one, hundreds of millions of years ago, but because of the shifting of the tectonic plates the continents separated. They say the continents shift like that whenever there is an earthquake or a volcano erupts. So when a volcano erupts in Iceland or an earthquake hits in Haiti, that’s not God expressing anger, that’s the earth shifting.

I got to thinking: Holland is shifting; Holland is becoming more progressive. Now you wouldn’t have known that a couple weeks ago, when the Board of Trustees at Hope College refused to rescind their rules condemning homosexuality. That would not be an example of Holland shifting. But there are several other examples of Holland shifting, of Holland becoming more progressive.

In 2008, Barack Obama won Holland by 200 votes. That’s the first time a Democratic presidential candidate won in Holland since 1964, when President Lyndon Johnson, who took office after the assassination of President Kennedy, won here, probably getting some sympathy votes. So, in 2008, for the first time in 44 years, a Democratic presidential candidate won in Holland. Holland is shifting. Holland is becoming more progressive.

I have an anecdotal example of that from a few months ago. One day I was grocery shopping at Meijer, just down the street. I got to the checkout aisle and saw the usual assortment of supermarket tabloids. One of the tabloids said something like: President Obama is gay. I was laughing. And, the guy in front of me was laughing, too. He said, “Yeah, who would have guessed it? Obama is gay.” I think that 10 or 20 years ago, the guy in front of me wouldn’t have been laughing, he would’ve been looking stern and saying, “Oh, you think homosexuality is funny, do you?” But in 2010, the guy in front of me was laughing. Holland is shifting. Holland is becoming more progressive.

A couple months ago, several of us visited a Buddhist temple, one of two Buddhist temples in the Holland area. Who would have thought that there would be two Buddhist temples in the Holland area? I hear tell that there’s even an Interfaith Congregation that meets in a theater in the Holland area. Holland is shifting. Holland is becoming more progressive.

I mentioned Jeremy Scahill. When he came to town, as you may know, we reserved a theater here at the Holland 7 that seats 175 people. He filled that theater and an overflow theater, because 322 people came here to hear Jeremy Scahill. Now some of those folks came from Chicago and Ann Arbor and Traverse City, but I think most of those people came from Holland and the Holland area. Holland is shifting. Holland is becoming more progressive.

A survey was released a couple months ago that said Holland is the second happiest city in the country. Now I know some people found that amusing, but I think it’s great. And I think maybe one of the reasons people are happy in Holland is because Holland is shifting, Holland is becoming more progressive.

Now, will the city council of Holland pass an ordinance banning discrimination of people because of sexual orientation or gender identity in housing, employment and education? I don’t know. Time will tell. I’ve been asked by a group called “Holland Is Ready” to meet with them and strategize about how to get such an ordinance passed. And, of course, I’ll be happy to do that. The group “Holland Is Ready” is another indication that Holland is shifting, Holland is becoming more progressive.

My apologies if this Talk has sounded pretty political. But I felt I should talk about Erik Prince’s enemies list and calling people like me, and maybe some of you, noisy leftists. Whether you consider yourself a noisy leftist or a mumbling moderate or a quiet conservative, that’s fine with me. I’ll love you no matter what. (And I hope the reverse is true.)

I was reading a book the other day and I came across a quote by a Spanish philosopher, Ibn Arabi. Ibn Arabi says, “Love alone is my religion.” I like that. “Love alone is my religion.” Let us not worship MSNBC or the Fox News Channel, let us make love alone our religion. Let us not worship the Democratic Party or the Republican Party, let us make love alone our religion. Let us not worship President Obama or Rush Limbaugh, let us make love alone our religion. If we do that, if we make love alone our religion, then Holland and Michigan and America and the World will all be the better for it.