The Honorable Senator, Charles Grassley
135 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Ashley Hinson, US Representative
2458 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
On Tuesday, January 22, 2025, a Service of Prayer for the Nation was held at the National Cathedral of the Episcopal Church in Washington, DC as has been the tradition the day after the inauguration since 1933. It is part of the stated mission of this cathedral church, and also an important responsibility of the Church through the ages to speak truth to power.
During her sermon, Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde spoke about our prayers for unity, acknowledging the challenges of finding unity amidst division. At the end of her sermon, she directly addressed President Trump, asking him to “have mercy” for vulnerable ones in society who are now living in fear for their future. Her remarks were entirely respectful toward the President and firmly grounded in the Christian tradition.
I am told that Mr. Trump released an angry tirade against her remarks, accusing her of being a radical left wing Trump hater, of being ‘nasty’ and ‘not very smart.’ Incidentally, Bishop Budde earned a Bachelor of Arts magna cum laude (meaning ‘with great honor’), a Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees. She has been the Bishop of the Washington DC diocese since 2011, properly chosen and installed, there is nothing ‘so-called’ about her status as Bishop. His remarks about her are insulting and completely incorrect. One should expect more from the highest elected official in the Country.
Mr. Trump also apparently said he found the service ‘boring.’ I watched the service; I found it anything but boring. I found it deeply reverent, steadfastly focused on worshiping God. The service included music by Bach, Mendelssohn, Buxtehude, Rutter, Dvorak, Aaron Copeland and others, performed by organ, symphonic band, and chorus with breath-taking effect. If Mr. Trump was bored, perhaps it is because he misunderstood who was being worshiped.
It has been reported that Republican House member from Georgia Mike Collins threatened that she should be deported for criticizing the President. Bishop Budde was born here in the USA; her mother was an immigrant from Sweden, just as Mr. Trump’s mother was an immigrant from Scotland and his grandparents were immigrants. Have we reached the phase of fascism in this country where those in power deport anyone who speaks criticism?
Has the Republican party so completely handed over their spines and souls to Mr. Trump that there is no one left in your party to speak a restraining word when its leader runs dangerously close to despotism? Is it fear of retribution? Cowardice?
Senator Grassley, Representative Hinson, your legacy is being written now. History will describe your service by what you do or fail to do in these next days and months. How do you want history to remember you? Will you be remembered as the voice of courage who stood up to a dangerous would-be tyrant or as one of the cowards who slunk away and shirked their duty to country out of misplaced fealty or fear of a despot’s revenge?
One of the memorable phrases from the Bishop’s words are to remind us that God does not spare us from the consequences of our actions. Sin includes both the things we do that we ought not to have done, and also the things we should have done but failed to act.
I urge you to find your courage to defend the Country and Constitution above political party and personal threat. The nation and the world need your courageous action now. History will record which side you chose.
Sincerely,
Brice Martin Hughes
Tag: faith
Righteousness is:
Righteousness
Righteousness. Oxford Languages uses the term “morally justifiable” as part of its definition of the word righteousness.
“It is in the nature of the human being to seek a justification for his actions.” ― Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago. Solzhenitsyn experienced firsthand what it meant when those in power justified the imprisonment and destruction of those who would disagree. It seems to me that when you must explain your actions as “morally justifiable” those actions are rarely justifiable or moral.
One common meaning of the word righteousness is not doing anything bad; no drinking, no dancing, no smoking or card playing equals righteousness. One elderly gentleman tried to demonstrate to me that he was a righteous person by saying, “I’ve never robbed or killed anyone.” Is that what righteousness means? Never convicted of a crime?
The word righteousness appears 261 times in the Bible. “Never convicted of a crime” does not seem to be how that word is used in any of those passages.
Having a deep conversation with a faithful friend the other day. He is reading the Beatitudes in Matthew. We sat with MT 5:10, “Blessed are they who have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake. For theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.”
So, what does “righteousness” mean? The Greek word in the original text is “dikaioosune.” (English transliteration). That word is derived from “dikahyos” which means ‘equitable’ (in character).
Equitable is much more than merely never broke the law, even more than simply equal. A cartoon helped me understand the difference. Two children are trying to watch the baseball game from outside the wood fence. One child is tall enough to see over the fence, the other child is too short. There are some boxes nearby. Equal treatment would give each child one box. The taller child doesn’t really need the box to see the game, and one box is not enough for the shorter child to see over the fence. So, equal treatment, giving each child the same, does not bring equity. Equity would be when the shorter child stands on enough boxes to be able to see the game, same as the taller one.
There are plenty of examples of faithful people being criticized, scorned, even persecuted for advocating equity by those who defend their own cruelty as morally justifiable. Standing up for the equitable treatment of others is righteousness, and it may very well subject you to pressure and persecution. Do it any way; this is the path of following Jesus.
The season of Lent begins in just over a week; a season of self-examination and brutal honesty with ourselves about what is lacking in our lives. Lent is the season for rejecting moral justification and instead committing ourselves to behaviors that seek equity for all. By this, we learn what true righteousness looks like.
My prayers for you and your congregation are that you will seek true equity and righteousness in your lives, and in doing so, find the kingdom of the heavens.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see or decide by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge for the poor and decide with equity for the oppressed of the earth – Isaiah 11:3b-4
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