Bible Study

  
                You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat.                      For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall and like the heat of the desert.  Isaiah 24:4
 
Trying to keep up with Trump’s well-practiced strategy of flooding the zone is exhausting.  Overnight, he upended 250 years of government of the people, by the people, and for the people.  Less than a month into his term, the flood waters are so deep, we are in need of an ark.

I am not sure how the simple word “groceries” turned into all of this chaos.  Maybe Trump is afraid that if he lowers the price of eggs people will begin throwing bird-flu-infected ova at him.  Hate to tell you, #47, but you already have egg on your face—critical Day One promises have been broken:  groceries are more expensive.  There is still a war in Ukraine. 

In one of Trump’s latest moves, he fired the Chairman of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and named himself Chairman despite the fact that he’s never seen a performance there. I guess #47 is planning a revival of Jesus Christ Superstar and wants to ensure he gets the title role surrounded by The 12 Village People.  I am willing to give the guy a break; he probably just wants to show off his dance moves and his Jesus complex. 

In another puzzling move, even as he shuttered government offices and dismantled USAID, #47 established an Office for Faith.  He wants to Make America Christian Again.  He even appointed a woman to head this new office.  No D-E-I there, just a gospel of P-R-O-S-P-E-R-I-T-Y.  That, along with his new merit system
L-O-Y-A-L-T-Y, form the foundation of his religion.  Even the fundamentalist Christians of Trump’s base responded with fury. They have called the appointee a heretic, and a W-O-M-A-N.  In their view, God does not want women as preachers or church leaders.  Why, #47 has even taken it upon himself to speak up for my homies, the Catholics, saying that Democrats have abandoned us.  I had no idea...

Finding this all very confusing, I turned to the Catholic reference manual to see how all of this lines up with the actual word of God.  I began searching my Bible for relevant passages that could explain #47’s character, words, and behavior in light of his pronouncements about faith and Christianity.  I even scoured the internet and sought the help of ChatGPT, but there was nothing to explain the paradox.  Later, during a night of restless sleep, it came to me in a dream.  I pictured a day in June 2020 when #47 was still #45 and people had taken to the streets to protest the murder of George Floyd.  I saw a man in a suit standing in front of St. John’s Church in Washington, D. C.  My foggy brain zeroed in—Yes! That was him!  #45 was holding a Bible.   Upside down.

The revelation jarred me from my sleep and I jumped out of bed.  Grabbing the family Bible from the shelf, I turned to the Ten Commandments and began reading:

     Commandment 1:  You shall have no other gods before me.  Turning the heavy book upside down, I could see #47’s interpretation.  There were no other gods before him.
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     How about Commandment 4: Keep holy the Sabbath?  Upside down it could be interpreted as “Play a few holes on Sunday.”  I was getting somewhere, a much deeper understanding, but then...

     Commandment 6: You shall not murder.  I am still struggling with this one.  No matter how I turned the Bible, even standing on my head, I just couldn’t see how that might read:  “Hang Mike Pence.”

     On to Commandment 7:  You shall not commit adultery.  Giving #47 the benefit of the doubt, and going with the possibility that he has read more of the Bible, I found at least 30 passages about the storms of life.  It’s quite possible, in an upside down world, that he summarized and came to the conclusion that he had permission to do Stormy Daniels.

     Down to Commandment 8:  Thou shall not steal.  From the reporting of staff during #47’s first administration, #47 is not much of a reader.  He prefers to keep things short and to scan for the details.  I can see how, at a quick glance, Commandment 8 might seem like an order to “Stop the Steal.” 

     And finally, how about Commandment 10:  Thou shalt not covet your neighbor’s house or anything that is your neighbors?”  Again, in all fairness, it didn’t specifically say Canada, Mexico, or Panama.  And Greenland isn’t technically a “neighbor.”

Maybe #47 isn’t the fascist we fear.  Maybe he just needs some glasses and some Ritalin…and maybe a heart transplant. 

I’m no priest or preacher, but I read my Bible right side up.  And I am sure of two things that will get us through this storm:
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     God’s greatest commandment recorded in John 13:

                                              As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 

And it was Jesus who spoke of fear even more times than he spoke of love.  I keep this passage from Matthew 17:7 on a poster in my bedroom where I see it when I open my eyes each morning:

                                                                  Arise, and do not be afraid.