Thursday, January 19, 2017

United States Inaugurates 45th President

The Wired Word for the Week of January 22, 2017
In the News
Barring anything unforeseen, by the time you use this lesson in class, Donald Trump will have been inaugurated as the 45th president of the United States of America.
Despite having a large number of supporters across the American populace who are glad he has been elected, Trump comes into office having won election in the electoral college but not in the popular vote. His rhetoric and stated positions on a number of matters have left many other Americans wishing he were not the president.
But whether you like or dislike Mr. Trump, he is now our national leader. Outgoing President Barack Obama, while being in many ways Trump's opposite and a member of the opposing political party, stated in his January 10 farewell speech in Chicago that Trump would be a "freely elected president."
"In 10 days," Obama said, "the world will witness a hallmark of our democracy … the peaceful transfer of power from one freely elected president to the next."
Obama went on to say, "I committed to President-elect Trump that my administration would ensure the smoothest possible transition, just as President Bush did for me."
Despite Trump's flair for showmanship and experience as a reality-TV star, his inauguration is slated to be a relatively low-key event, extending over barely three days, compared, for example, to the five devoted to Mr. Obama's first inaugural. President Trump plans appearances at only three official balls, unlike many newly elected presidents who hit several balls on the day they are sworn in. And, if Mr. Trump's inaugural parade down Pennsylvania Avenue stays to its expected 90 minutes, it will be the shortest on record.
Boris Epshteyn, communications director for the Presidential Inaugural Committee, said that ticket prices for the inaugural balls were being kept at $50 apiece so that ­working-class Americans who helped fuel Trump's victory could take part.
More on this story can be found at these links:
Applying the News Story
In our form of government, agreement and dissent regarding White House policies can be expressed in many ways, and it's likely that committed Christians will be found on various sides of those issues.
Our topic today is our Christian responsibility in times of national leadership change, whether we think the new leader is a step forward for America or a step backward.
We think that at least these four words apply: prayer, respect, advocacy, acceptance. You will find Bible verses below on all four of those topics. You may think of other appropriate words as well.
The Big Questions
1. As Christians and as citizens, what is our responsibility toward any freely elected national leader, regardless of our personal like or dislike for that person? What role, if any, should acceptance play? How and under what conditions should opposition come into play?
2. In times such as this, how important is it to differentiate between our responsibilities as followers of Jesus and our responsibilities as citizens of the United States? In what ways might those two be melded? When they seem to be in conflict, what helps you decide, which, if either, should take priority in a given situation? If possible, give examples.
3. In the political scene today, what means and methods can you use to best express and support your hopes for America?
4. What should be the content of your prayers regarding our new president?
5. As a Christian, how do you deal with media commentary and opinions regarding White House initiatives? In what ways do media commentary and opinion help you in deciding your response to those initiatives? In what ways do they hinder you in deciding your response? How does the concept of discernment become involved?
Confronting the News With Scripture and HopeHere are some Bible verses to guide your discussion:
1 Timothy 2:1-2 (regarding prayer) 
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity. (For context, read 2:1-8.)
These verses from the apostle Paul urge Christians to pray for "all who are in high positions," including kings.
From A.D. 30 to A.D. 311, a period in which 54 emperors ruled the Roman Empire, only about a dozen harassed Christians. Not until Decius (249–251) did any deliberately attempt an Empire-wide persecution.
Nonetheless, in the earlier years of Paul's missionary work, some persecution of Christians happened under local politicians in some places. And, if Paul's letter to Timothy was written sometime after A.D. 60, as some Bible scholars think, then Paul made the above recommendation to pray for kings while Nero was on the throne. And Nero, one of the dozen harassers, was a madman and a terror to Christians.
There's no intention here to compare any U.S. president to Nero, but only to say that Paul's point seems to be that praying for our leaders is always the right thing for Christians to do, regardless of how we feel about those leaders. Prayer doesn't preclude other actions as well, but it does ground those actions in a search for God's will.
Questions: What reasons does Paul give to justify the universal scope of and priority of prayer? (Hint: See the context verses.) Regarding your prayer life, what hinders you?
Romans 13:1 (regarding acceptance)Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. (For context, read 13:1-7.)
This verse is also from Paul, and while it has some similarity in theme to the 1 Timothy passage above, it also suggests an acceptance of governing authorities. Note that without making exceptions for leaders one might not like, Paul says that all authority -- even civic authority -- ultimately comes from God.
Subjecting oneself to governing authorities, of course, does not imply agreement with those authorities.
Questions: Do you think Paul would have said these same things had he lived in Nazi Germany or in Idi Amin's Uganda? In what sense, if any, are civic leaders -- even those who might not acknowledge the authority of God -- God's servants?
How does the American concept of the purposes of government -- to preserve the rights to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" -- and the rights of the people to "abolish" a destructive government (see the Declaration of Independence) affect this?  
1 Peter 5:5 (regarding respect)
… And all of you must clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." (For context, read 5:1-6.)
The apostle Peter is here talking about how people in the church should relate to one another, and in doing so, he quotes Proverbs 3:34. His words can also apply more broadly to how we relate to others with whom we might not agree politically.
Questions: Why do you think humility and respect so often get lost in political discussion? What measures do you take to keep that from happening in your discussions with those who might not agree with your political persuasion?
Proverbs 31:8-9 (regarding advocacy)
Speak out for those who cannot speak, for the rights of all the destitute. Speak out, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy. (No context needed.)
Matthew 25:35-36
... for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me. (For context, read 25:31-46.)
Both of these verses are about helping those in need. The Proverbs verses seem to be talking about verbal advocacy, which certainly has an important place in our political lives. The Matthew verses can cover verbal advocacy but also more direct forms of help. Both have their place and all the more so when official policies may not deliver the help that's needed or even hinder the help that's needed.
Questions: Do you personally have a preference for one kind of help for others over another? Why?
For Further Discussion
1. Meditate together on these two verses:
  • [Jesus said,] "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." --John 16:33(NIV)
  • Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble. --Psalm 119:165
2. Respond to this: TWW team member Liz Antonson suggests reading Psalm 2, which was probably written for the coronation of a king in Israel or Judah. Antonson comments, "Psalm 2 in its entirety has something to say about world leaders, and Christ's followers need to focus on the significance of loyalty to God's Messiah and his Kingdom rather than secular points of view in governments. [Ultimately] all of the world's governments are to be totally replaced because they are totally flawed. I think Christendom has lost sight of the exclusivity of Christ's kingdom and blurs the line between good citizenship and loyalty to a secular government. That is a scary thought for Americans due to the way we have been raised with patriotic fervor, even when our government was/is grossly out of line with Christ's plain teachings."
3. TWW team member Frank Ramirez points to Rudyard Kipling's poem "Recessional," written for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee and published in 1897. The second stanza reads:
The tumult and the shouting dies;
 The Captains and the Kings depart:
Still stands Thine ancient sacrifice,
 An humble and a contrite heart.
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
 Lest we forget -- lest we forget!
Given the occasion for which the poem was composed, what do you think is the point of this stanza? How might it apply, if at all, to our news story?
Responding to the News
Resolve to pray frequently for our national leaders.
Resolve to do God's work wherever he leads you, including into political arenas.
Prayer
O Lord, we pray for Donald Trump as he assumes the presidency, and for our legislatures as they decide on laws for our land, that they will each be strengthened to work not only to move America forward in the kinds of ways that can be measured toward the common good, but also, insofar as these matters are in their hands, in the kinds of ways that are less measurable, but critical nonetheless -- the ways of healing and reconciliation. In Jesus' name. Amen.
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