“Jesus Didn’t . . .

. . . have electricity either and he did just fine.”

The Orange One—President Donald Trump—promised extensive tariffs on Canada, China, and Mexico to curb illegal immigration and drug trafficking.  For our allies, Canada and Mexico, the tariff is 25%; for our adversary China it is a 10% tariff.  Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, responded to this threat by saying Canada might cut off energy to the United States.  If you were not aware, Canada is the largest source of energy imports to the United States.  This “tit for tat” could significantly affect both countries’ economy.  Prices will go up despite the promises of lowering prices of the president when he was elected.

 

But don’t worry!  White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt tells us not to panic.  In reassuring words she proclaimed, “They want you to panic, but President Trump wants you to remember Jesus didn’t have electricity either and he did just fine.”  Whoa!  What a relief.  If Jesus could handle it . . . well, so can we.

 

I must have missed that class while in seminary . . . you know the one . . . Jesus and electricity.  I wonder why the writers of the Gospels never mentioned it.   It didn’t show up on my ordination exam.  It just never occurred to me that Jesus never had electricity and that he did just fine.

 

If Jesus could do without electricity so can all of us who claim to be his followers.  WWJD?  Suck it up and shut up.  At least that is what the Donald would like.

 

How profane . . . bordering on the blasphemous.  Of course, Jesus did without electricity.  There was no such thing in Jesus’ time.  Maybe a little static electricity, but no electricity.  I know this because I have seen a picture of Jesus and his buddies at a dinner party.  I think they call the picture the Last Supper.  There were no electric lights or lamps or devices anywhere in the picture . . . nada!  Nothing!  We have the picture.  Myth has it that the last words that Jesus said at the dinner were: “All you guys who want in the picture get on this side of the table.”  The president’s argument is baloney . . . a cheap trick to sway those who can’t see the ploy to manipulate the faithful with pious nonsense.

 

If you buy that nonsense, then you are giving the green light to the more damning issue . . . which is tariffs.  Tariffs that will do more harm than they will ever help.  People are going to get whammed.  Life will get tougher for a lot of folks.  It won’t just be a few, it will be for many.  With that Jesus would not be okay. 

 

Tariffs are taxes imposed by a government of a country on imports or exports of goods.  Trump is imposing these taxes on imports . . . stuff we bring into our country and buy.  That is his target.  They look good on paper and in theory, but realistically they cause more negative problems and issues than they solve.  For example, a trade war and rising prices.  The Orange One’s desire to pound Canada, China, and Mexico into submission is going to hurt the majority of Americans—you and me.  Prices are going to go up . . . up . . . and away.

 

Like your fresh vegetables and fruit?  Most are imported from Mexico—especially avocados . . . and tequila.  Gone will be the days of free-flowing Margaritas.  The price of gas will go up.  Some say by as much as 70 cents a gallon over the current rising prices.  Why?  Because we get 70% of our oil imports from Canada and Mexico.  Cheap car parts—Mexico.  Cheap electronics and technology—China.  The bigger issue is that it would be difficult for the nation to replace all these goods imported under tariffs with domestic production.  This would create rising prices significantly.  Throw in inflation . . . well it could end up being a fiscal apocalypse.  It won’t be pretty, nor will it be good.

 

Despite the Orange One’s assurance of having “common sense” and that Jesus survived life without electricity, this is not going to turn out well.  Maybe Trump knows something we don’t know, after all he has “common sense” which he constantly reminds us that “a lot of people don’t.”  He knows better than everyone else.

 

Come on . . . really?  Jesus and electricity?  Why do we allow the Orange One and his cronies to keep insulting our intelligence and common sense?  We are better and smarter than that.  I heard through the grapevine that Jesus just rolled his eyes and laughed when he caught wind of this silliness.  Even he knows when he is being fed a crock of baloney.  He knows it.  We should know it too.  Wish more Americans would get it because if they did, we would be fine . . . just like Jesus.

 

Chosen?

Enough is enough.

During his inauguration address President Donald Trump recalled the assassination attempt during the campaign.  He has often referred to it as a “divine intervention” and “mandate” from the Most High—namely, God.  He proclaimed, “I felt then, and I believe even more so now, that my life was saved by God to make America great again.”  He believes—or at least acts like he believes—that God has chosen him to make America great again.  In this mission he doubled down that his administration “will not forget our country, we will forget our Constitution and we will not forget our God.”

 

The Orange One is now a god-fearing person on a mission for God.  Near brushes with death can do that to a person.  It can change them.  Or maybe his campaign team saw it as an opportunity for exploitation.  People love a good “brink of death” story that involves religious overtones.  Especially the evangelical.  Whatever the case, he’s been working it ever since—he is the “chosen”.

 

Somehow, I must have missed the memo.  You know the one . . . the one declaring him the salvation of the nation and its citizens. It seems all of the evangelicals got it.  All his MAGA supporters got it. I must have missed the cut.  Being a fair-minded person of faith, I want to give him the benefit of doubt whether I got the memo or not.  A faithful version of the Orange One would be a remarkable upgrade over the previous one from 2017-2021.

 

I really do . . . I really do want to believe him.  At the same time, I am reminded that “words are cheap” and “action speaks volumes”.  Sadly, “the Donald” fails at both as God’s emissary—as God’s chosen.  Neither his words or actions live up to his supposedly divine calling or the promises he made at what many believe was his coronation.  So far there hasn’t been a whole lot of the “divine mission” displayed.

 

It started with the ironic during his oath to the office of the president.  Traditionally the swearing in takes place with the president-elect placing a hand over a Bible (or other religious or symbolic book) while taking the oath.  Trump did not.  Nope . . . with one arm raised, the other hung down by his side.  It was just danglingly there despite the fact that his wife held two Bibles—the family Bible and the Bible used by Abraham Lincoln at his swearing in.

 

For a person called by God to save the nation, one would have thought he’d have no qualms about swearing on a stack of Bibles.  Someone suggested that he was afraid that they would burst into flames or that he would be struck by lightning.  I mean the guy has a remarkable track record.  Maybe he had a brain fart . . . after all he is the oldest person ever to be sworn in as president at 78 years old.  He forgot.  Old people do that.  Maybe, subconsciously, it was a tribute to old Joe.  Whatever the reason, this person of faith missed a public opportunity to show his faith and affirm God’s touch upon his life . . . after all, he said he was the “Chosen”.  People noticed.

 

Come on, we know he is a person of faith.  He told us he was.  He has his own Bible which anyone can buy for the low price of $59/99 or four monthly payments of $25.00.  As Trump proclaims it is “the best” . . . “the finest” . . . “better than any other Bible”.  Probably because it comes in the King Donald—oops, I mean the King James Version—and comes with the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, and the Pledge of Allegiance . . . plus a copy of the handwritten words to the chorus of Lee Greenwood’s God Bless the USA.  It is a Bible that Jesus himself would be proud to own.

 

He could have sworn the oath on a stack of those Bibles that he is selling.  There are plenty to go around as they are sitting in a warehouse in China where they are published.  If you are interested in getting your own copy you had better do it soon before the Orange One slaps the 60% tariff on China.  If you wait too long, it could end up costing you another $36.00.  That’s the American way!

 

Still . . . I want to take him as a person of his word.  Give him a chance (again).  He said, “I felt then, and I believe even more so now, that my life was saved by God to make America great again . . . we will not forget our country, we will not forget our Constitution, and we will not forget our God.”  So far, his words ring hollow.

 

The day after the coronation, the king—I mean, president—and his entourage attended worship at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.  There he heard a sermon that challenged him to honor his position as God’s “Chosen One” by loving others as Jesus did.  Episcopal Bishop, the Right Reverend Mariann Budde called for the Orange One to serve the presidency with honor, mercy, compassion, empathy, respect, and love for the people . . . the “people in our country who are scared” of all the rhetoric spewing from his mouth.  Needless to say, “the Donald” was not pleased . . . angry might be a better word.  Really angry.

 

 In true Trumpian fashion he fumed in the early morning hours on his Truth Social platform: “The so-called Bishop who spoke at the National Prayer Service on Tuesday morning was a Radical left hard one Trump hater.  She brought her church into the World of politics in a very ungracious way.”  He proclaimed the service “wasn’t too exciting”, “uninspiring”, “nasty in tone, and not very compelling or smart.”  He finished his diatribe by writing, “She is not very good at her job!  She and her church owe the public an apology!”

 

In common terms, Trump was pissed.  No apology came.  The bishop was preaching the Gospel.  It just was not the Gospel of Trump.  It was the Gospel of Jesus.  That’s what the gospel is supposed to do . . . confront personal sin, challenge societal norms, and call people to radical change.  Essentially it forces people to examine their lives and consider a new way of living and relating. This can be unsettling for some.  Apparently, it was for “the Donald”.  The gospel as shared by the bishop not only stepped on his toes . . . it stomped on his toes . . . and he didn’t like it.  Being a person of deep thought, compassion, and faith as God’s “Chosen One”, the bishop really irked the Orange One.  The Gospel challenges even those who are “chosen”.  Maybe he needs to figure out why words of truth angered him so much.

 

Actions speak louder than words.

 

“Remember the Constitution . . .”  In less than one week in the office, the “Chosen One” has blatantly run roughshod over the Constitution.  In total disregard for the 14^th Amendment he has denounced and rescinded birthright citizenship through an Executive Order.  One of his cronies has proposed a new constitutional amendment to allow Trump for be president a third term.  He has asked all federal employees to be snitches and turn in any of their co-workers for speaking about DEI (Diversity-Equity-Inclusion) despite their right to.  This shows so much respect for the Constitution and all that it stands for.  He has also trampled on laws created to protect the rights of citizens—declared the end for a diverse equitable society that includes all people—ripped hard earned rights from the people.  Yup, he really cares for the people of the United States—NOT!

 

He has forgotten our country . . . our Constitution . . . God.

 

The words that he speaks are far from the actions he takes.  In less than a week he has forgotten all of his promises he said he would do as the one chosen by God to save our nation.

 

I really thought my patience for “the Donald” would last longer than five days, but it is hard to ignore the slaughter of our great nation and what it stands for.  I really tried . . . but . . . I can’t do it.  The constant onslaught is killing me . . . practically driving me to drink.  I don’t think there is enough alcohol to do the trick.  I’ve been taught to give people a chance.  People can change . . . so I have been told.  The Orange One has blown those premises out of the water.  God knows I have tried.

 

Donald Trump is not God’s “Chosen One” in any way.  Just look at what he has inflicted upon our nation and its people . . . upon God’s children . . . in less than a week.  Where is the example of the one sent to show “the way”?  Where is Jesus in all of this?  I don’t see him in Donald Trump.  Trump didn’t read the memo that I never received.  I do not care what he says.  His words are the opposite of his actions.  His actions suck.  The god that Donald Trump serves is created in his own image.  If that is the case and we chose to follow him blindly according to the Gospel of Trump . . . then shame on us.  God, help us all.

 

“But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15. NIV)

 

Let us serve the Holy and love one another.  That is the way.