Speaking a word of grace

Freedom of religion in America is alive and well.

Well, almost.

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution lays out the rules for the practice of religion. Those of us who take the First Amendment seriously love to speak of the “establishment” clause and the “free exercise” clause. Government must stay out of the business of religion and religious people can believe whatever they choose to believe.

The intent of the framers of the First Amendment was to establish a nation that is thoroughly secular in which religion is to be practiced freely. There is nothing that says religion and religious people have to stay out of the business of government. The U.S. is dedicated to the rule of law, not the religion of anybody. Under this arrangement, churches are perfectly free to bring their witness to government and to the nation.

There is no question that the Christian religion shaped early American culture. It was Christian influence that led the nation down the disastrous path of male ownership of other human beings. Only men had the right to vote. Only men held public office. Men owned slaves. Men owned women. Men owned their children.

Christians fostered such understanding. And all of these realities were defended by quoting the Bible. Ownership meant that men had the right to beat their slaves, abuse their wives and whip their children. Slaves, women and children were expected to be submissive to their male owners.

A bloody war was fought to free slaves, but we still struggle to give full equality to our African-American citizens. Women were not allowed to vote for the first 150 years of American history and have been struggling for full equality ever since. Child abuse is only now beginning to get needed attention. We still have a long way to go to achieve true freedom and justice for all. Men in the United States still generally believe they have a right to dominance and they use any power available to them to dominate. The male abuser is still powerfully with us.

Recently I was quite ill. During my illness, the case of Ray Rice, the Baltimore Ravens and the National Football League emerged. There was no shortage of outrage, blaming and finger pointing. Rice has been banned from the National Football League for the rest of his life.

The case of Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Viking and the case of Bill Cosby have appeared. I suspect that more cases are coming. Peterson has been banned from football for the remainder of this season. Bill Cosby, one of America’s greatest comedians, will probably be silenced for the rest of his life.

I suspect that accusations of abusive power on multiple levels will explode. Much of what is reported will be true. However, false accusations will also abound.

I am suggesting that our nation’s besetting sin, male ownership of other human beings, has caught up with us. The abusers are acting out what our society has taught them. The cancer of male ownership of other human beings is much more serious than the Ebola outbreak. The crime of male abuse rightly must get our full attention. The communications age will be relentless in its accusations, both true and false. Penalties assessed to the guilty will be mindless. The vast majority of the guilty will never be known. A few lawyers will become fabulously wealthy.

Is there a way out of our morass? I have waited to see the reaction of our American Christian communities. So far there is almost complete silence. American ministers of every stripe are perfectly free to speak up. But will they? Christians of every tradition need to massively confess that the reality of male dominance in America traces its roots directly to our collective feet. Our nation needs to hear words of repentance from archbishops, bishops, ordained clergy, church officials and ordinary lay people. The ugly sin of male dominance is ours. It is ours to address; it is ours from which to repent.

However, the task of Christians does not end with repentance. It is ours to show the path out of the swamp of our sins. Jesus taught and lived radical love, grace, mercy and forgiveness. I fear that most Christians believe in grace with a huge capital “but.” Effective repentance never has a but.

When I think of grace for a nation, my mind goes to Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address. The nation had fought a horrendous war. It was time to move forward in peace and healing. Here are Lincoln’s words.

“With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are on… “

Lincoln understood that hurts had to be abandoned and the blaming of past sins had to be put aside if the nation was to move forward to greatness. Grace had to have full reign.

Christians need to remember the words of Jesus on the cross. He looked toward the heavens and prayed “Father, forgive them, they are ignorant.”

I want to see Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson again carry the football in an NFL football game. I want to hear the humor of Bill Cosby. Only grace covers our sins. Only the message of grace, spoken to the nation, will bring churches to their full potential.

The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister, who lives in Palmer. His e-mail address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.

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