How To Become a Great Person

Larger than life. This week made me think about larger than life people. Monday was a day set aside to remember the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.. You have to be among the largest of larger than life figures to have a nation honor your memory with a day.  Friday was a day set aside to observe the transition of the world’s most powerful political position, the President of the United States of America, also known less formally as the Leader of the Free World.  No pressure there.  The transition happened with all of the pomp and circumstance which this most important transition of power commands: President Obama flies away and President Trump is escorted to the people’s home past many thousands of cheering supporters.

Today many thousands of people march those same streets to register their opposition to the policies of the same man who was yesterday cheered.  The juxtaposition of these two “parades” shows the genius of our nation’s Constitution and character, for, as F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote, "The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function."  Our nation functions, left and right, conservative and liberal, with two wildly different understandings of what it means for a nation to be “great again.” Genius.

But the other thing that these two parades show is how fleeting fame, or glory, or greatness is; the difficulties that arise for one thrust onto the “larger than life” stage.  At the end of the movie, Patton, the great and controversial General is walking away from the camera reciting the words that are spoken to ancient conquering heroes, “All glory is fleeting.”  I pray success for our nation and our new President, but I also pray for the loyal opposition to be allowed to function with gusto.  Presidents and their policies come and go, one flying away and another marching home, but the power of the people must remain the constant.  These are the “great persons”, the larger than life people upon whom the functioning of the world depends as they live and serve the greater good.

“Jesus gave us a new norm of greatness…(R)ecognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That’s a new definition of greatness….You don’t have to have a college degree to serve…You don’t have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don’t have to know Einstein’s theory of relativity to serve…You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love. And you can be that servant.”  Martin Luther King, Jr. Source: Drum Major Instinct (last sermon 4 Feb 1968) (discovered at inward/outward)

My Sermon for Donald Trump

There is an old story about a preacher who was told that a president was to be in his congregation on Sunday. I think the version I heard used President Andrew Jackson as the person, but regardless, the point of the story is this. One of the church leaders says to the preacher, “President Jackson is sitting in church today, Pastor. What are going to say?”  To which the preacher replied, “I am going to say, ‘Andrew Jackson is a sinner.’”  In the era of President Jackson it may have been possible to really preach that message, because it is unlikely too many people would ever find out about it. I mean, CNN was not around in 1829. But what about today, in the era of 24/7/365 news?

What if Donald Trump, in one of his campaign stops, dropped in on Hope Church in Sheboygan, WI one Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m. this spring, what would I say? Well, of course, I would welcome him as our guest and offer him one of our gifts (a really nice travel mug), because, what else do you give a billionaire who may become president? What you offer Mr. Trump is what you offer everyone else who passes through your threshold. I would offer Mr. Trump the Peace of Christ. When we got to the time for confession of sins I would pull out my Andrew Jackson story, and then I would say, “Donald Trump is a sinner. Bill Te Winkle is a sinner. Each of you here is a sinner.” And as we moved to celebrate God’s love in offering us assurance of our pardon from our sins, I would say, “God forgives Donald, and Bill and each of you. Now, sin no more.”

And as we moved to the sermon, I would abandon my text and preach on Romans 3:21-24. (You should read it now). And here is the conclusion to my sermon for Donald Trump: “Mr. Trump, it doesn’t matter whether you say 2 Corinthians or 2^nd Corinthians. The church is snobbish when it makes a big deal about petty things like preferred pronunciations. I apologize for our brothers and sisters at Liberty University who laughed at you. But, I did hear you say that you don’t really need to pray for forgiveness. On this you are wrong. You do need to ask for forgiveness, just like everyone else. Your behavior, no matter how good it is, will not earn you salvation. It’s not like running for President, where you need to display qualifications for election. You are elected by God because, in spite of your sin, God wants you. When it comes to your relationship with God, I offer you John Calvin’s three-word sermon: ‘humility; humility; humility.’ Mr. Trump, God loves you just as you are, and so do I. The grace by which you are offered that love is not for sale. There is no deal you can make to acquire it. You cannot “earn” grace, no matter how good you are.  Will you receive God’s gift today?”