People Constantly Mistake My Theology for Politics

Some of my more highly astute and perceptive readers may have noticed that I am, on rare occasions, critical of the Trump regime and of the diabolical antichrist cult of Christians who prop it up.

I have felt a moral obligation, as a Catholic Christian, to be vocal about the regime, not only because I do, in fact, regard Trump as an antichrist and his cult as diabolically inspired, but because I think it is the duty of Catholics to take responsibility (as a form of penance) for the sins of their fellow Catholics and not play the “Don’t blame us” game. If there is one thing the gospel insists on, it is that “we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another” (Ro 12:5). That does not mean that you are to blame for my sins, but it does mean that we bear the burden of each other’s sin, endure its effects, and can (with Christ) help to purify the Body of such sins by bearing responsibility one for another and not pretending that the sins of other Christians have nothing to do with us. I believe deeply that baptism creates a mystical union with other people in the Body of Christ and that we can and must, as it were, carry one another, especially those who, by some weakness or sin, cannot carry themselves.

I also believe that we are called to walk a peculiar prophetic tightrope as disciples of Christ, one that calls us to empathize with and take the side of those hurt by sin (and most especially the sins of Christians) but also to bear in mind that, at the very roots of reality it is joy, thanksgiving, and gladness, not sin and death, that is at the bottom of all things. As Paul says,

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let all men know your forbearance. The Lord is at hand. Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, do; and the God of peace will be with you. (Php 4:4–9)

In short, though suffering, crucifixion, and death are absolutely part of reality and part of what the Word has to say to us about the true way of all things, they are not the last word and, while we must respect the pain of the world, we must not allow it to conquer us because evil is not God.

I think this is why it is profound to remember that, on the night he was betrayed, Jesus took bread and gave the Father thanks and that at the very heart of our entry into his suffering and death is the word “Eucharist”: Thanksgiving.

I hold this as a fact, not a mood. My moods constantly shift and there are lots of times I feel no gratitude to God. But the fact remains that God is good and his creation is good and his conquest of death is good and the progress Christ makes each day toward putting all things under his feet is good, whatever my feelings happen to be.

This lead toward the everlasting awkwardness and dysrhythmia disciples of Christ seem to endure in this world. When everybody wants to be happy, their task is to remind them of the sufferings of the least of these and be a huge buzzkill. When everybody loses hope because some huge and horrible thing has happened like Israel getting conquered and carted off to captivity, that’s just when Isaiah, who has been prophesying doom for Israel for years suddenly shifts his tone completely says things are gonna be fine and there is a Golden Messianic Age on the way. It’s all very irksome.

I think we are living in a very dark time and that the consequences of our choice to whore ourselves out to an antichrist are going to be very painful. I think innocents will, like Christ, suffer for the sins of those who sin against them. But I also believe that, like Christ, they will be rewarded and that the rewards will not merely be in the new heaven and earth but will come (whether we survive them in this life or not) with the growth of the Kingdom of God, even among those who are now crucifying Christ.

I remain hopeful, not because I see any cause for hope in this world, but because

“In fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. “For God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “All things are put in subjection under him,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things under him, that God may be everything to every one.” (1 Co 15:20–28)