Thought for Today

Genesis 14:18 And King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High.  

Psalm 76:2 His abode has been established in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion.

Hebrews 7:1 This "King Melchizedek of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham as he was returning from defeating the kings and blessed him"; 2 and to him Abraham apportioned "one-tenth of everything." His name, in the first place, means "king of righteousness"; next he is also king of Salem, that is, "king of peace."  

Shutdown – Day 2

I checked this morning: The air is still turned on, the sun came up this morning, the Interstate was still a congested mess during rush hour. Everything’s ‘normal.’

I always think of October as Reformation Month. The date commonly assigned to the beginning of the Protestant Reformation is October 31, 1517. Make what you will of Luther’s decision to agitate for reform culminating on Halloween. I still think of this month and of that date as particularly important for my own faith tradition.

None of this was particularly important when we lived in Texas. There was some connection when many churches began to offer ‘tail-gate trick or treating’ in their parking lots for young children on Halloween. Now, however, our home is in New England. We are closer to Salem, New Hampshire than to Salem, Massachusetts; but, Halloween definitely has additional emphasis here.

This morning, a news report Greta shared with me prompted me to think about the connection between the Church, Halloween, Salem and the government shutdown. There will be a parade in Salem, Massachusetts tonight. They are expecting thousands of additional visitors more than the usual October crowds in Salem. Many museums, displays and other facilities in Salem are operated by the U.S. Park Service. Due to the shutdown, all of these facilities and the public restrooms in all those facilities will be closed.

Irrespective of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, and that Amendment's Free Exercise Clause of which I wrote yesterday, it is impossible to truly separate church and state. Each entity intimately and irrevocably impacts the other. Although many folks my age would prefer it not to be so, both church and state are dynamic entities, constantly changing. Therefore, the interactions and their impact are constantly in flux and changing.

I am currently reading a historical fiction novel which is part of the series of books that form the basis for the streaming series The Last Kingdom. The novels are set in the 9th century A.D. in what is now England. One of the issues underlying all of the events in the novels and in the historical events themselves is the interaction between faith and governance. Although the Reformation later changed Christendom, the issue remains the same today.

When we think of Christendom, of the Church and of our lives today, here in the U.S.A., we think in terms of separation between church and state. In reality, there is not a clear demarcation between Sunday and Monday through Saturday. There is not a clear demarcation between our lives on Sunday and our lives Monday through Saturday. I am, or at least should be, the same person on Sunday that I am every other day.

Most of us rarely think about the fact that in the Bible, quite often the church was the state. As we read the Torah, those first 5 books of our Bible, faith and governance were inseparable. King Melchizedek of Salem was also priest of the Most High God.

I’m not advocating any repeal of the First Amendment of the Constitution. I very strongly support keeping our federal government out of the affairs of our churches. I do not want anyone in Washington, D.C. telling our congregation in Newbury, Massachusetts how we can or should worship. That faith-freedom is why our ancestors-in-the-faith left England.

But we are deluding ourselves to believe that the events and affairs going on all around us do not affect our faith and our worship. All of those churches in Salem, Massachusetts are impacted by the shutdown we are now experiencing. All of those churches are full of people. They are all the same people on Sunday, in church, as they are Monday through Saturday going about their daily lives. Christians are not separated from the world all around us.

Stay safe, live in the world as a Christian, trust God,

Pastor Ray