Sabbath Devotional :: Betrayal and the Promise of Redemption

When I saw a recent NY Times article I had to double check that it wasn’t a satirical piece. Even two short years ago these words would have seemed like Saturday Night Live sketch comedy. Donald Trump giving Sarah Palin, Kid Rock and Ted Nugent a tour of our beloved White House, pausing long enough to mock a painting of former First Lady, Hillary Clinton? No. Not possible. Outlandish, fantasy!

Yet, sadly, this is not some unimaginable alternative reality. it’s not an article written for the Onion or upcoming SNL fodder. And although it is indeed outrageous (and for many of us unbelievable), it is very much real.

As I thought about this trio roaming around the hallowed halls of our nation’s symbolic epicenter I felt heart-sick. Ted Nugent is casually quoted in the Times piece as saying that ‘one of the three — not him — suggested that the photo be taken with a middle finger’ pointed at our former First Lady, which turned my sadness to rage. Then the photo evidence of Sarah Palin sneering with an index finger pointing toward Ms. Clinton left me hollowed out with steely resignation. Staring at this mockery left me feeling deeply betrayed — as if ignorant, ill-mannered criminals had broken into a sacred space and defiled it.

This week has been filled with events that have left many of us feeling betrayed, disappointed and angry. Maybe it’s a Tweet unbecoming a US President. Perhaps it is seeing good people randomly deported and separated from family. It could come from critics, who judge harshly and have little concern for good intentions, or small steps of progress — but would rather pick apart and tear down instead of working in a spirit of collaboration for good. I’ve learned over and over throughout my life that betrayal comes in many forms and sometimes from the most unexpected places.

I was thinking about betrayal last Sunday as I woke before dawn and drove with family to a sunrise Easter Service in the gorgeous Wasatch Mountains. We stood with other Christians reflecting on Resurrection morning. The first one largely went unnoticed, save for a few devoted believers. Until the women closest to the Savior rose early to tend to His body and perhaps comfort themselves with ritualistic gestures of adoration, love and respect, His demise was no doubt shocking, heartbreaking, and soul numbing. How could this have happened? It wasn’t suppose to be this way. At least, the accounts we have indicate that most disciples didn’t see that the events were exactly as they had been predicted and prophesied (and what Jesus himself had been telling them was coming) until they witnessed His Resurrection and the meaning of that single event upon which all else in eternity would pivot.

But before the joy of resurrection morning came emotional betrayal from close friends who should have known better, the unavoidable spiritual pain of Gethsemane, the humiliating walk to Calvary and the brutal physical suffering on Golgotha.

The Savior’s suffering had to precede his triumph over the darkest most bitter hour. Abandoned — even The Father had to turn away — He suffered alone, save for comforters from beyond this realm, with his closest associates — near by, but ultimately ‘asleep at the gate’. They did what they could — but it wasn’t the support and comfort Jesus desperately needed.

In the context of the current US political landscape, I feel betrayed. Betrayed by my fellow citizens who voted to usher in the current climate of ethnocentric small-mindedness and dangerous, poorly thought-out policy. Betrayed by events like the one recounted in the New York Times. Betrayed by hateful and hurtful comments made by members of my faith who profess (in other contexts) a humility and commitment to Christ-like values. And my temptation when I feel betrayed is to lash out. To marginalize and discount. On a bad day to name-call with dismissive smugness those who aren’t’ ‘smart enough’ to agree with my political views. But standing on a mountain top last Sunday, I was reminded that not only do all of us desperately need the Savior’s atoning sacrifice, but that it is offered freely to all — even the three pictured in the Times photo. Even to me. Yes all — those who betray and sometimes we who betray — even unintentionally are undeserving recipients. Last week’s reminder about the inevitability of betrayal and the promise of redemption is a good lens to focus on politics. So this week, as I reel from the low-brow Tweets that are sure to come, read of disappointing policy and ignorant, insulting accounts like this one, I will try to nudge my discipleship just a little bit farther. Stretch it to ‘turn the other cheek’, strive for a ‘forgive them Father for they know not what they do’ attitude and continue to take baby steps toward an encompassing Christ-like love for even those on the other side of the political spectrum — all while continuing to fight for what is ethical and good. Onward Sisters!