Last year our son got my wife an olive tree. That’s right, an olive tree. Right here in northern Ohio. The tree is in a pot. It is about 2 ft. tall. The leaves are thin and oblong with a satin olive-green color. As they should be. The tree sat in our dining room until we began doing some home improvements. My wife moved it to the mantle piece above the fireplace. After a few months we noticed that everything was not well with this young plant. The leaves dried and curled. We gave it some fertilizer and moved it to the desk in my office where there is plenty of sunlight.
Alas, the rest of the leaves have dried up. The olive tree, turned dried twig, is still on my desk.
One day while I was praying I decided to bless and pray for this poor specimen of foreign flora. No particular reason. It just seemed to be the right thing to do. I continue to pray for it even now.
One day as I reflected on this the name donald trump popped into my mind. You see, as I prayed for the tree I began to feel compassion for it. It became more than ‘thing.’ I saw it as a living member of God’s Good Creation.
I was surprised by this new intruder into my quiet space. donald trump? I don’t even like the guy. But the voice I heard said that praying for this dried up twig of a man was the right thing to do. So, I did. I continue to pray daily that God would breathe life into that man. That God would rescue him from the hands of death.
Don’t get me wrong. I still don’t like trump. My dislike for him goes way back before he became a political aberration. To me he’s a terminal narcissist who needs his ego stroked like every other three-year-old. His hatred for others, his racism, his greed, his childish need to be the center of attention, and his lust for power all disqualify him. According to the Bible trump is truly an anti-Christ. His ideas and policies stand in complete opposition to anything that Messiah Jesus lived and died for. So, I’m saying that praying for him does not make me like him. Jude wrote that the followers of Jesus should have, “mercy on some who are wavering, save others by snatching them out of the fire; and have mercy on still others with fear, hating even the tunic defiled by their bodies.” donald falls into that latter bit.
What I have found is that as I pray for him my heart softens and I find a bit of compassion. Just like that olive tree. As my eyes have begun to open and see the reality of who donald is I see a broken and lost child. He is weak and frail in mind, body, and heart. He is still someone for whom Messiah Jesus has great love for. “For God so loved the World…”
As I’ve listened to the people of God who comprise the living Body of Christ in this world I hear much fear, hatred, and derision leveled at donald. And to be quite honest I think much of that is well deserved. However, that’s not what the Church is called to be. We are not a closed, members only club for haters. We do not have the right to judge anyone. That’s well above our pay grade. Our sole job is to Love God; Love Neighbors. Pray for those who hurt and abuse. Don’t give in to that hurt and abuse. We still have to stand for justice and truth. We can do both. Pray and resist.
The Church is called to stand in unity with God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit first and foremost. All the rest flows from that unity.
BTW, the olive tree is still dried up with no sign of life. Yet.
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