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Rev. Ben Cooke is the pastor at Emmanuel Lutheran Episcopal Church in Augusta.
I am afraid for my community of faith. With the rise of political violence and the suspension of late-night comedians, it feels like our First Amendment rights in America are at risk. As an Episcopalian priest, I’m worried about what this will mean for the community I am charged with caring for. After all, the First Amendment protects our right to practice our faith. If political speech can be silenced, so can religious speech.
In January, at the interfaith prayer service following the presidential inauguration, fellow Episcopalian, Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde called on the president to show mercy to the most vulnerable groups in our nation. Encouraging him to live up to his oath of office and guarantee the safeguards our Constitution grants to all. To intercede with those who hold power, to ask them to act mercifully, is a right guaranteed in this nation.
My church encourages all of us, not just those with power, to act for mercy, but this call is particularly clear for those in positions of public trust, be they elected officials or faith leaders, CEOs in business or those who hold power because of their great wealth. Following the teaching of Jesus, who welcomed the rich and the religious, the sinners and tax collectors, all equally, my church believes in the mercy of welcoming all.
In a time when attending church can result in ICE arresting my parishioners if they look Hispanic, am I free to preach that gospel of welcome? If constitutional rights to free speech are not really for all, how long will it be before I have to submit my sermons to a political censor for approval? How long before acting on Jesus’ message of mercy for the poor, the vulnerable, the outcast gets me arrested for supporting immigrants, or the LGBTQ community, or late-night comedians? Even without government censorship, am I safe to express Jesus’ gospel of mercy for all publicly without the risk of being murdered?
This moment feels like the crisis point; people are finally realizing that if anyone’s freedom to speak is threatened, then they are not safe to express themselves. The fear is real and warranted.
As Christians, we must follow Christ, who chose to act in the face of fear. This has never been a safe road. In the church we talk about taking up our cross and following Christ, meaning accepting the struggles that might well kill us. But even small acts of mercy can make a big difference.
Be present to those who are the victims of repression, those to whom our society does not show mercy. Use your voice to speak up for them while you still can, and if you have not already done so, please contact your political representatives, insisting that they support First Amendment rights for all. Consider using the power of your purse to boycott companies that self-censor, suppressing free speech.
Now is the time to act because first they came for the immigrants who couldn’t speak our language, then they came for the late-night comics, which we could laugh about, but next they may come to silence you. May God grant us the wisdom to demand mercy for all in this time.
