In my prayer time and seeking what topics to blog about, I felt going into this commitment and new writing endeavor that I need to approach it like I do my sermons. You see, the way I preach is conversational, where I bring something that I feel is spirit lead and biblical, and we talk about it as a church. As a church through the years, I believe we have neglected our conversations with silence or preaching in a safe zone. It is unbiblical to ignore the world's sin and preach happiness and peace without ever preaching sin and repentance. We need to get back to discussions on biblical foundations and ethics that are understandable and in the Holy Spirit rather than cultural acceptability.
"What are kingdoms without justice? They're just gangs of bandits."
— Augustine.
In all of that, I feel I need to follow my conviction and talk about Amy Coney Barrett and her nomination for the supreme court, which is significant to the Christian world. Let's start with some info on her; she attended Rhodes College on a scholarship, where she majored in English Lit and minored in French. She graduated in 1994 with a Bachelor of Arts magna cum laude and was inducted into Omicron Delta Kappa and Phi Beta Kappa. In her graduating class, she was named the most outstanding English Department graduate. She then studied law at the Notre Dame Law School on a full-tuition scholarship. She was an executive editor of the Notre Dame Law Review and graduated first in her class in 1997 with a Juris Doctor summa cum laude. Amy serves as a circuit judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Before and while serving on the federal bench, she has been a professor of law at Notre Dame Law School, where she has taught civil procedure, constitutional law, and statutory interpretation. The unique part of all that I just wrote is that Amy not only achieved all of this, but she is still married, and she and her husband are raising seven children together. I think that is amazing.
How do we respond as Christians to Amy Coney Barrett?
1. She is catholic; do we reject her as Christians? The answer is no! I have been watching her interviews, and they are hounding her on her faith and where she stands on doctrinal things like sin, homosexuality, and health care. I believe one's religious affiliation, or lack thereof, should be irrelevant to one's standing in the civic community, especially a supreme court judge. But to know her faith does help show us her character and her dynamics of marriage and family.
2. Does it matter that she is pro-life? I don't particularly appreciate putting myself out there politically as I'd instead show Jesus than my personal beliefs, but I am pro-life. I don't go for single-issue candidates, but I hold how someone looks at a child in the womb as an excellent indicator of their morality. Also, they look at the other aspects of pro-life like the homeless, the immigrants, the oppressed, and the addicted. I pray she is on the full spectrum of pro-life and not just the part of the life in the womb but the fullness of life. As a judge who will interpret the constitution, it is essential to know how she looks at life here in America.
"The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world that it leaves to its children."
— Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
3. We need to pray for Amy as Christians. I joke that I am as American as Captain America from the Avengers. I feel blessed to be in America and have our freedom of religion to worship freely. I believe we need to be praying for Amy Coney Barrett during this time. Whether we agree or not about Amy's nomination or Amy's stances on the political spectrum, we need to set those aside and pray for Amy and her family during this time. She has been attacked and criticized nationally. Her family has been assaulted, even her kids that were adopted from Haiti. The most important thing we can do is pray for her during this time.
4. Will her confirmation as a supreme court judge affect the church? If we can make it through the Covid-19 pandemic alive, we can make it through anything. I see society changing, and I have seen the church change so much since I began ministry almost 15 years ago. Let me give you peace right now in your wondering about the church in this new world. God is still in control, and we know who holds tomorrow. I know that Amy Coney Barrett is a great judge, and I also believe that some tough days are facing America. As Christians, we can hold fast to the things we know and are promised in scripture.
"The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." Deuteronomy 31:8
As we watch the process she goes through to be a judge; we may understand how blessed we are that we don't have to go through this hard process in our salvation. There is no amount of questions we can answer or fancy degrees that we can earn to get our salvation by ourselves. May we rest in the blessed understanding that God has freely given us salvation from our sins. There is no interview process or vote by the world if we get in.
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith
and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God
not by works so that no one can boast." - Ephesians 2:8-9
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Abe
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