2025-07-07
Brooke Strong
Sermon Text...
Imagine: a story about a person in power, paranoid about the strengthening of a marginalized group. To keep the group down, the powerful one issues an order to ramp up oppression. And the response of those asked to participate in that action? Because they trust in their faith in God, they dare to stand up to authority and refuse the order they are given in a delightfully subversive way.
Sound timely? Yes, but you just heard the story Ann read which took place more than three millennia ago! Yet it still has such relevance to our current world. This morning, as part of our “Ask the Pastor” series, we’ll take a closer look at what we can learn about our ministry of resistance today.
Houston Bowers asked me to share more about this topic which was discussed in a June 9 article by UCC President and General Minister, Karen Georgia Thompson, as she cited a number of actions taken by the current administration that demand our acts of defiance. She noted recent news events including the blocking of an aid ship into Gaza, the presidential proclamation restricting the entry of people from certain countries, and the ICE raids in Los Angeles that sparked days of protests.
Another question, posed by Cathy Watterson, inquired about the relationship between faith and politics. This question is closely tied to Houston’s as many people will challenge any acts of resistance as the church inserting itself inappropriately into politics. So, let’s buckle in and tackle these timely and provocative topics.
The story of the two midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, has long been a favorite of mine. First, I love that it features two women who the writer names . . . notable since so few stories about women in the bible actually include their monikers. Second, I love that the women are troublemakers who get into what John Lewis called “good trouble” when they defy the direct order of Pharoah. Third, I love the subversive nature of their plan. They are sly in the presentation of their argument, subtly mocking Pharoah without his even seeming to notice it. This is a wonderful precursor to the actions Jesus takes thousands of years later as he confronts the powers of empire in his time.
All of this suggests that politics has been a part of our faith for a very long time! As theology professor Ben Wayman notes, “The gospel is political. Christianity is political. Jesus was political. That’s because politics is about people and people are at the center of God’s heart.” Our most political response in this hurting world is to be the church: to be faithful improvisers like Shiphrah and Puah as we use our gifts, creativity and courage to follow Jesus. To avoid taking a stand on matters of injustice is decidedly unfaithful!
So, how are we called to a ministry of resistance in this time and place? UCC president Thompson points out that the church was born from a movement of resistance, led by a man who knew what it meant to be poor and unseen. Jesus fed people, spoke out against the colluding religious leaders of his day, and pushed back against the Romans who colonized and occupied his home. Given this, Thompson suggests, the church is called to be part of the resistance, a prophetic witness defying the principalities and powers of this age. Resistance, she notes, is in our sacred texts, our pulpits, our words and our actions. It requires showing up in the face of evil on behalf of ourselves and others and pushing back against the prevailing narratives of a status quo that continues to cause harm to the existence of God’s people.
Since Rev. Thompson wrote her article less than four weeks ago, actions of the administration have continued to harm the vulnerable in our society. But the most concerning of those was the passage on Thursday of the budget bill that is poised to injure so many marginalized citizens. It is worth noting the actions in the passage of the bill that parallel our sacred text from Exodus.
First, we see that a person of power, exhibiting signs of paranoia, takes action to protect their power. Just as Pharoah was fearful of the Israelites becoming too numerous, one can argue that the leaders in this country are driven by a fear of a trend that suggests that white Americans are at risk of becoming a minority. According to the nonpartisan Brookings Institute, this shift will occur within the next 20 years. Just as Pharoah took action to reduce the Hebrew population, first by instituting debilitating slavery, then by ordering the midwives to kill Hebrew boys, the current administration has taken a number of actions to limit the population of non-whites in this country.
Stories have flooded the news over the last several months of black and brown people who have been deported with no due process. With the implementation of the budget bill just passed, those most in need will suffer loss of health care, food access and educational opportunities in order to fund tax cuts that will benefit the wealthiest citizens.
The actions of the administration have come fast and furious over the past six months with 166 executive orders signed since January 20. If you are like me, it is hard not to get exhausted by it all! But as Shiphrah and Puah have shown us, we are called to resist. Given that our power is far greater than that of the midwives, it is only a lack of courage and creativity that can stop us from taking action. But what would a ministry of resistance look like in this time and place?
I wish I could say I have a multipoint plan that we could execute; I don’t. But I do think that defiance can take a variety of forms. As many of us have done, we can protest. When five million people took to the streets on June 14 as part of the “No Kings” march, it made a statement. But resistance can also take many other forms including allowing time for rest and living joyfully.
Truth telling and speaking out when erroneous information is shared as fact are critical parts of resistance. We live in a culture where information is shared constantly without regard to source or fact, sometimes with intention, often just because those who are speaking haven’t done their homework. So we need to do ours . . . and then speak out.
Recently, Vice President JD Vance made the following claim, “There’s a Christian concept that you love your family, and then you love your neighbor, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens, and then, after that, prioritize the rest of the world. A lot of the left have completely inverted that.”
Friends, let me be clear: although he is speaking as though he is one, Vance is not a theologian and the claims he has made are patently false, as Pope Leo also noted. Resistance is calling that out and recognizing that silence is complicity. Following Jesus means promising to resist oppression and evil, and to speak up when someone distorts the truth. So when you feel the nudge of the Spirit to speak truth to power and resist tyranny, gulp a little and then use your voice to make a difference.
Sometimes resistance means taking subversive action in defiance of authority. This is exactly what the midwives did. Shiphrah and Puah committed civil disobedience because God’s law was higher than human laws. They feared God which doesn’t mean they were anxious or dis-eased, but rather that they held a reverence, loyalty and obedience to God far more than the civil authority of Pharoah.
When Pharoah calls them to account, Shiphrah and Puah tell him that the Hebrew women give birth before the midwives can get there, implying that Egyptian women are pampered and need more help. Rather than get into a moral argument with Pharoah, the women simply carried on doing what they thought was right, acting as God would want them to.
A ministry of resistance is hard work. It is not a mind-your-own-business, keep your head down ministry. This work to which God calls us connects flawed people who can be prone to anger or an urge to run away, and requires us to show love by advocating, challenging, showing up and even engaging in civil disobedience.
This way of God isn’t limited by the borders of any empire and is more powerful than the order of any Pharoah, king or president. It takes kindness, courage, accountability and working for the common good even when that means overlooking the things that might be most important to us personally. It takes persistence and working together with consistency and commitment even through disagreement and misunderstanding.
God is still speaking to those of us with agency saying, “Be courageous, resist selfishness and cultural temptations to put your own needs ahead of those of others.” Justice in this world demands our participation.
So, friends, I’ll end this morning with a question of my own: will you take a risk like the midwives and be courageous enough to do what you feel called by God to do even if it is subversive and a little bit dangerous? I pray that we will all be willing to follow Shiphrah and Puah’s example. Millions are counting on the church to help lead the way. Amen.