Pious Irrelevancies and Sanctimonious Trivialities

The 3rd Sunday of Easter
Today’s Readings (click here)

The Catholic Post, our diocesan newspaper, frequently carries columns by Peter Daly. In last week’s paper, Daly had a wonderful piece about Martin Luther King Jr. and the famous letter Rev. King wrote while he was in jail in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963. The letter was a response to a statement by a group of white clergymen who felt that Dr. King’s call for civil rights demonstrations was “unwise and untimely.”

Daly described how moved he was by Dr. King’s eloquent and powerful words. I am, too. Let me quote a few of the lines from the letter:

“Perhaps it is easy for those who never felt the stinging dart of segregation to say, ‘wait.’ But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will, and drown your sisters and brothers at whim, when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick and even kill your black brothers and sisters; … then you will find it difficult to wait. … I hope, sirs, you can understand our legitimate and unavoidable impatience. … In the midst of blatant injustices… I have watched white churchmen stand on the sidelines and mouth pious irrelevancies and sanctimonious trivialities.”

Powerful stuff!

In our world today, lots of people—including good Christian people—complain about “political correctness.” They say that you can barely open your mouth without some minority group taking offense and demanding a retraction and maybe even retribution.

I’m sure you all heard the recent news about Don Imus, the radio talk-show host, who got fired for his comments on the air. Maybe some of you think that the punishment was too extreme. Maybe you think this was another triumph for political correctness.

Well, I listened to Don Imus a few times when I lived in New York. Frankly, the man was a pig even back then. He was rude and insulting, and not even all that entertaining. But that’s beside the point.

It’s easy to cry “Political Correctness!” and try to put the blame on people like Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton for stirring the pot or playing the race card, but isn’t that just a red herring? Aren’t we doing exactly what Dr. King said? Listen again:

“In the midst of blatant injustices… I have watched white churchmen stand on the sidelines and mouth pious irrelevancies and sanctimonious trivialities.”

In our first reading today from chapter 5 of the Acts of the Apostles, we hear how the Jewish senate, the Sanhedrin, tried to silence Peter and the other apostles. Peter boldly proclaims that the followers of Christ will not be intimidated into silence. He said, “We must obey God rather than men.”

Through the centuries, Peter’s own brand of civil disobedience has been an inspiration and model for Christians to courageously and confidently stand up for Christ and their faith.

The members of the Jewish Sanhedrin were afraid that Peter and his friends would disrupt the status quo and their own positions of privilege and power… so to keep them quiet, you might say that these council members stood on the sidelines and mouthed pious irrelevancies and sanctimonious trivialities—whatever it took to get the job done.

Over the centuries, this same biblical text has been invoked by all sorts of folks to try to silence all sorts of other folks. The powers-that-be don’t want to have viewpoints broadcast that threaten them and that don’t dovetail with their own. Forty years ago, they tried to put a muzzle on people of color who were looking for legitimacy and equality. In ages past, targets included astronomers and scientists, bankers, dissenting theologians, schoolteachers, politicians, and many other groups. Today, those in the hot seat include sexual minorities and all kinds of scientists (particularly biologists, geneticists, psychologists and sociologists).

This past week, a U.S. District Court judge for the Northern District of Illinois issued a preliminary injunction against a 17-year-old high school student in Naperville who wanted to wear a t-shirt to school with an anti-gay message. The school wouldn’t allow her to wear it, so she filed a lawsuit based on the First Amendment. I read the complaint online. One paragraph says that the plaintiff’s “sincerely-held religious beliefs compel [her] to communicate, out of a sense of compassionate duty, the biblical condemnation of homosexual behavior to others...”

Never mind about God’s precious gay children who have been bashed and beaten up and brutally murdered in the name of religion—just like black people were 40 years ago. This Christian girl had a sincere belief and a compassionate duty.

But now back to Peter and the apostles. I find it interesting that the message that Peter was spreading was not a condemnation of other people’s beliefs or behaviors or even their blatant sins. Read through the first five chapters of Acts and you’ll see. No, Peter preached that Jesus was Lord and the Christ, yet his listeners—probably out of ignorance—were hoodwinked into crucifying him. But, he continued, Jesus was resurrected from death, because not even death could contain him! Therefore, he urged his listeners to repent of their grievous sin of killing Christ… to believe… and to be baptized so as to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit and the forgiveness and blessing of God. In fact, St. John, one of Peter’s companions and another apostle, expanded this kernel of truth into an entire gospel that preaches acceptance and love.

Was the 17-year-old girl with her t-shirt and her sincere belief and her sense of compassionate duty following Peter and John and Christ… or was she mouthing pious and dangerous irrelevancies and sanctimonious trivialities?

I think it’s easy to cry: “Foul!” “Political Correctness!” “I’m offended—and so is my buddy, God—by what you believe and how you live!”

Thank God that Martin Luther King Jr. didn’t fall for that claptrap. And neither should you.