“For this is what Our God, the Holy One of Israel, has said: ‘In repentance and rest you will be saved; in quietness and trust is your strength.’
But you were not willing.”
Isaiah 30: 15
The president has been impeached for the second time. The House of Representatives has rightly held this man to account, for he would not stop himself, so he must be stopped. I am not sure that impeachment without conviction can stop him, but we can pray that it does. I believe taking away his social media accounts has done more to stop him than impeachment, but that does not mean he did not need to be impeached. This impeachment is a message to future presidents that insurrection will not succeed.
There were those who wanted to skip this step and go straight to fake unity. They want to just move on as if nothing happened. They want no examination of their own role in all of this. But it is through repentance that we find true peace and true unity. First, there must be an examination of conscience, then an admission of fault, and at last a decision to avoid wrongdoing in the future. Repentance means to turn away from the wrong path you have followed and get back to following God. Otherwise, there can be no rest, no peace, no unity.
No one believes that the president stands alone in his guilt at what happened on Wednesday. He has had a host of people willing to follow after him. Against the background of Nazi flags, t-shirts with 6MWNE on them, vulgar behavior, misogyny, Confederate flags, and unsubtle race baiting, people followed him. Perhaps they felt offended and even disgusted, but they followed. They followed him into the hell created a week ago as people stormed the Capital Building. Even if they were not physically present themselves, they were there.
We heard that he should not be impeached because this would cause more trouble. That is the first ploy of bullies – to put fear of reprisal in their victim’s heart. It is the danger that every survivor of domestic violence understands. But we cannot give in to the bullies who threaten our democracy out of fear. The survivor of domestic abuse can tell you that appeasement does not work, it only encourages more violence. Those who get away with violence are more likely to repeat violence.
In quietness and trust is our strength. We do not need to react to those who behave violently with violence in return but we can act together to do the right thing. Our togetherness gives us strength. As we have heard many times before, a single stick can be easily broken, but a bundle of sticks withstands pressure. We followers of Christ are to be a light to the nation, so I pray that our non-violent approach to doing the right thing may influence others. Non-violence is not passive, it is active. It is standing firmly with conviction in the face of evil. It is not being moved from the right path even when threatened, in quietness and trust.
My beloved ones, may we find our way foward in quietness and trust.
Bishop Kedda
Bishop Kedda 