Oaths and Offices -- FPC sermon excerpt
It was Inauguration Day, January 20, 2009.
I was standing on the Mall in Washington, DC, as stiff and cold as an ice sculpture. I had been shivering there for four hours, along with about 2 million fellow Americans, anxious for the main event to begin.
Finally, the enormous video screen in front of the Smithsonian showed Barack Obama raising his right hand to take the oath of office. The crowd went wild.
John Roberts, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, laid out the oath, “I, Barack Hussein Obama, do solemnly swear that I will execute the office of President faithfully.”
Problem was, the oath was supposed to say, “I, Barack Hussein Obama, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President.” The word “faithfully” had somehow flipped out of place, and landed at the end of the phrase.
Barack Obama seemed confused. He followed the Chief Justice’s lead for a few words and then stopped. The justice gave it another shot. They tried together to get back on track, and then the ceremony concluded.
Along with millions of Americans, I wondered what in the world had just happened. Four long hours in the cold, only to witness a botched oath of office.
All kinds of political chatter immediately erupted. Since Senator Obama had voted against John Roberts when he was appointed to the Supreme Court, some said that the mix-up was intentional. Others claimed that Obama would not and could not become President until he said the oath of office correctly.
Just to be safe, Obama and Roberts repeated the oath the next day, in private. And then Barack Obama undertook the much more difficult task of faithfully executing the office of President of the United States.
In the eighth chapter of the Gospel of Mark, Jesus asks his disciples who he is, and Peter answers, “You are the Messiah” (v. 29). He is exactly right in what he says, and doesn’t mess up any of the words of this particular pledge of allegiance. And yet, getting the words right is not all there is to being a faithful disciple. Peter doesn’t fully comprehend the import of what he is saying — for instance, he is quick to rebuke his master just a few verses later, when Jesus begins to teach his followers that he “must undergo great suffering … and be killed” (v. 31).
Peter nails the oath, but not the office. He does a great job pledging his allegiance to Jesus, but he doesn’t grasp what the job of following the Messiah is all about.
This passage challenges us to move away from an obsession with oaths, and focus instead on the specifics of two particular offices: Messiah and Follower. It is only when we understand these roles that we will able to faithfully execute the office of disciple of Jesus Christ.
I was standing on the Mall in Washington, DC, as stiff and cold as an ice sculpture. I had been shivering there for four hours, along with about 2 million fellow Americans, anxious for the main event to begin.
Finally, the enormous video screen in front of the Smithsonian showed Barack Obama raising his right hand to take the oath of office. The crowd went wild.
John Roberts, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, laid out the oath, “I, Barack Hussein Obama, do solemnly swear that I will execute the office of President faithfully.”
Problem was, the oath was supposed to say, “I, Barack Hussein Obama, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President.” The word “faithfully” had somehow flipped out of place, and landed at the end of the phrase.
Barack Obama seemed confused. He followed the Chief Justice’s lead for a few words and then stopped. The justice gave it another shot. They tried together to get back on track, and then the ceremony concluded.
Along with millions of Americans, I wondered what in the world had just happened. Four long hours in the cold, only to witness a botched oath of office.
All kinds of political chatter immediately erupted. Since Senator Obama had voted against John Roberts when he was appointed to the Supreme Court, some said that the mix-up was intentional. Others claimed that Obama would not and could not become President until he said the oath of office correctly.
Just to be safe, Obama and Roberts repeated the oath the next day, in private. And then Barack Obama undertook the much more difficult task of faithfully executing the office of President of the United States.
In the eighth chapter of the Gospel of Mark, Jesus asks his disciples who he is, and Peter answers, “You are the Messiah” (v. 29). He is exactly right in what he says, and doesn’t mess up any of the words of this particular pledge of allegiance. And yet, getting the words right is not all there is to being a faithful disciple. Peter doesn’t fully comprehend the import of what he is saying — for instance, he is quick to rebuke his master just a few verses later, when Jesus begins to teach his followers that he “must undergo great suffering … and be killed” (v. 31).
Peter nails the oath, but not the office. He does a great job pledging his allegiance to Jesus, but he doesn’t grasp what the job of following the Messiah is all about.
This passage challenges us to move away from an obsession with oaths, and focus instead on the specifics of two particular offices: Messiah and Follower. It is only when we understand these roles that we will able to faithfully execute the office of disciple of Jesus Christ.
posted by Henry Brinton | 11:13 AM
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