Bishop Budde in Sweden: Confronting the Culture of Contempt
Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde took her message of bravery to her mother's homeland at the Cathedral in Uppsala, Sweden.
Bishop Budde, whose January sermon went viral after she directly confronted President Trump at the Service of Prayer for the Nation, was invited to Sweden to preach at the opening of Parliament. Because of high public interest, her sermon was moved from Stockholm to Uppsala, home of the country’s largest Cathedral and oldest university.
Part of her journey was personal — she traveled to Sweden to bury her mother, Ann Björkman Edgar, who died earlier this year.
Preaching on bravery and having the courage to speak out, Bishop Budde said it can be hard to remain true to one’s convictions when it would be easier to keep quiet:
One of the greatest challenges we face in the United States now is what has been described accurately, I believe, as a culture of contempt. We are living in a culture of contempt in which truth is always distorted for the purposes of winning an argument or discrediting those who see the world differently. And in this culture of contempt, we feel perfectly justified when we stop listening to one another and even to speak about one another in disdainful and even hateful ways as it becomes almost impossible to have meaningful conversations across differences. And in the extreme, as we know so well, the culture of contempt can result in violence.
As Christians, we are not immune to this culture of contempt. We are part of the society in which we dwell. We are in America. We are well represented across the spectrum of political loyalties and societal polarities. We are influenced by the same pressures as everyone else. And we commit many of the same sins. As it is essential for us as Christian leaders to speak with clarity and humility. For, we are in need of the same forgiveness, mercy, and grace that we are called by God to embody for others.
At the same time, we do need to be clear about what it means for us to be followers of Jesus. Even when we disagree with other followers of Jesus, we have to be brave in that way. Our former Presiding Bishop in the Episcopal Church, Michael Curry, used to say that we must learn to stand and kneel before one another at the same time. What he meant by that is that we, as Christians, are to stand for what we believe is right,to challenge injustice when we see it, to speak the truth when truth has been distorted, but to do that with a humble spirit that recognizes the inherent dignity and humanity of every person — even our adversaries.
The full text of her sermon is below, and begins at 32:20 in the video above:
Never did I imagine, dear friends, that I would one day speak in this majestic cathedral of Uppsala, and I give thanks to God for my Swedish mother, and all her family, and their parents, most especially Åke and Anna-Lisa Björkman, who always urged me to carry my Swedish Heritage with pride. And to represent well our family in America. And I’d like to begin with the last words of the Gospel passage we have just heard: “While you have the light, believe in the light so that you might become children of light.”
Jesus’s words about believing in the light, and earlier, when he spoke of walking in the light, for me, these call to mind those rare wonderful moments of clarity. When we know inside what we need to do or say, when we know the next step that we must take. When it is time to go? To change direction, perhaps, and go another way. And these decisive moments evoke in us inside a sense of urgency, a feeling that we must act now. To move, or perhaps to stay right where we are. But with a renewed sense of purpose.
And how we might feel in such moments can vary widely. We may feel excited. We may be terrified. We may feel confident. Or woefully inadequate. In the end our feelings aren’t that important; not nearly as important as how we choose to act in response to those bits of clarity that come to us — either as a gift or a burden.
And there was always risk involved when taking such action. Certainly the risk of failure. Disappointment. Risk to our relationships, our financial security. If we venture into public life, there is the risk of ridicule or rejection. Times of conflict or societal upheaval? There is the risk of physical harm. But in the words of MariannWright Edelman, who was one of the great advocates for civil rights in America, “Isn’t it better to fail at something worthwhile than to succeed in mediocrity?”
And so walking in whatever light we have received, yes, it takes courage. But it also requires great humility. Because there is another risk to which we are always vulnerable whenever we feel compelled to speak or to act. Perhaps you’re familiar with the American cartoon characters, Charlie Brown, and his dog, Snoopy. There’s one rather famous cartoon scene in which Snoopy is sitting on top of his dog house, typing on his typewriter. Charlie Brown approaches Snoopy and as says to him, “I hear that you were writing a book on theology. I hope you have a good title.”
“I have the perfect title,” Snoopy replies. “Has it ever occurred to you that you might be wrong?”
Now, I don’t know if your Swedish family is anything like mine, but growing up, I was surrounded by swedes with very strong opinions. And strong opinions are are good. Because they are based on what we believe to be true. Yet, it’s possible, indeed it’s quite likely, that we all of us are at least partially misguided in our views. Because they are based on incomplete knowledge, mistaken assumptions and our own unexamined prejudice. This is terribly important to remember that whenever we are convinced that we are indeed walking in the light, we are also usually without our awareness. Also, we are also walking in darkness — that is to say, we are missing aspects of the truth that we cannot see. And the problem is, we don’t know what we don’t know. We can’t see what we can’t see, even when what we don’t know or cannot see is readily apparent to the person standing right next to us.
And so there is this paradox. In the clarity that we long for and sometimes feel when we are moved to speak and to act — and we must —it’s also true that we each one of us can make our greatest mistakes when we are certain that we are right. And we are actually dangerous to one another when we are absolutely certain that we are walking in the light and those other people over there … Well, we are absolutely certain that they are walking in complete darkness.
Because in reality, we all walk in darkness and light at the same time. We need one another across the spectrum of life experience and perspectives. It’s certainly true in our families and our daily lives. It’s true in the church. And most especially when addressing the most pressing issues in our communities, our respective countries.
One of the greatest challenges we face in the United States now is what has been described accurately, I believe, as a culture of contempt. We are living in a culture of contempt in which truth is always distorted for the purposes of winning an argument or discrediting those who see the world differently. And in this culture of contempt, we feel perfectly justified when we stop listening to one another and even to speak about one another in disdainful and even hateful ways as it becomes almost impossible to have meaningful conversations across differences. And in the extreme, as we know so well, the culture of contempt can result in violence.
As Christians, we are not immune to this culture of contempt. We are part of the society in which we dwell. We are in America. We are well represented across the spectrum of political loyalties and societal polarities. We are influenced by the same pressures as everyone else. And we commit many of the same sins. As it is essential for us as Christian leaders to speak with clarity and humility. For, we are in need of the same forgiveness, mercy, and grace that we are called by God to embody for others.
At the same time, we do need to be clear about what it means for us to be followers of Jesus. Even when we disagree with other followers of Jesus, we have to be brave in that way. Our former Presiding Bishop in the Episcopal Church, Michael Curry, used to say that we must learn to stand and kneel before one another at the same time. What he meant by that is that we, as Christians, are to stand for what we believe is right,to challenge injustice when we see it, to speak the truth when truth has been distorted, but to do that with a humble spirit that recognizes the inherent dignity and humanity of every person — even our adversaries!
And for me, as a leader in the United States, what that means is that I feel called to present a vision of the Christian Life that is rooted in that inherent Imago Dei, the God-given dignity of every human being. And that we are called to live with one another in mutual regard and compassion. And thus, I feel compelled, as I’m sure many of you do, to present an alternative, a compelling alternative, to a Christian Nationalist worldview that animates and supports the dramatic changes we are experiencing in the United States while at the same time trying to maintain my compassion and at least understand why so many of my fellow Christians are drawn to such a view. It doesn’t do me any good simply to criticize if I don’t seek to understand.
Now, this this word, this phrase, “Christian Nationalism,” is relatively new in usage, but of course it’s not a new phenomenon, nor is it you unique to the United States. But what we are experiencing now is, as you well know, is this resurgence of a deep-seated strain of American exceptionalism rooted, shamefully, in our racist past. It encourages its adherents to see themselves as the true Christians and the truest Americans under constant attack from those who would come from the outside with foreign ideas, the evils of the so-called Woke Society. It is sustained by fear and lies told so many times that people come to accept falsehood as truth.
It’s exhausting, really, keeping up with the machinery of deception that is our current reality. And this worldview is firmly aligned with the goals of the current Administration. It’s one of the most powerful influences moving our country toward authoritarianism. And it is an expression of Christianity that bears little resemblance to the teachings of Christ.
And those of us who have the ability to say and to live that must do so in any way that we can. But it’s important that we not only speak, but somehow manage to be heard. And that requires relationships. Are all Christians in the United States who voted for President Trump these extreme nationalists? Of course not. Any more than those who oppose the Trump Administration are all motivated by hate for his supporters, but that is how we are constantly encouraged to think of one another and to characterize each other across the divides that separate us and even feel self-righteous in our contempt for other people. I hate those who hate other people we say, not even hearing the irony.
A journalist asked me recently if I thought other Christian leaders should speak up more as I have done and be willing to speak out against the mean-spiritedness that now dominates American public policy. And I said, well, yes, of coursem I suppose it would be helpful if there were a more powerful and robust response, but I am not persuaded that we’re going to win our country back by yelling louder than those we oppose. We need to engage each other again. Turn away from contempt. And learn to honor the God-given dignity of all, so that we might actually address the problems facing us together.
And so as as a Christian speaking to those of you as Christians, truly our greatest contribution is not only to speak but also to live, to live as best we can according to the highest aspirations of humankind that are revealed to us in Jesus. To recognize the inherent God-given dignity of every human being. To love our neighbor. To love the stranger. And even to love our enemies. To share what we have. And to strive for an equitable and just society. Many of the ills in America can be directly linked to the gross inequities in our society. And if we do not address that, all this fuel will continue to churn the machines that turn us against each other.
To refrain from evil. To refuse to hate. To be mindful of the power of our words. And to speak without malice or contempt. To forgive as we have been forgiven. Be willing to sacrifice, perhaps even our lives for the sake of love. And to live.
You know, it doesn’t take very much energy to be cynical nowadays. It’s very easy: not one bit of energy to be critical of another human being, right? But to live in hope, to seek the good, that takes a bit of work on our part, doesn’t it? But it’s our calling as followers of Jesus. But it is one that we can never fulfill on our own, sinners that we are. Only through the love and mercy of Christ.
Can we dare to believe? Can you dare to believe and place our trust in the life =-affirming spirit of God? Never denying the power of evil and death, but trusting that God is at work to bring about good. Dare we believe that? New life will emerge from the ashes of all that is being lost now. Dare we believe in the innate human capacity across the species to take enormous evolutionary leaps for good? Our forebears seemingly did the impossible in the past. Perhaps that is our call now.
It is to that potential for future good that God calls us, even if some of us will not live to see its realization.
And so in closing, I want to assure you that I am. ot naive. I’m well aware of all that is being dismantled and destroyed right now in the hands of those with tremendous power. And there are those who might rightfully critique everything I’ve said thus far as a really poor strategy for responding to what we are up against. Surely dignity as a strategy, love as a response, is worth little when the forces of darkness seem so much stronger than the children of light. Where else can we stand? If we are his followers, I would rather fail with dignity and love than to succeed with contempt and hatred.
Allow me to return to the passage from the Gospel of John that we had before us today,and specifically to what I feel is one of Jesus’s most haunting prayers at the beginning of that passage when he says, “Now, my soul is troubled. And what shall I say? Father spare me from this hour. It is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Glorify thy name.”
That takes my breath away every time I think of it. A prayer of such courage and resolve. And when we take it as our own, praying as best we can as Jesus prayed, I think what we’re doing — what we’re acknowledging — is that our troubled souls are living in a troubled time. Like him, you’re not asking God to spare us, or to change what cannot be changed. Rather, with this prayer, we are committing ourselves to God and to one another. We are saying, in essence, that no matter what happens, we’re here. We are here. We’re not going anywhere. And we will do our imperfect best to embody Jesus’s way.
As Tolkien said, “we cannot choose the times in which we live, only how we will live in the times we are given.” And this is our time. We are the ones now. It is for this hour we are here. May God give us the grace to rise to this moment to witness to Jesus’s power of love. Not by our strength alone. But God’s strength, and in the power of our friendship across cultures.
How blessed we are, to be followers of Jesus, and in company with one another. Thank you.