Here’s last Sunday’s sermon for those that might be interested, in which I attempt to consider the recent terrorist attack on the Capitol building in light the of day’s Scriptures, and particular in light of how our baptism joins every Christian to the vocation of Christ.

The opening remarks were not recorded, but here’s the relevant section from my manuscript:

I think we have all felt acute distress in the past week, and understandably so. Not only has the pandemic continued to cause all kinds of death, destruction and suffering in our city and state, but we witnessed what has been described by experts as a violent, terrorist attack on our nation’s Capitol building by a politically and religiously motivated mob.

This is a time that calls for clarity and directness from Christian leaders and from the Church. So I have tried to choose all of my words for this message with special care and precision. I have sought counsel and prayer. I do not intend or wish to offend in any way. However, I do want speak truthfully and candidly. I watched in horror—live—as the mob grew more and more restless, ultimately overrunning the police and breaking in the building to disturb the legitimate democratic process. And I was so dismayed to see several images of those in the crowd carrying banners that said “Jesus Saves,” along with the so-called “Christian flag,” crosses, and many other Christian symbols and sayings. The crowd held banners proclaiming “Jesus is my Savior. Trump is my President.” To be clear, the increasingly close association of the Christian faith with American nationalism and partisan extremes is precisely why it is important for us to address this specific event as a church family…

Here’s a link to the complete manuscript.