After Week One: "The Sermon Heard Round the World" and Resources for the Long Journey Ahead

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It’s only been five days.

Those five words were the first I could articulate this morning. But this short declarative sentence was a deceptively simple cognitive container for a swirl of negative emotions so many of us have been managing this week: sadness, worry, anger, fear, dread, and exhaustion. Of course, the intended effect of President Trump’s “shock and awe” campaign—rooted in his open campaign promise that he would be a dictator “on day one”—is precisely to overwhelm his political enemies by producing a sense of inevitable defeat.

On the eve of the election, late night TV show host Jimmy Kimmel aptly summarized the national mood, saying, “It feels like the whole country is waiting to get the results of a biopsy.” After week one, bookended by Inauguration Day and the confirmation of white Christian nationalist crusader Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense, we’re no longer waiting; it feels like we’ve received the devastating results, that an aggressive cancer has metastasized into every major organ.

Week one of Trump’s return to power was always going to feel like his week. But even amid Trump’s reckless, wrecking romp through Washington, the Constitution, and vulnerable places recovering from natural disasters, I’m already seeing signs of the America I know and love. Bishop Mariann Budde, with her sermon, at once meek and powerful, stood tall this week at the Washington National Cathedral as a beacon of courage and hope. More on that below.

Before turning to the resources of the week, I want to welcome the more than 23,000 (!!) new subscribers who have joined us here at #WhiteTooLong in the new year! In the weeks and months and years ahead, I’ll use these pages to help sort out the signal from the noise—offering my take on what’s important and what’s a distraction as we all struggle to identify and resist the threat that the MAGA movement, and its animating white Christian nationalist ideology, presents to the best of our democratic and religious values. I’ll also be offering breaking research, analysis, and resources for those of us who are committed to a faith and a politics that supports racial justice, equality, and a pluralistic democracy.

Onward and in solidarity,
Robby

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Resources from Week One of the Trump Presidency: Hegseth, MLK, The Convocation, and The Sermon

First, ICYMI, here are two resources from me. Last night, Pete Hegseth was confirmed by the Senate as the next Secretary of Defense, with only three dissenting Republican votes (Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Susan Collins of Maine).

Hegseth is plainly unqualified for the job both in terms of professional experience and character. But as I noted in the analysis below, I was shocked to see that “not a single senator from either side of the aisle probed the most dangerous part of Hegseth’s background: his support for Christian nationalism, a set of beliefs that undermine the bedrock principles of a racially and religiously pluralistic democracy.” I lay out the dangers and the evidence in this piece.

On Monday, I intentionally spent the majority of my energy and attention to commemorating the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., highlighting important Black voices who emphasized a different kind of Christian faith that King brought to bear on American politics.

I’m also inviting you all to join me,

Kristin Du Mez

,

Diana Butler Bass

, and

Jemar Tisby, PhD

over at

The Convocation

Unscripted (available via Substack, YouTube, and podcast). Each week, for the first 100 days of the Trump presidency, we’ll be holding a freewheeling unscripted conversation about the events of the week. You can check out our reflections on the first week of the Trump presidency by clicking here or on the image below.

Finally, I’m highlighting the “sermon heard round the world” this week by The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde. The last three minutes of the sermon have gone viral, but I’d invite you to listen to the entire 15-minute sermon (and also to read this thoughtful reflection on the sermon by

Diana Butler Bass

). Trump and the MAGA right has of course viciously attacked her (Trump—who calls himself a Christian but has also said he never saw the need to ask forgiveness for any sins—lashed out using his favorite term for powerful women who don’t show the deference he believes he deserves: “nasty”). It is a testimony to Trump’s depravity that this carefully calibrated, thoughtful sermon—grounded in fundamental Christian doctrine and focused on values such as dignity, honesty, humility, and mercy—has been, rightly, heard as a resounding indictment of our president.

It’s also notable that Bishop Budde wrote a 2023 book, titled How We Learn to Be Brave: Decisive Moments in Life and Faith, published by a small press. That book has shot up the bestseller charts this week. The print version is now out of stock but the ebook and audiobook are available. I hope you’ll join me in signaling your solidarity with her courage by placing an order for the book. Let’s push the ebooks and audiobooks up the charts and make the backorder printing the largest that press has ever seen.