At St. John’s Episcopalian church, where President Barack Obama and his family attended an Easter service on Sunday, Rev. Dr. Luis Leon took the opportunity to try to impress Obama with the same rhetoric the president is known for. Rev. Leon said many outlandish things, but probably the most controversial thing he said was “It drives me crazy when the captains of the religious right are always calling us back…for blacks to be back in the back of the bus…for women to be back in the kitchen…for immigrants to be back on their side of the border.”
Not only is it wildly inappropriate to inject his biased political opinion into a sermon (much less an Easter service sermon), his statements are just not true. It may drive him crazy because he can find no evidence that “captains of the religious right,” as he puts it, are trying to push black Americans to the “back of the bus” or the back of anywhere, for that matter. Let’s not forget, it was the “right” who fought ardently for civil rights and to end slavery. In contrast, it was the left that created the Ku Klux Klan.
Nor would the reverend be able to find any evidence that this same “religious right” group is calling for women to be back in the kitchen. He is obviously referring to equal rights for women and that is a hot topic right now. Championing women’s issues is a great way to win adoration from the left and he apparently knows it.
As for these “captains” to want immigrants to be back on their side of the border, he should really educate himself. Immigrants are those who have gone through the appropriate channels to come to America legally. No one on the right or the left wants immigrants to go back to their side of the border. They are already on their side of the border. Illegal aliens, also called illegal immigrants, however, are on the wrong side of the border and should be repatriated to their respective home countries. There is nothing wrong and everything right with wanting people to respect and obey our laws. Many churches, though, have taken a wrong approach and favor amnesty.
Especially disturbing was his comment “The message of Easter is about the power of love over loveless power.” Well, it’s more about God sending His son Jesus Christ to earth to die for our sins and being resurrected from the dead. Where was that message in his sermon? I suppose one could make an argument that Jesus loved immensely and those who crucified Him had no love, but had power. I get that, but the message on Easter Sunday should have been that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16). That’s what the minister should have preached about, not political issues.
This scenario isn’t new for Obama. In his first run for president, his home church, Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, where he attended for 20 years, was led by Rev. Jeremiah Wright who made it a practice of preaching Black Liberation Theology (socialist/Marxist propaganda) and suggested that the United States’ policies are to blame for the tragedy of 9/11/01.
And then there was Father Michael Pfleger, who used the same Trinity United Church of Christ to make remarks mocking then Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), who was running against Obama in the 2008 primaries. There was no reason to disparage Clinton to win favor with Obama, and possibly Jeremiah Wright and his congregation. But, apparently, he just couldn’t help himself.
It is nothing new to see Obama embroiled in controversy. It follows him wherever he goes. Had the mainstream media bothered to properly vet him when they should have, America might not have become as divided as it currently is. Fortunately, there are those of us who will take on the MSM’s duty and vet him and all others who wish to lead us, so that there’s still a chance of getting America back on the right track.
