On this Feast that errantly celebrates the Exaltation of the Cross, Paul of Tarsus teaches that though “Jesus was in the form of God, he did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave… becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him.”
To exalt a weapon, as Paul and the Church do, specifically the weapon that killed Jesus, is rejecting the life Jesus lived – as a peacemaker, a compassionate man who inspires people for life. Exalting a weapon is exalting the life Jesus’ killers lived – as warmakers, cruel men who are obedient to death. Warmakers groom us in exalting their rule as ranked supremacists. Thus, MAGA exalt men like Donald Trump and Charlie Kirk who are male and white supremacists. Warmakers also groom us in exalting such supremacists when they devalue us for capital gain. Thus, MAGA exalt abusers like Trump and Kirk for making money in deals with the sex trafficker Epstein and with the weapons trafficker Theil and with white nationalists and Biblical nationalists. Warmakers in addition groom us in exalting a killer’s ethic so that soldiers, police, sheriffs, ICE – every guy with a gun – is exalted as our savior. Thus, the Trump/Kirk/MAGA cult exalt as saviors the guys with guns that they want invading LA and DC and that they want targeting people of color like government workers and professors. MAGA has thus groomed us to know the latest guy with a gun obedient to death will be a supremacist white, male, gun owner who devalues others, and should be a man we exalt as our savior – except – the supremacist white, male, gun owner savior was obedient to the death of one of their own. Uh oh. His being obedient to death as our savior will therefore be replaced with him being a lone wolf needing mental health and/or the problem of guns will be replaced with the problem of social media, and/or other lies, disinformation, or dropping him from the headlines, and so forth. The MAGA exaltation cult has been obedient to the death spread by Donald Trump since he told us, “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose any voters.” The MAGA exaltation cult has been obedient to the death spread by Charlie Kirk since he told us, “We must be honest with the population. Having an armed citizenry comes with a price, and that is part of liberty… We need to be very clear that you’re not going to get gun deaths to zero… But I think it’s worth it to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year, so that we can have the 2nd Amendment to protect our other God given rights.” So it is that no matter who is charged with this violence, we know who the killer is. On September 10th, Donald Trump stood in the middle of Utah Valley University and shot Charlie Kirk who became one of MAGA’s necessary gun deaths this year.
“I do not want to stand by and watch… I do not want to stand by and let Christianity be co-opted by extremists… Why force apocalyptic thinking instead of nurturing peace on earth? Why galvanize around hate of others instead of rallying around love of what we can create together?… How do I love radically enough to stop racism, theocracy, elitism and chauvinism, to educate, to help the poor and needy, to support women and the marginalized… I don’t want to alienate anyone, but I don’t want to be complicit either in my silence, and not call out the danger I feel raging around us… They have the guns and are stock piling more, preparing to use them. I do not want war… I follow Jesus.” (A Voice Crying Out in the Wilderness – Polly Castor)
Prayer: Beautiful Spirit, embolden us in the power of peacemaking.
Question: How is my rejecting the compassion I feel for any human being, including warmakers, also a part of the warmaking ethic?
September 14, 2025 Gospel John 3:13-17 Exaltation of the Cross