I was honored to hear Dr. Obery Hendricks deliver the 2024 Martin Luther King, Jr. lecture at Wesley Theological Seminary. With the modified title “The [Little Sung] Radicality of Martin Luther King, Jr.,” Hendricks interrogated the latent revolutionary aspects of King’s ideology.

His reflections demanded a critical reassessment of our nation’s foundational values, and an incisive examination challenged us to consider how America might be “born again. It must be a rebirth rooted in the principles of justice, equity, and compassion Dr. King so fervently advocated and was murdered for its promulgation.

On the day of the lecture, the relentless flux of the world and the ongoing spiritual battles felt acutely palpable.

Seated in Oxnam Chapel, I wondered: How can America be born again? Why is its baptismal declaration made in the blood of the slaughtered? Why does America present itself like Nicodemus but act like Caiaphas? Six months later, I remain disquieted. 

Nicodemus and Caiaphas, two pivotal figures in the New Testament, represent contrasting responses to Jesus’ radical message and ministry.

Nicodemus, a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin, first appears in John 3:1-21, approaching Jesus in the cloak of night to understand his teachings. Nicodemus is portrayed as a seeker of the truth on a journey of faith transformation. Despite his status and knowledge, Nicodemus humbly acknowledges his need for spiritual insight.

His story continues in John 7:50-52, where he raises a rebuked defense for Jesus and culminates in John 19:39, where he assists in Jesus’ burial.

In stark contrast, Caiaphas, the high priest, plots to arrest and crucify Jesus without repentance. Found in John 11:49-53 and Matthew 26:57-68, Caiaphas represents the entrenched, imperialistically beholden religious authority that vehemently opposed Jesus’ message and ministry.

Caiaphas’ notorious declaration that “it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish” (John 11:50, NKJV) underscores his morally compromised leadership. It epitomizes the resistance to change and the defense of the status quo, even at the cost of justice and truth.

By juxtaposing America’s identity crisis with Nicodemus and Caiaphas, I continue to reflect on the nation’s spiritual and moral dichotomy.

Nicodemus symbolizes the potential for transformation and the genuine pursuit of understanding. Caiaphas embodies the corruption and self-preservation that thwart prophetic voices.

This analogy urges us to question: Are we, as a nation, seeking truth and transformation like Nicodemus or are we clinging to power and traditionalism like Caiaphas? 

The rise of white Christian nationalism poses a significant threat to marginalized, disenfranchised and devalued human beings and communities. White Christian nationalism perpetuates systemic racism, classism, sexism, heterosexism, ableism, xenophobia and social inequality. It undermines the very principles of democracy and human dignity.

This ideology conflates religious identity with racial and national supremacy, opposing the inclusive and justice-oriented message of the gospel. It is incumbent on the church to raise its voice in prophetic alarm and unequivocal disapproval of these anti-kingdom, kin-dom, and flourishing ideologies, actions, and tenets. 

Hendricks remarked on Christo-fascism’s (re)defining of Christianity, and we (i.e., individually, collectively, the church) have no response.

Lenora Tubbs Tisdale, in her book “Prophetic Preaching: A Pastoral Approach,” quotes Walter Brueggemann:

“Thus I contend that prophetic ministry has to do not primarily with addressing specific public crises but with addressing, in season and out of season, the dominant crisis that is enduring and resilient, of having our alternative vocation [as Christians] co-opted and domesticated.”

Another pressing question arises from First Corinthians 14:8 (KJV): “For if the trumpet gives an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself for the battle?” The church must sound the trumpet in the pulpit and public square!

This nation is on the precipice of a dystopian future. The church must reclaim its prophetic voice and unshackle itself from diabolic ideologies to foster a society that genuinely embodies the radical, transformative teachings of the gospel.

It is not hard to hear Jesus’ rebuke of the churches at Ephesus, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, and Laodicea directed to today’s church for its actions (and inaction), false teaching, profiteering prophetic utterances, resounding silence and cult-like following of an un-civil religion and its leaders. If today’s church is listening, it must vocalize the sinner’s prayer for its offenses against the imago Dei.

Lest the church risk being disowned “before my Father in heaven,” it must “come to believe with its heart and so is justified, and confesses with the mouth and so is saved be born again.”

This is not merely an intellectual exercise but a moral and spiritual imperative that challenges the body of Christ to live out its faith with courage and conviction, striving for a reborn America transformed by the gospel and grounded in love, justice, and compassion.