Where God's Kingdom Meets Man's Heart.
Resurrection 13a Trump: Medium or Message?
While I was thinking about the emergence of one boisterous candidate, the 'Trump phenomenon,' on our present political landscape, I was reminded of a Canadian professor of English named Marshall McLuhan. He was considered the major prophet in communication theory in the '60's. His books radicalized (and still do)the teaching about the impact of media on society. One person called him “The High Priest of Pop Culture.” He coined the phrases 'Global Village' and 'The Medium is the Message.' That second one, medium=message, speaks to what is happening in presidential campaigning and is a way to see how we can shift the present political frenzy into a spiritual way to share our faith.
If you watch the extravagant expenditure employed in attack ads against Trump they all center on issues of character, business acumen, personality negatives and issue inadequacy. What a waste of money. What the “political establishment” is missing is McLuhan's dynamic insight, the medium is the message. Trump the personality is the message. It's not so much what he is saying but the manner, the way he presents himself. He's a 'take no prisoners', 'tell it like it is', 'if you don't like what I'm saying, tough' 'shoot from the hip' kind of person. He cusses, insults and his 'you cut me and I'll cut you twice as hard' attitude offers a refreshing change to the empty-promise-politicians results. He comes into a political atmosphere where the language of compromise and distrust, backroom deceit and verbal nausea, big money influence and office survival, rule the do-nothing politicos populating the nation's governing center.
All this is why the medium is the message. Trump, not what he says, but Trump the bombastic person is the message. Sure, there's the wall, refugee invasion, the foreign economic threat, the Muslim counter, America the beautiful, support our military. But what those issues all point to is something much deeper in the hearts of people and that is individual fear, helplessness and their resulting anger aimed at the political leadership which is doing nothing about it. No wonder a solitary guy with a plane, billions of dollars to spend, not having to cozy up to wealthy patrons and the energy to be himself regardless, makes his appeal to a restless populace.
OK. So I've made the case for the medium being the message. What's that got to do with faith, our faith, our witness as disciples of Jesus? Do you realize we may have been given an incredible gift in all of this? A gift to witness, to give our testimony? We can use this situation as a means to present our version of the medium being the message.
Follow me on this and then test it out.
Jesus said some really incredible things. He made an impact on people. It wasn't just the Cross and the Resurrection. It was the person of Jesus who died and rose, the dynamic individual, the magnetic quality that drew people to Him. Jesus was the message. The Cross and Resurrection proved He was the message, “the living never changing into eternity message.” He Himself was the Word. When you read the Gospel of John, how does it start? “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” That's what John said. He knew Him first hand. He was “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” Jesus was the fearless one who identified fear in the hearts of the people to whom He spoke. He identified as a person who was willing to “tell it like it is” when He was in the midst of the two party system of Pharisees and Sadducees. He was the same in person wherever He went and stood up not only to the political establishment but also to the religious establishment.
Now, put the present political situation into this spiritual focus and see where it goes. You can be in a conversation with someone who brings up politics. Pray and look for an opening to compare who we believe in to the dynamics taking place in the Trump picture. Shift the focus to 2000 years ago when there was a warring faction in Israel with the two party system of Pharisee and Sadducees always in conflict. There was fear among both of losing their political position and power. They also had to cozy up to the Roman government. The restless populace was overburdened with local and foreign taxation. People were afraid of the Roman military but also terrorists upsetting what shaky peace was available. There was a feeling of hopelessness communally and individually. Political conspiracy was rampant. What I am saying is nothing has changed in human history. “There's nothing new under the sun.” Scripture is accurate.
So, if this was the situation into which Jesus came and we have the same situation now what was His answer? Go for the individual heart. Seek out the lost, those who know they don't have their life together. “I have not come to call those who think they are right, but those who know they are sinners (Mk.2:17).” He was a man of the heart who came for the hearts of individuals. He knew the real problem was not government, religion, power, money or social status. It was the heart, the internal condition of each and every human being. “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it (Jer.17:9)?” He knew exactly what Jeremiah meant. That's why He came. That's what the power of the Cross was that displaced the power of the world. Jesus was the message of the Cross.
The Resurrection underlined that the medium, Jesus, was the message. When we live with Jesus as our focus, the heart changes. When the heart changes, everything around it changes. What that means is that if Jesus is the message for each person then each person is His message right where we are. It's we who become the real power brokers. Faith replaces fear. Love replaces niceness. Grace replaces distrust. Compassion replaces avoidance. Hope replaces despair. Honesty replaces hypocrisy. Scriptural sense replaces common sense. Truth replaces compromise. Spiritual focus replaces human reason. Why? Jesus gifted us with the Holy Spirit to restore our heart to be His message to the world starting right where we live.
So use this tremendous gift we have been given---interpret every world circumstance, every personal experience, spiritually---and especially the political one right now where a simple shift from a political personality to the Person of persons is simple. The medium is the message. Peter says it this way, “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do it with gentleness and respect (1Peter3:15).”
Views: 53
Tags:
Comment
Yo Karen, thanks. Let's see if we can shift our conversation with whoever we come in contact with. God bless, ><>W
© 2025 Created by HKHaugan. Powered by
You need to be a member of Kingdom's Keys Fellowship to add comments!
Join Kingdom's Keys Fellowship