It is interesting to note that the unconscionable decision to remove Justin Jones and Justin Pierson from their seats in the Tennessee legislature, followed by their swift restoration to their seats should occur during the Easter season. Consider that Easter celebrates the fact that after the enemies of Jesus rejected his message and nailed him to a cross, just three days later God overruled that decision and restored Jesus to life.
The resurrection of Jesus is God saying yes after the enemies of Jesus had said no! That is a powerful way to think about what happened in Tennessee in recent days. In a totally unprecedented action, Republicans in the Tennessee House of Representatives voted to expel Jones and Pierson from the positions to which they had been elected by their constituents in Nashville (Jones) and Memphis (Pierson). Those democratically elected representatives were undemocratically removed from office for what were said to be violations of decorum. They had the audacity to stand up in the House chamber and use a bull horn in their attempts to be heard as they called that legislative body to enact reasonable gun reforms in that state. That occurred just a few days after six people were killed with an AR15 in an elementary school in Nashville.
Jones and Pierson were speaking on behalf of hundreds of protesters who had marched on the state capitol to protest gun laws in their state. When Jones and Pierson dared to speak up even after their desk microphones had been turned off, they were expelled from the legislature. Republican lawmakers responded to their message about gun regulations by saying NO. Then, in a swift and stunning reversal of the actions of the Republicans in the Tennessee Legislature, the county governments in Nashville and Memphis voted unanimously to return Jones and Pierson to their positions. In doing so, the people said YES, rejecting what the Republican supermajority had attempted to do: silence the voices of those who were speaking an uncomfortable truth.
This is what democracy looks like, people at the local level deciding who will represent them in various political offices no matter how much their presence annoys those who wish to silence and remove anyone that does not support the status quo.
In the book of Genesis, Joseph rose from being sold into slavery by his own brothers, to becoming second-in-command in ancient Egypt after the Pharaoh. When his brothers come to Egypt to find food due to a famine in their home country of Canaan, they have to stand before Joseph to plead their case. They did not know it was him until he revealed it to them. They feared he might seek vengeance for what they had done to him. Instead, Joseph said, “You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.”
William Cullen Bryant wrote, Truth crushed to earth will rise again.” So it was on Easter, and so it was in Tennessee. This is a resurrection moment.
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The Rev. Dr. Marvin A. McMickle, pastor emeritus of Antioch Baptist Church in Cleveland, Ohio, is interim executive minister, Cleveland Baptist Association, American Baptist Churches, USA. He served as president of Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School, Rochester, New York, from 2011 to 2019.
