Religion In the News!
Acts 7:55–60 … Psalm 31:1–5, 15–16
1 Peter 2:2–10 … John 14:1–14
May 3, 2026
It’s been a long time since religion made so much news.
The tiff between Pope Leo and President Trump has brought religion to the front page … everyone reads the Bible, quotes it, and claims it … pulpit pounders, preachers and pundits … priests, rabbis and imams - TV personalities, influencers, and podcasters … whatever you want, you can find it; whatever you need, you can have it … the good, the bad, and the ugly … it’s a free-for-all out there!
Religion in the news.
There was even a reference to the Papacy in Avignon, France .. in the 14th Century … and you might well ask, What the heck is that all about?
King of France, Philip IV, wanted a cooperative pope sympathetic to French interests … things were a bit sketchy in Rome, so Pope Clement V moved to France.
For most of the 14th Century, seven French Popes governed the church … things settled down for a bit, and by 1376, the papacy returned to Rome … only to be challenged a few years later by another effort to create an alternative papacy back in Avignon - with popes now in both cities … but the revolt lasted only a few years, and since 1417, the Papal Seat has been in Rome.
Why would a Pentagon official talk about the Avignon Papacy to the Pope’s representative to the United States?
It’s a veiled threat: cooperate with us, or we’ll create an alternative papacy.
U.S. bishops, meanwhile, describe the pope's comments about war and peace, not just “offering opinions on theology,” but “preaching the Gospel and exercising his ministry as the Vicar of Christ.”
Trump replies: “I'm all about the Gospel. I'm about it as much as anybody can be.”
We even have prayer meetings in the Pentagon led by Pete Hegseth, beseeching God to bless our military with victory … offering a prayer based upon Ezekiel 25.17 and the words of Samuel Jackson in the 1994 film, Pulp Fiction … a prayer of blood and violence.
Religion in the news: different versions of Christianity … can they all be right? Or might there be some distinctions?
Abraham Lincoln said in his Second Inaugural Address, about the North and the South: Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God and each invokes His aid against the other.
Religion in the news …
All different kinds … the visionary and the violent … faith to heal, and ideas to harm
“All things are lawful,” but not all things are beneficial, writes the Apostle Paul. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up.
When things gets topsy turvy, we have an opportunity, we have a task, to sort the wheat from the chaff, the gold from the dross … the real from the counterfeit … it’s not easy, but it has to be done … because the stakes are always high … and sometimes, really high.
Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide
In the strife of Truth with Falsehood, for the good or evil side;
Some great cause, God's new Messiah, offering each the bloom or blight,
Parts the goats upon the left hand, and the sheep upon the right,
And the choice goes by forever 'twixt that darkness and that light.
Religion in the news.
A time for each us to ask ourselves,
What do I believe about such things?
What do I value?
What kind of a world do I want for my children, my grandchildren.
What’s important to me as I live my life? Go to school, go to work, pay my bills, and vote in the next election?
What do I cherish, what do I honor, what guides me in the night, and leads me in the day?
One of the immediate issues in Jerusalem … people are hungry, and some are overlooked in the distribution of food.
The Apostles ask for help!
They hold a congregational meeting … seven are chosen … one of whom is named Stephen, who turns out to be a remarkable preacher.
But like in all such moments, Stephen’s work brings division.
We should not be surprised …
Jesus said of his work:
Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth;
I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
For I have come to set a man against his father,
and a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.
Stephen’s brought before the authorities … he’s given a chance to speak, and he makes his case …
Stephen begins with the Patriarchs:
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob …
Joseph in Egypt …
Moses and the burning bush …
Israel in the wilderness …
the Golden Calf …
Joshua and the conquest of Canaan …
King David and the city of Jerusalem …
Solomon and the Temple …
Stephen does a Bible Study …
To make the point: Jesus is the Messiah …
The long, long, road of hope for a Messiah, leads to the little town of Bethlehem … to the life of Jesus …
Stephen drives home the point: the Messiah of God isn’t what you wanted … God’s Messiah didn’t fit your plans … so you crucified him … you betrayed and murdered the Messiah.
Unpleasant at words, at best … the truth hurts sometimes …
Years ago, a Christian publication had a long running series, “How I Changed My Mind” … sometimes the change came peacefully, but often times, the change in thought and behavior came through strife and struggle …
Stephen’s words cut to the quick … and the folks couldn’t bear his words …
In the movie, “A Few Good Men” Tom Cruise says to Jack Nicolson, “I want the truth,” and Nicolson shouts back, “You can’t handle the truth.”
The folks in Jerusalem can’t handle the truth …
They drag Stephen out of the city and stone him …
As I read the story, I’d like to think - I’d be there for Stephen … or … would I have thrown the first stone?
What would I do:
Would I stand with the Patriots of Lexington or the Loyalists of London? …
would I fight for the Union or side with the Confederacy? …
In 1932 Germany, would I cheer for Hitler, or like so many who lost their lives, would I see the Nazi dictator for what he is?
Would I join the young people at the Woolworth counter in Jackson, Mississippi, 1963, or would I have join other young people, to pour mustard and ketchup over their heads?
Or would I just bury my head in the sand? and try to ignore it all?
Where do I stand today? … and how about you?
We have to wonder …
We must do our Bible study … this much we learn from Stephen.
And especially so, in a day and age when all sorts of folks pick up a Bible and wave it about … we can’t let the the news outlets decides for us … we need … to know … our stuff.
The stones are hurled at Stephen … he kneels down, cries out in a loud voice: LORD, do not hold this sin against them.
Stephen dies with forgiveness in his soul … no room here for hate, no room for vengeance or violence … the only thing that counts is love … love divine, all loves excelling …
Those who do the bloody work that day lay their coats at the feet of a young official … the young man’s name? - Saul.
That very day, the young man unleashes a wave of persecution … homes and towns raided, folks imprisoned … the threat of death in the air.
But the story of God’s love is greater still …
That young man, on the road to Damascus, falls to the ground blinded by a great light … he gains a new name: Paul … and a new purpose: Apostle to the Gentiles …
But that’s a story for another day.
Religion in the news.
Amen and Amen!
