He said there is only one democratic election recorded in all of Scripture. “It was hosted by Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem where he gave the crowd a choice of who they would elect to pardon — Jesus of Nazareth or Jesus Barabbas. It was a choice between two versions of the Jewish religion, two viewpoints of the empire, two valleys by which to travel, two visions of salvation and the future. But fundamentally, if you look carefully, it was the choice between a healer from Galilee and an extremist who led an insurrection at the Capitol where people were murdered. That’s the choice, and the crowd chose Barabbas.”

That’s a choice “we are now very familiar with,” he continued. “This week was not the first time the crowd has made a perilous and misguided choice. It’s why Jesus’ last words from the Cross were, ‘Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.’ The founding story of our faith told us that when crowds of people are given a choice, they will often wittingly or unwittingly choose violence and make a choice that leads to crucifixion and that’s why we grieve.

“One of the reasons we grieve today is because we’ve been told quite clearly that the election of Donald Trump will lead to the crucifixion of people we love. It will lead to the crucifixion of immigrant families, women in need of reproductive rights, transgender and nonbinary people, sick people in need of health care, government workers clinging to a job, poor people in need of resources. And so we grieve today with our entire body for those who we love. But our faith also teaches us something else. It teaches us that every crucifixion needs a witness.”

He continued: “Even when all hope seems lost, we can stand and keep, watch and remain vigilant like Mary Magdalene and the other women as witnesses. We can witness to the truth of what is happening. We can speak truth to power. We can say this is wrong. We can advocate for those who are being crucified by the empire.”

The author recalls his life as a controversial Washington, D.C. evangelical minister and spiritual advisor to America's political class. He begins with his conversion from Judaism to born-again Christianity, and then finding his calling in public ministry. He chronicles his years as an activist leader of the most extreme wing of the anti-abortion movement, brazenly mixing ministry with Republican political activism. Finally he reflects on his unconscious abandonment of Christian principles in the face of fame and influence, and ultimately his return to the lessons Jesus imparted. Today Schenck works to liberate the evangelical community from a politicized gospel, urging partisan conservatives to move beyond social battles and forsake the politics of hate, fear, and violence.