Yes, the sign Love Trumps Hate was held up by protestors at the cancelled Trump rally in Chicago. Despite Trump's own characterization of those who protested in Chicago as thugs the diverse crowd included those explicitly calling for love to triumph over hate.
It made me wonder what a Trump rally protest might look like if Jesus of Nazareth attended, and I wondered what signs Jesus might hold up, and why.
Jesus engaged in active protest, as in turning over the tables of the money-changers in the Temple (Matt. 21:12-13) and he held his own rallies. The Gospels record some of what he taught at such events, including the crucial Sermon on the Mount.
Jesus might have found good reasons to write a few of the teachings from the Sermon on the Mount on signs and carry them at a Trump rally.
Here's why:
Jesus: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God." (Luke 6:20)
Trump: American wages are too high.
Jesus: "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth." (Matt. 5:5)
Trump [advising supporters to attack protestors at his rallies]: If you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of them, would you? Seriously. Okay? Just knock the hell -- I promise you, I will pay for the legal fees.
Jesus: "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy." (Matt. 5:7)
Trump: Torture works.
Jesus: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God." (Matt. 5:9)
Jesus: "But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort." (Luke 6:24)
Trump: I'm really rich.
I wonder if protestors carried signs with the words of the Sermon on the Mount at future Trump rallies, would they still be shouted down as well as pushed and shoved, and even punched? It is more than likely, as the trajectory of violent responses to protests at Trump rallies is clearly escalating. Many have pointed to how candidate Trump's own rhetoric incites this attendee violence.
But shouting down the truth that hatred of the poor, African Americans, Hispanics, Muslims and immigrants is wrong, that war crimes are not a foreign policy and that extreme wealth is not a moral virtue doesn't make that truth go away. It only highlights the contrast between hate and love, and why, at the end of the day, love is stronger than hate.
For me as a Christian, as a pastor and a seminary professor, I believe what the New Testament teaches, that love is stronger and more enduring. "And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. (1 Cor. 13:13)
You will not win with hate over love, Mr. Trump. Politics aside, you will not win.
Love trumps hate.