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Pastor's Ponderings
‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’
- Luke 4:18-19
At times I have heard something to the effect of, “I am so glad our church is not political.” The thing is, Jesus was political. In Luke 4, sometimes called Jesus’ mission statement, Jesus makes some political claims. He does so in other places as well, “Give to Caesar…” for example. Further, he proclaims the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is different from the kingdoms of this world, but not apolitical. Jesus offers the statement at the beginning of his ministry, “The Kingdom of God is at hand,” and then proceeds to live it out, feeding the hungry, healing the sick, loving the enemy, and so on, using ways to bring God’s Kingdom into the world that are contrary to the ways the kingdoms of this world invade one another. He teaches his disciples, and us, to pray: Your [God’s] Kingdom come, Your [God’s] will be done.
When we use the word “political” we often mean “partisan.” Caring for our neighbor is political. Helping refugees is political. Seeking after peace is political. Doing God’s work in the world is by its very nature political – because it has to do with people. However, supporting one party over another, one candidate over another is partisan. People on all sides of partisan lines can work together for the Kingdom of God. One thing I have learned in all my years in the church is that there are faithful Christians who are also Republicans, faithful Christians who are also Democrats, faithful Christians who are also Independents, faithful Christians who are also Libertarians, and so on down the line. There are even faithful Christians who choose no party and choose not to be a part of our formal political process.
As I write this, we are less than two weeks away from the election. Currently the race for president (and even congress and senate) are reflections of our partisan division and polarity. The campaigns are in high gear and the ads are, well, I’ll just say it: nauseating! No matter what happens on November 5th (and the likelihood that we won’t know all the results on November 6th is pretty high) there will be about 50% of voters who are pleased and relieved, and 50% of voters who are disappointed and anxious…and maybe all of us still a little angry at the state in which we find ourselves and our nation.
So, this is your friendly (about every 4 year) reminder that the Kingdom of God is not something that comes in as a result of a vote! The Kingdom of God is not a matter of, nor is it dependent upon having all the right people in the right places of government allowing us to sit back in our easy chairs and brush our hands together and congratulate ourselves for a job well done. The Kingdom is always at hand and requires work and faithfulness, and each of us as Christians (elected to office or just regular ol’ citizens) is imperfect though striving to be faithful.
Until such time as the prayer “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” is a reality, those who follow Jesus will have work to do, whatever the system of government. Wherever there are people hurting, we have work. Wherever people are hungry, we have work. Wherever people are in prison, we have work. Wherever people live under violent circumstances, we have work. Wherever systems oppress people, we have work.
Further, we have a duty to pray for our nation and our nation’s leaders. There is no argument that what the United States does affects the rest of the world. Thus, it becomes paramount that we ask God for direction in all of our dealings and for soft hearts that we all might listen to God’s desires for us.
Yet, our obligation for prayer does not stop with our own nation. We are also called to pray for the whole world: our friends, our enemies, our neighbors, those foreign to us, the significant and powerful, and those who seem of little consequence to us. We confess that God has created a world of abundance and that it is God’s desire that the whole world be blessed. All human beings have been made in God’s very own image (That is the first confession about humanity in the Bible!) and therefore every human being has value to God.
So, after the voting is done, our real commitments continue. Let us work together for the building of God’s Kingdom. And let us pray together with Jesus: “God, Your Kingdom come, Your will be done right here and around the world.”
See you in worship!
Shalom,
Pastor Owen
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