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bold under italic Election '08 Tuesday, November 4, 2008
As the election is upon us, I pray that we, as Christians, would keep our eyes and our hopes on God above.The question over how political Jesus was, or how politically involved he expected his followers to be, is one that has always nagged at me. In the Gospels, Jesus is presented with numerous opportunities to throw his support behind the political and religious parties that dominated his day. It seems to me that he avoids aligning himself with all of them throughout the Gospels. This idea was reinforced to me in reading Mark 12 last night in our small group. Starting with the last section in chapter 11, we see Jesus’ authority being challenged by the chief priests and the elders. Instead of proving his authority over this earth, he answers with a riddle designed to confuse them, and maybe even to mock them. Then, as we move into chapter 12 we have Jesus tearing down every major institution and ideology of his day. First, again directed at the chief priests, he prophecies that the temple will be destroyed and handed over to those to whom it does not belong. Next, he is approached by a coalition of Pharisees and Herodians, the representatives of the local government. When asked whether he believed in paying taxes to Caesar, Jesus said to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s. This, one of Jesus’ most well known sayings, attacks both the Pharisee’s, who had hoped Jesus would denounce the Roman ruler, and the Herodians, who may have been a little worried about the half hearted endorsement themselves. Next up were the Sadducees. After seeing Jesus reject the Chief Priests, the Pharisees, and the Herodians, they must’ve have been very pleased. In fact, they probably thought that Jesus would throw his support behind their theological system, since he obviously didn’t support the other major systems of the day. But instead Jesus solemnly pronounces that they are “quite wrong.” Finally we have a scribe that steps up to ask the great teacher a question. The scribe seems to be trying to pinpoint exactly where Jesus stands by asking him what, out of all the Old Testament laws and codes, he saw as the most important. Jesus responds by placing his focus entirely on loving God and loving your neighbor, and thereby going over any and all of the political debates of the time. Even though the scribe earns some praise for his response, Jesus very quickly asserts that the scribes cannot be trusted either. In fact, it’s only after denouncing all of these people that had been vying for Jesus’ approval that he actually finds someone that represents what he stands for. When Jesus sees an old widow put two copper coins in the Temple’s offering plate, he praises her devotion. It was this widow’s generous giving, out of a heart of love for God, that earned Jesus’ approval. I think we can all learn a very valuable lesson from this. It’s not the most eloquent speeches or the hard nosed political deals that appeal to God. He is indeed involved in the political process, appointing whomever he sees fit to rule the land. Scripture is clear about that. But God is not giving his endorsement to any political parties. He is not a Republican or Democrat. In fact, I believe that some of the cynicism we see among the young people today is an unforeseen side effect of the mixing of religion and politics. That theory was further advanced when I heard an NPR program featuring Steven Waldman, author of Founding Faith: Providence, Politics, and the Birth of Religious Freedom in America. His book explores the founding fathers, the religious atmosphere in the late 18th century, and the forces that formed our idea of religious freedom. In essence, he asserts that the idea of separating church and state arouse from the church’s desire to keep matters of faith and politics from becoming intertwined. The founding fathers, along with the leaders of the colonial church, had learned through experience that when church and state join forces, both are usually compromised. With all of this in mind, I hope that everyone exercised their right to vote. Since it is a right and not a duty, I did not. But I hope that above all, no matter who wins, and no matter what direction our country heads in next, that we will ultimately put our faith in God, and not in any man-made institution. |