Monday Meditation
politics is a good word
Politics have always been in my life. As a kid, I remember the Goldwater campaign button pinned to my mother’s blouse. I heard LBJ so often - not in a positive way - that I thought it was his name. There was never a time when politics was not discussed - or more accurately argued - in our home. Later, my mother was the first elected secretary of the fledging Republican Women’s group of Florida. As Vietnam descended into hell, my father couldn’t understand the politics of resistance, including that of his four sons, none of whom chose military service. One served prison time for his conscientious refusal to go to Vietnam. Two others were conscientious objectors, and another draft deferral. We had intense political arguments nearly every day. Looking back, those arguments were our normal somewhat predictable way of life, at a time when nothing else was normal or predictable. Chaos reigned in every arena, personal and social. Which is to say, through the years, politics in our family was never a bad word; never off-limits for conversation; never frowned upon as public service. We rarely agreed on any policies or political candidates.
As I grew older, and became a practicing Christian in the Presbyterian tradition, I gained an even greater appreciation for politics. As a Presbyterian, I learned early that politics comes from the word polity which simply means governance, for the common good. Like all Presbyterians, I learned the lore that the American form of government is drawn directly from the polity first designed by the venerable John Calvin, applied with vigor by John Knox, who influenced all those “resisters” fighting for independence from Britain. My first pastor mentor in college often preached about the necessity of dual citizenship: the kingdom of God and USA. In the tradition of Reinhold Niebuhr, he urged us to take citizenship in both seriously, actively pursuing the common good and remembering justice was a biblical virtue. He set my compass at an early age, for which I remain grateful. His ministry inspired the decision to leave my social work career path to purse the pastor vocation.
Later, my political vision was shaped by theologians honed in the same tradition as Karl Barth, who famously said “Take your Bible and take your newspaper, and read both. But interpret newspapers from your Bible.” (Time Magazine, May 1, 1966.) He also said, “Wherever there theological talk, it is also political talk, either implicitly or explicitly, also.” (1939) Once again, there is an understanding politics is intertwined with living this life in a responsible manner. Nor can politics be separated from the path of discipleship shaped by holy scripture. During my travels in Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador I learned a different way of understanding the pastoral vocation always involves political engagement. It’s a difficult way, fraught with perils, and utterly dependent upon the grace of humility, and the wisdom of God. It has been so from the beginning.
So here we are on the edge of another Presidential election. I trust you will all vote, and expect most of you have already voted. As my mentor once said, it an important act of responsible citizenship. Senator Raphael Warnock goes further: “A vote is a kind of prayer about the kind of world you want to live in.” I agree. It reminds me of the late Rabbi Heschel who described marching for civil rights as “praying with his feet.” I’ve voted in 10 Presidential elections in my life. The first candidate I voted for lost in one of the largest landslides in American history. The second lost his re-election by the greatest landslide ever. During the same period from 1972-2020, my candidate has won 4 times. This election will have a winner and a loser. I very much hope, for God’s sake and the sake of the nation, my candidate wins. Yet, when the election, is over, the way of discipleship will continue, along with the challenges of the citizenship in the kingdom of God. That way always requires our loyalty and our faithful practice of its virtues.
Let us be dual citizens, carrying on with faith, hope and love.
