Love Your Neighbor During Election Season

Outward Signs

In the lectionary reading this past Sunday, Jesus passed blind Bartimaeus on the road.

Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?”

The blind man said to him, “My teacher, let me see again.”  Mark 10:51

As I pass dozens of political signs on the road, I feel led to pray for this election.  What if Jesus passed by those same signs and asked us, “What do you want me to do for you?” 

I imagine that there are people of many different denominations and perspectives who are praying for their candidate to win.  I have overheard political conversations in a variety of places, including in coffee shops and at my child’s dance studio.  One thing that stands out to me is my own rising sense of anxiety in response to those conversations.

I worry that our current political landscape is reducing my capacity to love my neighbor, and I am trying to fight back against that.  If Jesus were to approach me on election day and ask, “what do you want me to do for you?”, my hope and prayer is that I would say, “I want to love my neighbor”.

When the system we find ourselves in causes us to feel pitted against one another, it can cause our capacity for love to dwindle until it is like the eye of a needle.  What prayers or practices would help us to grow in our capacity to love during this time?

Greater Grounding

What small acts could help us to find a greater sense of grounding, so that the foundation of our inner stability goes deeper than the changes and challenges of life?

1. Choosing a word to recite as a breath prayer.

   

2. Carrying a notecard with you that has a favorite scripture verse or a quote from a favorite book or song.
3. Visiting a place that is sacred to you, whether indoors or outdoors.
4. Taking a moment of prayerful listening, opening ourselves to what God might say in the present moment.

What else would help you to feel like you are standing on solid ground, spiritually speaking?

An atmosphere of division and conflict can tempt us to think that we must play by those rules, operating within that broken system.  There must be ways to remind ourselves that the Kingdom of God operates differently, and that our king is Jesus Christ.  Political discussions can feel like walking on a tightrope, but Jesus offers a spiritual landscape that has room for us to land.

Greater Curiosity

In what ways could curiosity and questions help us to remain teachable, so that we are listening to how Jesus is leading?

1. What do I fear to lose by loving my neighbor in this moment?
2. How do norms or trends within my society differ from Christ’s command to love?
3. Dear God, what is your deep desire for my neighbor?

How else is Christ inviting us to expand the scope of our prayer for our neighbors?

An atmosphere of worry and doubt can cause us to crave security and stability.  While this may tempt us to try to control our lives even more cautiously, Jesus always has more to teach us.  Even in the midst of worry, we can maintain a teachable spirit with our trusted teacher, Jesus Christ.

Greater News

I decided to stop watching the news during the 2020 pandemic.  I want to be informed, but I would rather read news stories than watch a program.  This is one way that I try to engage current events in a more calm and intentional way.

In addition to wanting to be informed regarding the news, I also want to remain informed regarding how Jesus may be speaking to me.  This is why I read a portion of the Gospels every day.  I want the words and actions of Jesus to be a living example to me, even if I just read one parable.  I want the words and actions of Jesus to be more important to me than the words and actions of politicians who are competing for power.  We don’t just need good news, we need the good news, and receiving it can be a spiritual discipline.

I am an “out of sight, out of mind” person, so I have projects visibly spread across my desk (and my desktop).  When walking through this world where division is all that we can see, I need Jesus to tell me that he loves my neighbor.  Heck, I need Jesus to tell me that he loves me.

I need those reminders in front of me.

I need intentional practices in order to walk in love.

What will your intentional practices be leading up to and following the election?

To read more posts, visit my column here.  Check out my writing in “Soul Food: Nourishing Essays on Contemplative Living and Leadership”, or listen to me read a portion of my writing for the podcast Read, Pray, Write.