\n<\/p>
Religion and politics should <\/span>never mix<\/span>\u2026. How many people have heard that line before? <\/span><\/p>\n How many of us actually believe that line? <\/span><\/p>\n For so many people in our country, when communities of faith begin to get involved in or speak about political issues, a wave of fear washes over them, and rightfully so. <\/span><\/p>\n In the past, political leaders have used religion as a way to manipulate the masses to conform to their will. <\/span><\/p>\n And in our more recent history, religious leaders have partnered with political powers to create massive social movements that declare \u201cUnless you vote for <\/span>this <\/span>party or <\/span>this <\/span>candidate, you\u2019re not truly a Christian.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n When we stand back and look at the myriad of horrendous ways religion and politics have mingled for evil over the course of human history, we have good reason to be wary of any religious leader speaking about politics or any political leader endorsing religion. <\/span><\/p>\n But for those of us who follow Jesus and seek to take his words and actions literally, we quickly run into so major problems if we try to separate our politics from our religion, because <\/span>nearly everything <\/span>that Jesus teaches has major social, ethical, and political implications, don\u2019t they? <\/span><\/p>\n I mean, how can we take Jesus\u2019 command to care for the least of these seriously if we\u2019re not willing to speak up against the misuse of tax dollars or creating <\/span>economic schemes that benefit the wealthiest, or even just the middle class, but make conditions worse for the poorest in our society? <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n How can we say we\u2019re caring for the least of these if we\u2019re voting or worse, refusing to vote, when politicians are literally proposing policies that will directly impact their ability to survive and thrive in our communities? <\/span><\/p>\n You see, to separate our religion from our politics is nearly impossible, because any true religion, as defined by James deals with \u201clooking after orphans and widows\u00a0in their distress\u2026\u201d \u2013 to care for the most vulnerable in society. That\u2019s what the Bible <\/span>says,<\/span> \u201ctrue religion\u201d is. <\/span><\/p>\n And what, then, are politics? <\/span><\/p>\n The word politics comes from the Greek word <\/span>Politik\u00e1, <\/span>and literally means to \u201ccare for the affairs of cities and the people in them.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n The heart of being political is to be concerned with the justice and flourishing of our cities, our communities, our countries, and our world. <\/span><\/p>\n And if you ask me, that sounds <\/span>a lot <\/span>like the Biblical definition of what \u201ctrue religion\u201d is. <\/span><\/p>\n Now, what I am not suggesting is that religion and politics are the same. For our country, there is a clear separation- the governement is elected to take care of the broad concerns of the nation, and the church, hypothetically, is meant to take care of individuals and local communities. <\/span><\/p>\n But there has also been a prominent myth that has been ingested by many American Christians in particular that <\/span>religion <\/span>should be <\/span>private <\/span>and politics should be public. <\/span><\/p>\n The thinking goes- \u201c<\/span>My religion is about my prayer life and my relationship to God. That should stay between me, God, and my church. Politics relate to what I want to see in the society around me. That\u2019s different.\u201d<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n Again, this line of thinking is understandable. Religion has been misused by political leaders to do horrendous things throughout the ages. Nothing is scarier, especially for a country like America that was founded on the principle of freedom\u00a0<\/span>from religious oppression by government, to see the two mixing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n But the truth is, religion, and more specifically, Christianity, is inherently political. AND Christianity is also inherently <\/span>public.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n Look through the Gospels, read the life of Jesus. 90% of everything Jesus says and does is in <\/span>public<\/span>. He teaches in public. He preaches in public. He does acts of justice in public. He heals in public. He <\/span>criticizes<\/span> the political leaders of his day in public. <\/span><\/p>\n Jesus certainly didn\u2019t relegate his relationship with God to the private realms of his <\/span>synagogue<\/span> or prayer closet. <\/span><\/p>\n In fact, when Jesus is arrested for being a political threat at the end of his life, he mocks the soldiers saying: <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI have preached openly to the world- everyone knows what I teach. I have preached regularly in the synagogues and the Temple, where the people gather. I have not spoken in secret.\u201d <\/span>(John 18:20)<\/span><\/p>\n The faith of Jesus was a public faith. And it was a faith <\/span>concerned with the affairs of people in the city<\/span>. It was a <\/span>political faith<\/span>. <\/span><\/p>\n It follows then, that those of us who seek to follow Jesus would also live a public faith- a faith concerned with the affairs of the world and the people in it, not <\/span>just <\/span>with ourselves and our relationship to God. <\/span><\/p>\n (By this point in the message, some of you are very nervous about where I am heading. And others of you are ready to start yelling \u201cAmen\u201d because you think you know where I am going. Hold on.)<\/span><\/p>\n Christianity is a political faith. It\u2019s a faith centered on the values of justice, righteousness, and peace for <\/span>all people.<\/span> The earliest followers of Jesus sought to create subversive communities that administered grassroots justice from the ground up, hoping that, with God\u2019s help, they could transform the world into \u201cthe Kingdom of God.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n Have you considered that Kingdom is a political term? It\u2019s a method of governing the political affairs of a nation! <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n And for the Jewish people, the Messiah was <\/span>primarily <\/span>a <\/span>political<\/span> savior, not primarily a spiritual one, <\/span>although<\/span> for the Jewish people there was no separation of religion and politics. The Messiah was meant to be sent from God to liberate them from <\/span>political<\/span> <\/span>oppression and bring peace to the entire earth. That\u2019s both a religious and a political vision. <\/span><\/p>\n So, friends, Christianity is a <\/span>political<\/span> faith. <\/span><\/p>\n But Christianity <\/span>is NOT a partisan faith.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n In this moment of our <\/span>nation\u2019s<\/span> history, we are experiencing a level of hyper-partisanship like we have never seen before. <\/span><\/p>\n Our leaders are more concerned with being faithful to the platform of their party than they are concerned with representing their constituents or pursuing justice. <\/span><\/p>\n And that hyper-partisanship has trickled down to the general public- we now have made politics our national sport, and we\u2019re allegiant to our team without actually considering what they team represents.<\/span><\/p>\n For many of us who are progressives, we <\/span>automatically <\/span>shut out conservative voices. We refuse to listen to their case, their reasoning, or their logic. We <\/span>stereotype<\/span>, criticize, and silence voices we disagree with as if they are <\/span>the enemy.<\/span><\/p>\n For those of us who are conservatives, we do the same thing. We believe broad generalizations about progressives, buy into wild myths about the evil agendas of the liberals who want to kill babies, sell children into sex slavery, and destroy families. <\/span><\/p>\n We have ended up in a place where we have completely abandoned our desire for justice and a better country and world for all people, and instead, have turned politics into sport and our nation is crumbling because of it. <\/span><\/p>\n We have forgotten that <\/span>we are not enemies of one another<\/span>\u2013 we\u2019re all citizens of this same piece of land, and when justice is established, we all benefit. We equality is won, everyone flourishes. When our families are provided for, the whole society\u00a0<\/span>becomes better.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n And for followers of Jesus, when we put our allegiance in our political party over our faith in Christ and the commitments that following him binds us to, we have become idolaters. We have become part of the problem, not the solution. <\/span><\/p>\n The call of Jesus to all who claim to be his disciples is simple. When Jesus began his ministry, he stood up in the <\/span>synagogue<\/span> and read from the Prophet Isaiah, declaring this to be his mission in the world: (Luke 4:18-19)<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,<\/span> \n<\/p> This was Jesus mission. This is what Jesus claims to have fulfilled. And if this is what Jesus was about, it should be what those of us who claim to be his followers are about. <\/span><\/p>\n And you know what\u2019s funny? If I sat down with a democrat and a republican and read that statement, 99% of them would agree that they believe all of this is good and that they would like to see it implemented in the world. <\/span><\/p>\n Who doesn\u2019t want to see the poor liberated from poverty? <\/span><\/p>\n Who doesn\u2019t want to see captives liberated from chains? <\/span><\/p>\n Who doesn\u2019t want to see the blind receive their sight? <\/span><\/p>\n Who doesn\u2019t want to see freedom given to those who are oppressed? <\/span><\/p>\n Who doesn\u2019t want to see God\u2019s perfect justice and peace reign throughout the earth?<\/span><\/p>\n These <\/span>aren\u2019t<\/span> partisan values, folks. And as cynical as we may be about those on the \u201cother side\u201d, we need to remember that at the end of the day there is just <\/span>one side.<\/span> We all are seeking a better world for <\/span>everyone.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Paul proclaimed: <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIn Christ\u2019s <\/span>family,<\/span> there can be no division into Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female, for you all are one!\u201d<\/span> (Galatians 3:28)<\/span><\/p>\n If we are one people in Christ, then why are we dividing over political boundaries? <\/span><\/p>\n If we are one in Christ, why have we pledged allegiance to our party over the common good of everyone? <\/span><\/p>\n Those of us who are followers of Christ have a lot to repent of- on the right and the left- if we have placed our party before our desire to follow Jesus through loving our neighbor as ourselves, no matter how they vote. <\/span><\/p>\n Jesus proclaimed: \u201cA house divided against itself cannot stand.\u201d (Matthew 3:25)<\/span><\/p>\n President Abraham Lincoln picked up on this wisdom from our Lord and proclaimed to the divided country in the midst of civil war: <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved\u2014I do not expect the\u00a0<\/span>house<\/span>\u00a0to fall\u2014but I do expect it will cease to be\u00a0<\/span>divided<\/span>.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n Lincoln saw that when our nation was split so profoundly on the issue of slavery, that such a stark polarization was about to destroy the fledgling nation. Lincoln called for us to cease aligning with our parties and to unite on the cause of justice and equity for all- a country where all were free and equal. <\/span><\/p>\n Thankfully, after much work, our nation awoke. Led in large part by those who were compelled to follow Jesus example of equality, our nation fought to abolish slavery and declare that all Americans deserved the same dignity, regardless of their race. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n In our day, we stand on the brink of another collapse of the house of our nation. We are divided, not primarily on values or issues of justice, but because we have <\/span>siloed<\/span> ourselves and dedicated our lives to party allegiance rather than deeply considering what justice for all would look like. <\/span><\/p>\n As followers of Christ, there is no other path forward but for us to look deeply at the Scripture, intently at the example of Jesus, and ask- how can these values be implemented in our society for the common good of everyone? <\/span><\/p>\n We are <\/span>not <\/span>to <\/span>ask,<\/span> \u201cWhat does my <\/span>party say to do<\/span>?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n But what does <\/span>Jesus <\/span>say to do? <\/span><\/p>\n We are <\/span>not <\/span>to <\/span>ask,<\/span> \u201cWhat benefits me and my people the most?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n But what benefits <\/span>all people <\/span>
\n<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0because He has anointed Me<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0to preach the gospel to the poor;<\/span>
\n<\/span>He has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted,<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0to preach deliverance to the captives<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0and recovery of sight to the blind,
\nto set\u00a0at liberty those who are oppressed;\u00a0<\/span>
\nto preach the year of God\u2019s justice.\u201d<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n