Rev. Gerald Dillenbeck
As we head into a Mid-Term election, it may be confusing to sort out what a faithful, responsible, and gospel-informed Christian should do about voting. Last week I noted warnings against voting for “Marxist Democratic” candidates, implying they are all alike, ungodly communists.
You may peruse the words and actions of Jesus Christ captured in the Gospels, looking for answers to what the informed Body of Christ should do in our situation today. Jesus said, to the great disappointment of the Zealots, that He had come as Prince of Peace, which excludes war- and fear-mongering, threatening, gratuitous violence. Then there are His Beatitudes. “Blessed are the peace-makers, for they shall inherit the Earth.”
Jesus also said that whatever we do to the “anawim,” the lowest caste of people, without personal rights and property, immigrants, prisoners, women, children, is what we do to Him, the Body of Christ. So, because “God is love,” to treat Christ’s global Body correctly, drawn toward one shared communion table, we always side with love, and with a healthy democracy. This is also the Preamble’s stated purpose for establishing the U.S. Constitution, to “form a more perfect union.” Happily, at least here, both church and state agree in the United States.
As far as I know, we have only had one President who, in his Inaugural Address, explicitly said he would exercise a preferential option for those who support him (not for the poor, the anawim) AND would pursue revenge against those who do not.
As far as I know, it has been only Republican Senators and Representatives who have helped President Trump carry out his threat against a healthy democracy, against a more perfect union, against domestic peace, inflaming partisan polarization with fully culpable intent.
While it is true that Karl Marx favored a robust democracy as contrasted to an upper v lower caste divide between rich and anawim, it is also true that Jesus Christ did, and does, hold to this same caste-transformative agenda. This is the gospel-inspired vocation of all those who are disciples of His teachings, and example.
Where Marx and Jesus differ is about belief in the power of love to achieve personal and global peace among all sentient beings, not just land-owning prosperous heterosexual white men, with big guns and bountiful ammunition. Peace-making by non-violent compassion and means moves the entire international Body of Christ toward a healthy polycultural communion. This is Christ’s Way, not Marx’s fear-mongering armed vengeance.
If your pastoral leadership is preaching and teaching something different than Jesus’ gospel of healthy democratic peace, you might want to revisit Jesus’ warnings about wolves in sheep’s clothing, and those who bully, snub, or just ignore, the peacemakers. It is those who do not take the side of unconditionally inclusive love to whom the Great Divine says, “I never knew you.”
My theological advice? Become actively curious about your Congressional candidates. How do they personally prioritize the fruits of the Spirit, including love, joy, and peace. How do they avoid supporting hate, anger, and systemic trauma?
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