Loving God, we thank you for the gift of good government. Give us the courage and strength to engage our government, through voting and other participation. We pray for our elected leaders. May they serve all neighbors well, may they lead with compassion and grace. We pray for safe and fair elections next week throughout our nation. We pray for peaceful transfers of power and safety for poll workers and all those who serve us in the election process. Bless our nation in these conflicted times. May our faithful voices serve as a witness of reconciliation and peace. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
Beloved community,
Religion and politics. The well-worn joke suggests civilized people don’t talk about either. The United States governing documents call for a separation of church and state, which some people interpret to mean people of faith should never talk about politics. And yet, Jesus taught us we should constantly be talking about, praying about and acting on our faith in the public sphere.
Next week our nation participates in one of our most sacred trusts, a democratic election process. The Christian tradition has taught us much about living as a person of faith in society. Jesus drew a picture a picture of what the kingdom of heaven would be like and then let us know that kingdom was at hand now. Recently our gospel lesson reminded us Jesus said, “Give unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s, give unto God that which is God’s.” Jesus knew our lives will always include relationships with both God and government.
Along those lines, Martin Luther thought deeply about the “two kingdoms.” He wrote, “God has ordained two governments: the spiritual, by which the Holy Spirit produces Christians and righteous people under Christ; and the temporal, which restrains the unchristian and wicked so that they are obliged to keep the peace outwardly.” It’s telling that Luther understood temporal government as a means to keep people from being wicked. He understood secular laws were meant to keep the peace, to provide for the flourishing of all.
Therefore, people of faith should engage government processes in service of the neighbor. God ordained good government, and we are called to be part of good government. This means voting, this means being in relationship with our civil servants, this means knowing and serving our neighborhoods.
The ELCA social statement “Faith and Civic Life” is clear: “As with Jesus, the call to love the neighbor and do justice pushes us into engagement with society rather than out of it. Only with appropriate attention to the political can we exercise neighbor love and serve neighbor justice to hold government accountable, oppose social oppression, seek various kinds of liberation, and work toward the common good. Political engagement in this sense is a means of channeling God’s love through civic participation.”
Please make a plan to vote in this year’s election. Call a friend to help you get to the polls if needed. Offer to drop a mail-in ballot off for someone who is not mobile. Become an accountability partner with someone else to make sure you both get to vote. And always, pray for this nation and her leaders.
