There are only two shows that I’ve ever watched the entire series. One of which I still own on DVD and have watched the entire series 3 times. If there was any show that I’d love to see still running today it would be this one. I’d love to see how it would interpret and respond to the issues of our day. That show is The West Wing. Just in case you never watched the watched the show, let me fill you in.
The show centers around the likeable, moral, yet conflicted President Jed Bartlett a moderate Democrat from New Hampshire who wins the election with only 48% of the popular vote. The show gives you a peek inside the inner-workings of Washington and how the credible and crooks work together for the American people.
The show hasn’t been on air since 2006 and similar shows that have tried to humanize and romanticize politics haven’t been successful. Perhaps because congress’ approval rating is 13% as of last week.
When discussing politics, I’ve seen the best of people exhibit some of the worst attitudes. As if that’s not bad enough, the moral majority is, most of the times linked to Evangelical Christians, who have been the loudest of the bunch, creating this false equivalency between being Christian and being a Republican. One particular preacher who gained his following during COVID through angry videos on social media has stood in the pulpits and proclaimed that if you’re a Democrat then you are demon-possessed and he wants you out of his church.
I’m not a Republican, not plagued with the demonic but I’m also not a Democrat. I am an Independent. Neither party represents me and as of April 2023 studies show that nearly half of the electorate are like me.
For many Christ-followers, politics has stirred within them a hunger for justice, law and even a deeper curiosity with prophecy. Those in themselves aren’t bad but when you mix these feelings of righteous indignation with policy and law, the cocktail becomes too bitter for most people to stomach, especially those outside the church.
The Scripture that I read to you a bit ago is one of the lectionary options for today and I believe it reflects some of the sentiments that I hear from the church.
Hear how the Message translation words Psalm 1:1 –
How well God must like you—
you don’t walk in the ruts of those who are blind-as-bats,
you don’t stand with the good-for-nothings,
you don’t take your seat among the know-it-alls.
I know people on both sides of the political spectrum who classify their opponents in such a way. Blind as bats are the ignorant and uneducated. Good for nothings sound like the entitled and the know it alls well they are the snobby elites.
Each side believes they have the right answer, the correct interpretation and some even the anointing from God to govern as they see fit. But I want to paint a different picture this morning. Instead of me blaming anyone else for our woes, let me present to you the politics of Jesus. But instead of just giving you a few bullet points and then asking you to apply them this week, I want to take a different approach.
Let’s pretend that I’m sitting down with you for a position on the campaign staff to elect Jesus as president. But instead of the usual question-answer format, I want to present to you the vision of our campaign given to us directly from Jesus and validated by Scripture. Then, you’ll simply decide if you’re a good fit for associating yourself with this movement. But I must give you a disclaimer, many think they’re a logical fit but many are surprised and some are offended by our vision. Let’s begin:
(MOVE CHAIR TO CENTER STAGE, SIT IN CHAIR, USE CLIPBOARD)
First of all, we don’t believe in holding grudges or political retribution. Our campaign secretary, Matthew, used to work for the IRS and many of our other staffers had to be called out repeatedly for harassment. If someone is a part of our team (some of us call it our ministry), they are accepted and given the same grace that we are given.
When we get into the thick of the campaign, no doubt Jesus will get hate ads directed at him. I’m sure those on the right will call him a liberal snowflake and those on the left will call him a fundamentalist. Here’s what makes us different here. We will be known for what we are FOR, and not for who we are against because, truthfully, we don’t fight against “flesh and blood,” as Paul, our campaign manager once said. Jesus couldn’t agree more.
We don’t call names and seek to return “evil for evil” as most people would. Easier said than done, but it’s an expectation here.
What’s that? No, we don’t have a party affiliation. We don’t perfectly align with any party, really. We find that having a loyalty to Jesus and treating this like a family with many brothers and sisters more desirable than having political backing.
Next, here's what we believe about welfare and entitlements. Jesus is kinda old-school when it comes to this stuff. He has constantly had to point us back to some antiquated, yet applicable, principles that were held many years ago and mandated by His Father, we’ll call him Joe, short for Jehovah.
Jesus’ father mandated that farmers not pick through their fields again after going through them at harvest. The leftovers are to be left for the poor and foreigners to eat. You’ll see restaurants following this practice by giving away food they didn’t sell after they have closed. Jesus loves the practice of giving food away to the poor and hungry.
Jesus’ dad also knew that immigrants would come into the land for various reasons. Yet, foreigners were always welcome and even protected under certain provisions. Jesus’ father used to have a campaign headquarters called “The Temple,” where followers of His would bring annual dues and freewill offerings that were collected solely to be redistributed to the poor, immigrants, widows, orphans and elderly. Yes, Jesus is a proponent of entitlements. We find that a mere 10% of our income covers all that and immeasurably more.
For we are not only vocal supporters of Jesus but we financial support His mission as well. We put our money with our mouth is. The money does a lot of good, what Jesus loves the most is how “the tithe” is to support those in need whether they are immigrants, poor or elderly. Taxes? Jesus doesn’t talk about taxes much because He deems that we “give to Uncle Sam what is Uncle Sam’s and give to God what is God’s.”
Well, since I’ve shared about entitlements, I guess I should talk about race relations. Jesus has shown that he pursues racial equity. Most of us complained about going to Samaria and then to find out that He befriended a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well, made half us have a heart attack.
Even when approached by a centurion, who represented a nation that had oppressed Jesus’ people, Jesus was willing to care for his daughter. It continually boggles the mind of our political opponents who exclaim America first, when in fact our campaign is more about the Kingdom of Heaven than any other nationality. If you look at who’s on our staff, you’ll find men, women, black, white, Jew and Gentile.
If we are elected, we will go into all the world not to be the world’s policeman but to make disciples of all nations. This world most pressing needs aren’t border disputes, legal problems and the like, it has a sin problem. An emphasis on changing laws is not our focus. We believe, that if they knew Jesus, truly knew Him, things would change.
Speaking of change: This is where we’ve confused many of our recruits both old and new. We are not seeking to create a theocracy, we’re not using the laws of the land to dictate that people have to follow Jesus. Jesus doesn’t force anyone to follow Him but desires all to come into a personal relationship with Him, as another advisor, Peter, has quoted Jesus on.
Again, we’re seeking to build a kingdom of heaven, not a state-run religion. You could say that we are actually for the separation of church and state. Our campaign is as grassroots as it gets. The Pharisees were all about making sure people followed rules and, while following rules is an important part of being part of this team, it is secondary to one’s pledge to follow Jesus and serve others.
Just two more:
Since we just mentioned rules and laws, we will have you know that Jesus is, most of the time, a passivist. There was this one time that he flipped over a table in the conference room but I admit, we were in the wrong there.
Jesus is more concerned with peacemaking and rehabilitation than capital punishment. Did you hear of that instance where he was asked whether the woman caught in adultery should be executed for her crime? Yes, he chose to rehabilitate her soul and give her a second chance. In fact, all of us on his team have been given many second chances. In fact, one on his field team, Simon, was a Zealot, and is a reformed terrorist. Yes, we assume he has killed. Jesus even rehabilitated and accepted him!
However, I doubt you would hear Jesus directly contradicting the capital offenses of murder and sexual assault from his father. Jesus, after all, is also a commander of His father’s army. Jesus isn’t one to play with. He may be all smiles and cuddly lambs but you ought to see his tattoo on his thigh that reads “Kings and kings and lord of lords.” John saw it first. And the way he carries a weapon and rides a horse makes John Wayne look like John Candy. He’s more of a dove than a hawk, but you don’t want to be on his bad side when he is a hawk. We believe he would be both the most fearsome and the most generous commander in chief ever.
Lastly, Jesus has proven that his idea of health care is revolutionary. When he first began his campaign, he worked out in the field, bringing the sickest people to perfect health. He loved doing it! Since then, his supporters were the ones who invented hospitals, hospice care and homeless shelters. I’m not kidding, look it up. Back in the days of the Bubonic plague, it was his supporters that rushed in when all were running away. If not for Jesus and his supporters, high health care costs would be the least of our worries.
Ok, we’re almost done.
Here’s our two-fold mission statement, it’s found in Matthew 22:37-40
“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
And before I tell you our campaign slogan, we’re aware that it’s not exactly ‘novel’ but we know that, with our platform, it will come across different than how other organizations have implemented it. Our slogan is simply this:
Love God, Love People
Paul wrote an extensive memo called “Romans” detailing how the law cannot save this country. We’re not trying to reform Washington but the soul of each American, indeed of every human being. Being a stickler about the law doesn’t please Jesus; faith in Him and devotion to His mission does. He is touched most when we serve the neediest in His name.
Now, you may be curious about compensation. The pay for this position isn’t extravagant, as you might expect. But the experience, we promise will not only change your life but hopefully those around you, too. We don’t have a specific campaign headquarters but we do have many meeting places in almost every town in America. Jesus himself doesn’t even own a home but crashes at different places as He travels spreading His good news.
We’d love to get your feedback but we always give our candidates an opportunity to think through what they’ve heard before they respond. Jesus doesn’t turn people away but calls all to follow him. We know that’s unorthodox. But He’s the boss and if he’s gracious, patient and welcomes all, we do, too. Well, we try to.
We’ll be in touch. Thanks for coming in. Grace and peace be with you.
(RETURN TO PULPIT)
While that was a fictitious exercise, I strongly believe that if anyone ran for any elected office in this country with those specific views, he/she would actually be seen as a non-serious candidate with pie-in-sky, liberal views on essentially all topics. I don’t think he’d win.
But here’s the gist, these vision statements aren’t supposed to change policy, it’s supposed to change hearts, change lives. We’re not called to make party loyalists but we are called to make disciples. We’re not here to make laws but to worship and to serve.
Let me tell you what inspired this message this morning. On Wednesday morning I noticed Ms. Yolanda, a homeless woman, sitting on the usual bench in front of Harbor Pharmacy. Just a few days earlier I had walked by her in the same, but in a hurry, I didn’t speak to her but I heard her mutter, “y’all need to stop talking about me.” This struck me as strange because every other interaction I’ve ever had with her has been beyond pleasant. She has spoken to my kids and I with such warmth on multiple occasions. She has never asked me for anything.
On this particular morning though, I could see that she was arguing with someone not there. I decided that I was going to ask her what was wrong and let her vent to me.
When she heard me walking up from behind (still about 15 ft away), she quickly turned and with a scowl said, “what do you want?” It became clear that our half-dozen previous rendezvous were not in her memory bank. She insisted that I leave her alone, not to touch or hug her. My heart is breaking at this point. I asked her through tears welling up in my eyes, “Ms. Yolanda, you’ve always been so kind. What has happened? Who’s bothering you?”
Still, with a wrath of unfamiliarity, she stood, peered into my eyes, pointed across the street and said, “get away from me!” I realized that mentally (perhaps chemically) she’s not the same person I had previously interacted with. I assume she needed meds but how do you even ask that question respectfully?
I walked away, back across Main Street to the coffeeshop and I can barely contain my sadness and tears.
I know that many people like Yolanda are looked at with disdain. I’ve heard people yell from their car windows, “get a job.” I’ve heard others mutter around their friends and family, “they just need to work hard like I did” or “they need to stop living off the taxpayer.” Many want to pass new legislation and remove welfare subsidies. Maybe that will make people work.
But then I think about a person like Yolanda. Even on a good day for her, what good is me talking about what she should and shouldn’t do going to help her? I just become another condescending voice in the crowd. Which has a better chance of reaching her; law or love? Or what good is it going to do if one day she just discovers that her prescriptions aren’t covered? Maybe what I discovered a few days ago would become her norm and who would hire her like that?
The problem with putting our faith in the law is that it doesn’t change everyone for the better or save anyone. Like I said earlier, Paul wrote an entire treatise called the book of Romans about that.
The problem with putting our faith in the law is that it only gives humanity the chance to feel morally superior to other people. Here’s something I’ve learned within the past 2 years. Every time I look down my nose at people with addictions (whether that be smoking, alcohol, marijuana, excessive profanities, whatever), Jesus has been reminding me more and more that my addiction is to self-righteousness. In fact, looking just under the surface, I have struggles, too, that while they are more common, they are just as sinful.
Here's something else that Jesus is teaching me. There are millions of people that don’t go to church, perhaps because they were hurt by the church or maybe because they simply haven’t heard the gospel yet, many of those people want peace, kindness and a better world. You can be far from God and love people. I’ve seen it.
However, the opposite cannot be true. The Apostle John said it plainly. You cannot hate people and call yourself a believer. John calls it a lie. Scripture is emphatic about that over and over.
So I plead with you to buy into Jesus’ mission statement to “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself.’ Because truly all the Law and the Prophets, indeed the whole Bible, the whole Christian faith hang on these two commandments.”
The reason why Jesus’ campaign sounds like a liberal utopia is because we’re not ready to let go of hate, we’re not ready to trust in God and not in the law. To truly fit in Jesus’ campaign, which is his mission to save the world, we have to be above politics, above retribution and revenge. We have to transcend hate and show the mercy and forgiveness we’ve been shown by God.
The politics of Jesus are simple; worship God and love people. Treat others as you would want to be treated. If there is any law that should guide us, it is the Golden Rule.
Let us pray.
