Not to be saved, but to be faithful
Today is the second day of 20 during which Iowans can vote in this year’s general election. Illinois is already halfway through its early voting period. For many, I suspect, this brings a measure of relief: the end of this political season can now be counted on. For all of us, it is also an opportunity to make a bold witness to our Christian faith.
For a Christian, voting is not an action related to salvation. The Gospel of John tells of Jesus saying to Pontius Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36). The kingdom of God that has come near in Jesus and that God promises to bring to fulfillment for the whole creation will not emerge from the politics or economics or social relations or dynamics of this world. No party, policy, program, or candidate aligns exactly with the will of God. No election will bring the kingdom of God.
For a Christian, rather, voting is an ethical action. It is part of our responsibility as people of God who live in God’s creation. The creation hymn in Genesis 1 sets human beings as the crown of creation with responsibility for it. The creation story in Genesis 2 pictures humans as those whom God sets in the Garden to tend and keep it, to work and guard it, to make it productive and to preserve it. All our civic life and activity, including political involvement and voting, derives for us as Christians from those images. This ethical calling precedes every different kind of political system and takes a particular form in each of them. In a participatory democracy like the United States, Christians answer that call, at the very least, by voting.
This shifts voting from looking for salvation to building community and exercising love of neighbor as together we work to care for one another and all creation the best we can. Some may despair of finding a candidate or platform that fully expresses their own most faithful vision of the world. The mismatch is not a cause for despair, however, and it certainly is not a reason to refrain from voting. Our votes do not need to be pure to enter the ballot box; they only need to be the best, most informed, most authentic choice we can make between two (or more) always-less-than-perfect options. As uncomfortable as that might feel, we can hearken to Martin Luther, who would say of such an action, “Sin boldly!”
The point, of course, is not to stress about the inevitable way in which any vote “misses the mark” – a serviceable definition of sin. The point, more importantly, is to witness boldly. We witness to our values and our judgment about policies in the choices we make – and we will differ among ourselves in good faith about those choices. But in our choice to vote, we witness to God, who calls us into community with others and gives us freedom and responsibility to shape our life together. We witness to our own commitment to our neighbors to be there for them in the civic life we share. We witness to our faith that, as God always has, God will still work with flawed and floundering people and not abandon us.
I pray that the witness of the St. Paul community over the next three weeks will be one of trust – trust in God and trust in one another as neighbors that leads us all to vote. And I pray that, once this election season is over, we will continue to work together with our neighbors in civic life to live out our calling as God’s agents in caring for the whole creation.
Iowa early voting information: https://elections.scottcountyiowa.gov/vote/abentee
Illinois voting information: https://www.elections.il.gov
Audrey Keeney
Thank you, Peter. This
Thank you, Peter. I agree with what you have said.
Pat Koranda
Thanks Peter for reminding us to follow our moral and faithful compass during this election season. WWJD.
Anke Maass
Excellent explanation of our responsibility as citizens of our USA
K.D. Kalber
Quoting from Christian Century magazine: “voting…is important. It isn’t sacred. It doesn’t require our endorsement or loyalty. It just requires making an informed, pragmatic choice between two options. Then we get on to the deeper, more difficult work of politics.”
Vote Now. Please.
Connie King
Wow. Just wow. I’ve never heard or seen such a clear explanation of civic duty as part of Christian life. Very well said.
Marcia Willi
Connie,
Me neither… Peter always brings it!