the issue is politics
and the issue is Christ
..
for the first time in 50+ years i'm engaged in the politics
and that's saying a whole bunch ..
(i used to be interested, but declined to vote because i could find noone to vote for; i don't vote party)
i couldn't ever handle the distinct impression i was being taken for a long windy ride
liars, the lot
deceitful and manipulative
= abuse
i'm not into abuse
that from a principled p.o.v.
added to that there was my religious inclination - i'm not a citizen of this world, my focus is prepping people for the next one, leave the issues of this world to this world ..
then i ran into real Gospel and everything turned around
i realized that you can't bypass life to get to a person's soul
a hungry man is hungry ..
an abused woman is abused - attempting to ignore that abuse and head her
toward heaven simply don't fly in the real world
.. and God is a realworld God
i found that serving that person's needs was a good way to open windows into the spiritual, that trying to do Jesus gave them a way to see Jesus ..
and that much moreso than the old tract-and-convict routine
which now leaves a sour taste in my mouth
..
politics ..even after my spiritual mind changed, politics was still a nono
perhaps even more so ..
how a government that claimed the title 'democracy' could treat its people so was beyond me ..
all sense of 'by' and 'for' the people was a lost critical pillar of that claim, while the wealth-minded pandered their way into influence and power and $ ..
the palliative politics has become a means to keep the citizens penned-in and cow-towing, serving the masters
..
then i ran into a politician who expresses some things that are 'worthy', to me anyway
and i started to think about my position
i've come to this place: when a politician moves in the direction of Jesus, whether or not they know it, then my responsibility is to support that person
so that when i see someone concerned for the poor, the vets, the homeless
and taking a position contrary to the monied manipulation of government for personal power and to shore-up the power of the monied movers
then i believe it is incumbent upon me to help that person achieve that
..
on the road the other day i tuned in to a christian station (stupid! me - will i never learn??)
the preacher is a well-known person in my used-to-be circle, JVM ..
i tuned in just at the point where the gentleman was castigating members of the clergy for joining-in with 'the world' in marches and other forms of civil expression of disapproval ..
and he was quite angry about it too
he thought it un-clergy-like
as if it was antiGod ..
and i sat there and thought of Abraham Joshua Heschel, and Rabbi Maurice Eisendrath and the Rev's and other ministers of the christian religion who linked arms and walked in the name of justice and freedom with the iconic visionary and tireless MLK, who gave his life for democracy and freeeeeeeedom ..
who am i to judge such principled and Godfearing men ??
nah .. in fact, i stand in shame for not being more solidly with the marginalized in their suffering, standing-up for the abused, representing the hurt
i stand in shame for that
for where there is injustice and inhumanity, i should be out front
..
today i am a different person
when i see someone standing for right, against injustice and racism and moneyprivilege and inequality in a nation where, according to its very constitution, all people are created equal and endowed by their creator with ..
when i see someone in politics daring to fight against the unjust and inhuman reality of the wealthy fixing the economy and funding politics to promote their greater wealth, while the ordinary person suffers from deprivation
i join in, however i can
i open my puny mouth
i support
so there ..
i fessed-up
where i can find someone moving for the welfare of the people, i can find Jesus' mind
and mine is to follow that Jesusmind wherever
i actually prayed for that politician
'cause the images of God that populate this country are, for the most part, hurting and in need
unlike the religious evangelicals and whoevers, who support some americanised aberration of christianity, and from whom i find my self increasingly distancing as they become more and more unChristlike, i want to see freedom and sharing and caring and compassion and love ..
and just to be clear on that, liberty university stands out in my mind
unlike the churches that invite Righties to 'preach' to their people, assuming the right to lord it over them as to how they should vote their conscience, i want to see a free people following Jesus in their exercise of their religious freedom to vote or not as God and their conscience tell them, and not feel pressured by their propagandizing clergy
unlike the church's caring more for themselves than for the homeless and the children living in poverty and the mentally unstable and the .., who elicit tithes for their empires, i want to see churches turning their pockets inside-out to buy a meal, to launder a homeless person's clothes, to find shelter for a woman and her children .. to offer help to the helpless, aid to that struggling human brother or sister ..
it's long time overdue for us to stop playing at being religious and to show our love for Jesus by loving
and that love can only be shown in this: "when i was hungry, you fed me; i was thirsty and you gave me a cup of cold water .. for inasmuch as you did it for them, you did it for me .."
..
that's my politics
it is grounded in my love for Jesus and my appreciation of his love for every human, created in his image
the image of God is in them as it is in me
any time, then, that i see an opening for justice and peace and mercy i'm in
for me to do otherwise would be disingenuous, and a denial of Master and his Way
i simply cannot be that
it's not my duty as a christian to vote
but it is my duty to support Jesus' kingdom agenda wherever i see it, even in politics ..
for the love of my neighboour
peace to you
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