November 4, 2024 - #mondaymoment #vote #election #elections
Happy Monday, my friends! This is the first in a series of Monday Moments I’m planning using parts of Isaiah 58 as inspiration. Recently, my friend and professor, Dr. Kate Common, preached at Blue Ocean Faith Columbus on this part of Isaiah. I had the opportunity to read it for the congregation. I found my voice entangled with the words that quickly became a sermon in themselves. Some parts of the Bible have to be preached rather than read. Isaiah 58 is one of those parts. “Shout out; do not hold back! Lift up your voice like a trumpet! Announce to my people their rebellion, to the house of Jacob their sins. Yet day after day they seek me and delight to know my ways, as if they were a nation that practiced righteousness and did not forsake the ordinance of their God; they ask of me righteous judgments; they want God on their side” (Isaiah 58:1-2 NRSVUE).
These verses could have been written today to describe our current reality. The last phrase cuts deep: “they want God on their side.” Over the last decade we’ve heard and seen increasingly more people who want to claim that their Christianity or their faith is better than the Christianity or the faith of others. Not only that, they also want to lay an exclusive claim on God’s grace. They want God on their side to bless their construction of religion, of faith, of a new white messiah who, unlike Jesus, comes with the strength of a military and empire. They don’t care about the poor, the hungry, or the oppressed—except when they claim they’re the ones being oppressed. They have rebelled against the true God and created a false god in their image. But so have we. No matter how progressive our theology or inclusive our worldview. No matter how loving our intent and affirming our impact, we have all given into the temptation of making God in our image.
Tomorrow, we have the opportunity to shout in a special way. Tomorrow we can vote. Likely, some of us are voting between what we consider to be two bad choices while others are voting for one candidate even though they don’t entirely agree with that candidate. Some people, indeed some of us, are voting for our lives. The rights of women, BIPOC, and Queer people, among many other groups, can change dramatically depending on who’s in office, what policies they pursue, and the people they appoint or confirm into other offices. If you have the privilege to not consider your dignity and existence when you vote, I urge you to consider the humanity of other people when you go to the polls.
Whose existence and humanity are you voting for in this election? Are you voting for your life?
Let us pray: Dear God, as we reach Election Day in the United States, we lift up to your tender care all poll workers who take a day of their time to facilitate the fundamental expression of our democracy: the right to vote. We know that their work and their lives have been threatened. We know that many past poll workers have decided to not participate this year because of these same threats. We mourn the challenges facing these dedicated public servants. We pray even more for people who have already turned to violence against democracy by burning ballot boxes and compromising the fundamental trust in the integrity of elections. While we pray for our poll workers, we also pray for state election officials of every party and identity, the ones with whom we agree and those with whom we disagree. We ask you to guide them and the decisions they are being called to make. Grant them the grace of impartiality and remind them that they serve their fellow humans not their own interests. Please, good God, keep us all safe this Election Day and all the days to follow. We ask this in the name of Jesus, who lived among us and is our model of the best ways of building and living in community with each other. Amen.
Blessings on your weeks, my friends! Please let me know if there is anything I can do for you.
Faithfully,
Ben
PS. My prayer today was for poll workers and elections officials. Unfortunately, many very real threats have been made against the people who have volunteered as poll workers and against election officials of both major parties and beyond. Please thank your poll workers for their service tomorrow and if you are serving as a poll worker, thank you and please be safe
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