Place Hope in Christ, Not Politics

To the editor:

I write to affirm and stand with the statement written in the Sept. 13 issue by my brother minister in Christ, Scott Elliott. He points out that the kingdom of God is forever. Everything else that engages our interests and passions in the present time will pass away. That includes everything political.

Yes, everyone should do their civic duty by carefully studying the issues and persons, and voting, being grateful that we live in a country where we still have a say. But these are, as Rev. Elliott says, always changing and passing. Only God, as known in the power of love, is unchanging and forever.

The people in Jesus’s time tried to get him involved in the politics of their time by making him king. He resisted their political aspirations by insisting that his mission was entirely different and much higher. Yet, for all that, he ended out being arrested and charged with political motives. In his trial he was asked to confess if he was the people’s political leader and he stated very simply that his kingdom was not of this world. And yet, to this very day we have that same challenge to keep him above politics.

Most of the clergy I know are trying to stay focused on the teachings of our Lord while people are pressuring us to preach their political opinions. (Often argued as if straight from the mind of God.) What we must do is place our ultimate hope in Christ. If we center ourselves in the Gospel and preach from there then, by God’s grace, everything will work toward God’s holy eternal good. This requires faith and trust, not in the outcome of this election, but in the sure knowledge that God’s overarching vision will prevail eventually and finally, even if one’s chosen side does not win.

The Rev. Dr. Sharon Turner, Interim Rector St James Episcopal Church La Grange