“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He anointed Me to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim release to captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed,
To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” Luke 4:18-19
We are in the middle of a mid-term election campaign in the United States, and we find there the most outrageous actions by our politicians. Many are racing to “out-Christian” their opponent, claiming that their Christian bona fides are better than their opponent. Some candidates are even trying to challenge their opponent on theology. You know, in essence asking, “who has the better Christian doctrine?”
I liked the older style of electioneering when candidates talked about issues such as the economy, foreign policy, public safety, taxes, etc. Now we hear vile attacks on the opponent, half-truths, and labels, smearing the opponent as a “communist” or an evil person who hates America.
A steady diet of such transparently baseless and destructive rhetoric demeans us all. First, we know most of what is said about the other candidate is likely not true, or at least lacking context. More corrosive is the takeaway that all people running for elective office are incompetent and evil. It slowly destroys the belief in critical institutions and the electoral process itself.
In a democracy, we have very different viewpoints, both sides deserving some attention. Compromise then becomes a necessary process of governance. The current level of vitriol we now see vilifies the opponent, and makes compromise seem impossible, even destructive.
My prayer is that people see beyond such destructive rhetoric and recognize that political rivals are opponents, not enemies. We need this distinction to be able to live together after the election results.
Finally, remember that Jesus was crucified because he defied empire. He came to deliver good news to the poor and healing for people. Empires always require submission. They exercise power for the sake of power. Jesus came to give dignity and relief for the powerless.
Let’s remember that.
