Jesus Would Probably Lose An Election

Today’s reading: Luke 6: 27-36

I, for one, took Jesus’s words seriously back in 2001 when it appeared that most of my fellow Americans were hungry for vengeance over the infamous attacks of Sept. 11.  Having long been influenced by the very verses we are reading today, I found it painful to see the news articles and documentary films telling of Americans and their allies killing far more than 3,000 innocent people (some estimates put the number at 50,000 or more) in just the first few weeks of the retaliatory war in Afghanistan.

I finally found the nerve to begin speaking publicly to this affect in mid-2002. One day I stood in the Quad of my university and read this very part of Luke 6 into a microphone. Then I said, by my interpretation of those words, all Americans should be out to find Osama Bin Landen — so they could tell him they forgive him. I would even offer him a hug, I said.

What other conclusion can be drawn from these words?

“But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.” (Verses 26-27)

Early the next morning, of course, a large D sized battery came hurling through my bedroom window.

The school’s newspaper published an article quoting my appearance in the Quad (the battery incident was not mentioned), and I became known as an activist. I wasn’t comfortable in this role, but, then God often calls us outside of our comfort zones. So I went with the flow and started trying to recruit prominent local residents to join me — and a small group of others — in this “cause.”  I knew I wouldn’t have much luck convincing local politicians — even those who privately agreed with me — to speak similarly in public. But I tried anyway.

And, of course, I got yelled at and boo’d at several Democratic party meetings.  I was ostracized by a some colleagues at my school. At least a couple of students did what they could to get out of my classes. Several friends were warned against associating with me, for the good of their careers.

One day a pastor’s wife stopped me on a sidewalk to invite me to her church. But, upon noticing the sign I was carrying — Who would Jesus Bomb? —  she quickly recanted. “You are one of those people who just need to go to hell,” she screamed. “Sorry, you will not be welcomed at our church!” I asked God to bless her and her church.

Still having faith in our country’s political system, I volunteered to work on the 2004 presidential campaign of Dennis Kucinich, the one Democratic candidate who had been consistently, and outspokenly, opposed to all recent wars.

I was surprised at how many of my fellow Democrats — who privately opposed the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq — were so quick to dismiss  Kucinich as “unelectable.” And I was shocked at how passionately they worked against me in his campaign.  They were ruthless! It would not surprise me, in fact, to some day discover it was one of them who had organized the battery throwing episode.

When even Kucinich finally asked his supporters to give up his campaign and join the fight to elect John Kerry — who had called war protestors “irresponsible” — I declined his request. Instead, I did my best to bring the sanity of Luke to my friends in the Democratic party.  I spoke against their jokes, and other unfair commentary, of George W. Bush. I encouraged them to support the campaigns of the several anti-war candidates left in the race (most notably Ralph Nader) though none of them were Democrats. I spoke proudly of Jesus and his commandment for us to all love our enemies — whether they be Republican, Iranian or, in Biblical times, Samaritan.

In previous years, my fellow Democrats  would sometimes encourage me to run for office one day.  I’ve not heard any of that talk since the days of 2001 – 2004 when, as one friend put it,  I “decided to go off the deep end.”

I haven’t been involved with the Democratic party since that 2004 election. And I rarely even vote these days. (Though I did, out of curiosity, show up to the primaries in 2008 to see how our local Democrats would handle the heated battle between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. I witnessed many signs of corruption that night — on both sides. I think many developing nations probably had more fairness and accuracy in their elections that year. )

I’m proud to say I take my politics these days directly from Jesus. That means I probably would stand little chance of getting elected, should I ever put my name in a hat.

But, for me, that’s a sign that I am living right. Some of the greatest leaders in our world — Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and even Mother Theresa — never asked anyone for a vote. Come to think of it, Jesus didn’t either.

Thanks be to God for His rules of life. May I always be happy to follow them — especially when man’s rules urge the opposite.