Jesus is My Candidate

When the program staff and I began thinking of our September sermon series many months ago, we spent a fair amount of time discussing the phrase “Jesus is My Candidate.”  We wanted to lift up the name of Jesus in the midst of an overwhelmingly divisive political season. We also wanted something ‘edgy’ that would attract attention but that also fit the character of the Burke community. We ended up believing that “Jesus is My Candidate:  I Vote for Him Every Day” worked well.

We’re at the half-way point of the Sunday sermon series itself, though we hope the ‘campaign’ will continue in other ways:  social media, road signs, buttons, bumper stickers, and so on.  But the social media response has been surprising.

We purchased the domain name www.jesusismycandidate.com and linked it to our Burke UMC home page.  So far over 30 people have “Googled” the phrase “Jesus Is My Candidate” and arrived at that site; over 500 visitors have come there through other routes.  On that site you’ll find a list of creative and thoughtful ways that people around the world “vote for” Jesus every day of their lives. 

Those who go on to our church’s website visit 3-4 other pages on average, obviously interested in the life of the church in more depth.   This has given our website three times the amount of traffic than usual! People are learning about Burke UMC and its ministries.

Morgan and Katie have also led the visibility of Jesus is My Candidate on Twitter.  As of mid-day today (Thursday), over 500 “tweets” have been posted using the hashtag #jesusismycandidate.  This hashtag #jesusismycandidate has “trended” in areas all over the country – and Great Britain and Japan, among other places – and has even appeared among the Top Ten trending tweets in the US.  Today Morgan was invited to write for the Huffington Post on “Jesus is My Candidate.”

All of this is saying that people find the phrase and the idea compelling.  They want to know more. Sure, it can be misunderstood, criticized and rejected out of hand.  Christians know about that.  Christianity would not exist if Jesus had buckled under that fact.  But it also encourages us to remember.  Remember that politics will not save us. Remember that we are all one in Christ Jesus. Remember that more unites us than divides us. And remember that our deepest allegiance is never to a political party or an economic system, but always to the Kingdom of God.

We’ll conclude our campaign on Election Night, November 6.  We invite you to a Service of Holy Communion that evening at 7:00 pm.   Together we will, as one people, pray for and celebrate His victory.

Pastor Larry

This week’s events in Libya and Egypt are yet another reminder why the proper religious responses to interfaith conflict are respect and humility.  We can be devout believers and still honor sisters and brothers who belong to different faith traditions.  Saying as much is neither an apology, nor a sacrilege, nor treason.

As believers, we’re certainly entitled to a passionate commitment to the truth of our own belief system.  For example, I believe that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is a historical fact, not a subjective decision. But it’s by an act of faith that I believe it’s a fact.  Others don’t share that faith.  I also believe that the God Muslims call Allah is the same God Christians and Jews worship, but I don’t believe that the Qu’ran is revelation from our shared God, despite Islam’s claim.  But that’s also my belief by an act of faith.  And as long as faith is a matter of faith, humility before God remains faith’s necessary companion.

There is some significant misunderstanding over the timing of the Cairo Embassy’s statement condemning religious intolerance.  But there ought not to be argument over its wisdom:  The Embassy of the United States in Cairo condemns the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims — as we condemn efforts to offend believers of all religions.

Amen.

Many of you know some of the interfaith threads that weave through my own life:

  ·         My grandmother’s grandmother was Jewish.
  ·         My two longest and closest friends are both Jewish.  We met when we were 6 years old and have been friends for over 50 years.
  ·         In my brief college journey out of Christianity I delved into Hinduism.  My path back to Jesus Christ and the ministry was encouraged by my Hindu professor, Dr. Seshagiri Rao.
  ·         My younger brother was in a long-term relationship with a devout Muslim who joined us frequently at family gatherings.
  ·         My older brother has married a Jewish woman and since converted to Judaism.
  ·         (No deep connections with Buddhism other than reading, but my son met his wife in a college Zen Buddhism seminar.  That’s got to be worth something!)

Interfaith respect isn’t just a position I take on an issue.  It’s God’s gift to my life, borne by the lives of people I love.

That’s why I’m honored to be a speaker this Saturday afternoon, September 15, at a Celebration of Interfaith Solidarity at the Rajdhani Mandir Auditorium, 4525 Pleasant Valley Road, Chantilly.  The event is from 4:00 – 6:00.  It is sponsored by the United Hindu & Jain Temples of the Washington DC Metro area and will feature various religious and political leaders from Northern Virginia. It’s open to the public, and I would be delighted if you can come.  Please join me and many religious leaders of our community in supporting the deep faith commitments of the human spirit.

Pastor Larry

Jesus Is My Candidate

Conventions can be exciting events and make for good TV watching.  As a young teenager I discovered books by Fletcher Knebel and read his political novels Dark Horse and Convention (and, of course, Seven Days in May) avidly.  Most of the suspense has gone out of conventions nowadays, but it’s still a spectacle of color and energy, along with moments of high drama and low drama (e.g., Bill Clinton and Clint Eastwood; choose your order).

Ezra Klein wrote recently in the Washington Post that “Parties, and the platforms they produce, often matter more than the candidates.” He argues that party platforms contain the political vision that each party aims to govern by.  The great oratory of one candidate or the fumbling speech of another matter much less than the political philosophy of the party itself. 

The Apostle Paul said much the same thing.  He acknowledged to the Corinthians that he was “untrained in speech” and that others found his oratorical skills “contemptible.” Yet his message was the gospel of Jesus Christ, crucified and resurrected, the power of salvation and the full revelation of God.  Now that was a platform! 

Similarly, I believe that one of the key planks in the platform of Jesus Christ is the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), especially the Beatitudes (5:1-12).  Here is the vision of life in the Kingdom of God.  Here is the shape of the community that God is bringing into being. Blessed are the poor in spirit, the meek, the merciful, the peacemakers.  Blessed are those who mourn and open their hearts to the pain of the world. Blessed are those famished for the realm of God’s righteousness. You shall be filled!  God will win.  And God’s governance will triumph. 

That’s one reason why Jesus Is My Candidate.  He outlines the way to life that far transcends partisan campaigning.  Arthur Boers reminds us, “A Christian’s first loyalty is to God’s Reign, and when that erodes we are in deep, deep trouble.” 

So let’s stay out of trouble.  Join us at any service in the month of September, and help make Jesus your candidate for the highest office in every land. 

 

Pastor Larry