An Election Response

The recent presidential campaign was a challenging one for our country and many parishioners. Regardless of who you voted for, our Pastor, Fr. Tom, offered a homily in response.
 

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Fr. Tom's Homily, Weekend of November 13, 2016

I had decided with almost total certitude that I would not be talking about the results of the election at this weekend’s Masses.

Then I remembered what today’s Gospel reading was. [Lk. 21:5-19]

It takes place towards the end of Luke's Gospel, in Jerusalem, just days before the arrest, trial, and execution of Jesus. As people were admiring the magnificent beauty of the Temple, he shocked them by telling them that all of this beauty would be destroyed.

And what in the world does all this have to do with the election results?

The campaign just completed was one of the most brutal, vitriolic, expensive, and divisive elections in American history, between the two presidential candidates with the highest disapproval ratings in history.

There were Catholics on both sides of this political argument, Catholics who voted for the candidate that they believed to be more in step with Catholic moral and social teaching, or at least less out of step with it. Catholics who, in good conscience, followed the guidance and wisdom of the Catholic bishops of our country, and arrived at completely opposite conclusions in voting. And many of those Catholics simply could not believe that other Catholics would vote for the “other” candidate.

Our country is both more divided and more fearful right now than we have been in a long time. According to some very reliable, credible research, about half of the Democrats surveyed said the Republican Party makes them “afraid,” and about half of the Republicans say the same about the Democratic Party. I don’t have any survey results on anger and hatred…although the public protests in Indianapolis and other cities, and the violence associated with them, may give us a clue.

So here’s the message of Jesus in today’s Gospel, in seven words: Everything will be destroyed. Don’t be afraid.

He not only predicted the destruction of the Temple, but also wars, uprisings, earthquakes, famines, plagues, betrayal, hatred, and persecution. He even said that some of his listeners would be killed. And then he said, “Don’t be misled, don’t be fooled, don’t misplace your trust, don’t be afraid,” and ironically (after predicting the death of some), “Not a hair of your head will be harmed.”

While both campaigns claimed, maybe sincerely, that the election of the other party’s candidate would bring about extreme disaster, I’m not claiming that the end is near. The fact is, we hear readings like this every year at this time, as we reflect on the end of life and time and the world.

But if we can reflect on those end-time realities, we can also have the courage to reflect together, as people bound and united by our faith, on this historic, perhaps earth-shaking, presidential election.

The message of today’s Gospel needs to be heard differently by different people, depending on one’s political persuasions.

I hope I won’t offend anyone by what I am going to say now, but I probably will:

If your candidate lost the election, and you’re despondent, angry, fearful, or incredulous, you need to hear the message to persevere, to be strong, to be faithful.

And if your candidate won the election, and you’re feeling joyful, relieved, hopeful, and triumphant, you need to hear the message not to misplace your trust, not to be led astray, not to be deceived, to be careful about accepting easy or simplistic answers.

Let’s go back to the Jerusalem Temple. Historically, the words of Jesus were fulfilled in 70 AD, when the Roman Empire brutally put down a Jewish revolt by sacking the city and destroying the Temple.

As Christians, we don’t interpret this as a sign of God’s displeasure with the Jewish people for rejecting the Messiah. The significance for us is that Jesus is the NEW Temple. It is in Jesus, the crucified and risen one, that God is present among us today. It is in Jesus, not the building in Jerusalem (now destroyed), that God becomes present to us.

And as we prepare for the final Sunday of the Church’s year, next week’s feast of Christ the King, we remember that our allegiance is to the King.

So, as subject of this King, what do we do?

First, we do everything we can to be proactive agents of healing. What positive message can you bring? We don’t need to win the argument. We need to facilitate dialogue. How do we do that?

• We can consider, or reconsider, our use of social media. Very few conversions – religious or political – happen through Facebook or Twitter. Most political posts generate much more heat than light.
• We can find a dialogue partner. It doesn’t help us to speak only with those who agree with us, to preach to the choir, and to agree among ourselves that “those people” are ignorant, simplistic, or mean-spirited. Do you know someone who is just as passionate about the agenda of “those people,” as you are about yours, who can join you in respectful dialogue, not for the purpose of changing each other’s minds, but for the purpose of listening and coming to appreciate each other’s experiences and points of view? This is really a hard thing to do. But it’s a good first step.

Second, we become involved, engaged. Not necessarily in party politics, but in the life of the community. The bishops, the popes, Mother Teresa, Dorothy Day, and many others have said over and over again that the true measure of a society’s greatness is how it treats its weakest and most vulnerable. Take your pick: The unborn, the immigrant, the poor, victims of racial or religious intolerance, and many others fit into that category. Which one of these groups of the most vulnerable will you choose to serve? And maybe, if you can, look for a way to get involved that’s a little outside your comfort zone. Look first at what comes naturally to you, and then pick something a little more challenging, if you can.

Third, pray.

Just pray.

Pray, not in desperation, but in hope. Place yourself, your family, your community, and your country in God’s hands.

Well, that’s it. I’ve stumbled through this post-election homily and I’m glad, as you surely are, that it’s almost over. I hope I’ve given you at least one thought about how to move forward as citizens or residents of this country.

Be people of faith.

Be people of hope.

Be people of compassion and love.

Be people of perseverance.
 

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If you're inspired to do more or learn more, please try the following resources in learning about a Catholic response to government and civic life:

USCCB Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship

Indiana Catholic Conference

EWTN Vote