By Pastor Marcia Sietstra

Romans 13:1-7

I Peter 2:9-15

July 6, 2003

At a recent lecture, the Rev. Albert Pennybacker talked about my subject today: Religion and Politics: Can They Engage Appropriately? He recalled a conversation that he had with a member of Congress, when he was the Associate General Secretary for Public Policy at the National Council of Churches. The congressman asked Pennybacker what he thought the church wanted. Pennybacker responded by listing such issues as education, justice, health care and human rights.

The congressman responded, ‘Reverend, don’t you know that my folks don’t care about anything you named. What they care about is the price of corn.’ When I heard that I thought of my dad—he was not terrible interested in social justice issues, but he was always worried about the price of corn.

Politics and religion: are they at cross purposes? Or can religion and politics engage each other in fruitful ways? Today I will suggest to you that, even though I believe passionately in the separation of church and state, I am also convinced that religion and politics inevitably engage each other.

Government, the apostle Paul suggests, is to be respected, because it is there to serve the common good. We might also add that because government is primarily about balancing self-interests of the people governed, it often creates justice in the interest of those very people it protects.

Religion, on the other hand, is about one’s relationship to God. Some say it shouldn’t mi’ with one’s political opinions. But for the Christian, the separation is not so conveniently distinct. If the core of our faith is the Great Double Commandment to love God and our neighbor as ourselves, then we are called to work for justice for all people, all of whom Jesus would call ‘our neighbors.’ Our incentive for ‘justice’ comes from a different incentive—Christians seek justice on behalf of their neighbors, not just themselves. Rev. Pennybacker would say that religion is about political justice of the kind that Jesus envisioned when he said, ‘The kingdom of God has come among you. I have come to set at liberty the oppressed, to bring good news to the poor,’ Jesus said. (Lk. 4:18)

How then, do we affect politics? Certainly we UCC’ers generally agree that we uphold the separation of church and state specifically out of respect for our neighbor’s varying beliefs. As a denomination we have taken a stand against official prayers in public schools precisely because it protects everyone’s right to pray privately as they see fit. We have generally supported, at the denominational level, a woman’s right to an abortion. Again, out of regard for our neighbor’s right to self-choice, as well as the realization that these decisions are fraught with complications beyond the lawmakers’ expertise, the UCC position has favored the rights of the individual to make this difficult choice.

In these discussions, and in so many others, religion does play a role, and that is to bring the moral word to the discussion. Religion often helps us to look at life from the perspective of the ‘other,’ the one’s that Jesus taught us to notice—the poor, the powerless, the marginalized, the outcast. We who believe that every living being is created and loved by God have a uniquely caring and compassionate view point that goes way beyond caring about the price of corn. That moral viewpoint influences our personal beliefs and hence our political beliefs.

So that’s the first thing we bring to politics—the moral dimension. The second thing we who are religious should bring is civility. A few years ago there was a newspaper story about a fistfight that broke out on the lawn of an abortion clinic. Assault and battery charges were filed against two men, both of whom were there with their church groups. The one was a protester who had come with his Assembly of God church group to protest legal abortion. The other man was a protester who came with his Congregational Church group to demonstrate against the first group. What was disturbing was that these two Christian men beat each other up over a matter of their religious conviction.

Unfortunately, we live in an environment of uncivil behavior. News shows have turned into shouting matches and talk show hosts intentionally demean their guests. I am continually saddened to read letters to the editor in our own newspaper from Christians who write about things like prayer in the schools, or support for Israel, or any number of issues, in a tone that is bitter and caustic. They resort to name-calling and sarcasm, and derogatory language that is a terrible witness to the Gospel that calls us to have respect for our neighbor. It is little wonder that a recent poll shows that the American public sees religion as a contributing cause of conflicts around the world, rather than as a solution.

So the second thing I suggest we who are religious should bring to the political arena is civility. Civility involves listening and understanding with courtesy and respect. It also involves forgiveness of those with whom we have deep disagreement. It involves deep humility and sometimes even repentance on our own part when we too quickly deny the legitimacy of opposing views. What I’m suggesting here is that it’s not only important what we say, it’s important how we say it.

In counseling troubled families, we often ask individuals to repeat what they heard the other person say, to make sure that they heard correctly. You’d be amazed at how hard it is, sometimes, to hear with fresh ears the words of someone with whom you have deep disagreements. It’s something we all need to work on in our families and in politics, so we can come to more honest and open communication.

There is a third thing I suggest that religion can bring to politics, and that is a better articulation of our vision of justice for all God’s people. What is we could convince that congressman whose folks back home were primarily concerned with the price of corn, that social justice is not only morally right, but also politically viable? Can the church articulate a vision of justice that makes for peace?

When we can do that, then the congresswomen and men will listen. When we can show that there will be a stronger peace when all God’s people have justice, then it will be in the best interest of even the non-religious person to join ranks with us. When we can demonstrate that when all children are cared for and educated well, that there is less crime, less poverty, less social welfare costs, then it will be in the best interests of the secular government to do the kinds of caring things our faith pushes us to do. At General Synod I look forward to seeing how our denomination’s Peace and Justice Ministries are working to articulate this vision of justice for all God’s people.

It is an interesting time to be a Christian. There are so many challenges, and no easy answers. But when problems seem insolvable, and political solutions seem so nebulous, remember this. We are not alone; this is God’s world. A colleague of mine at the local Baptist seminary named Ben Leslie said it this way a few years ago: Our nation has celebrated Independence Day recently. But every Lord’s Day we as people of faith celebrate our Dependence Day, because we are the people who depend on the power of God and the presence of the Spirit for all that we do. We know that we cannot fully control all that happens in our world, politically or otherwise. But we can trust the God who has promised never to abandon us. Thanks be to God. Amen.