The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost, June 15, 2008

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Genesis 18:1-15, 21:1-7, Romans 5:1-8, Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26
St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, West Valley City, UT

During the past several months, over a year actually, we have been exposed to any number of media messages through print, TV, radio and cyberspace about the political race in this country for president. It peaked, for now, a couple of weeks ago with the finalization of the two men as presumptive candidates from their respective parties. It has been a fascinating, if at times tiresome, move through unchartered waters as a nation with three distinct candidates mixing it up: a white man, a black man, and a white woman. Yes, these are interesting and historic times.

So, it seems to me that now is a time to talk about politics over the pulpit as a means of putting some things in perspective. First, there is nothing intrinsically bad or evil about politics. It is how humans interact to accomplish agreed upon goals and objectives. Now, how it is done can be good or bad, as in any human endeavor. We use politics to move things along, to get things done, to hopefully improve the lives of people. Now we may or may not believe what a politician is saying at any given time, but that is up to us individually.

So, to get back to the politics of today for us, I firmly believe that the politics for a faithful Christian is found in today’s gospel reading: …proclaim the good news, The kingdom of heaven has come near. That was the political platform for the first missionary endeavor of Jesus’ movement and it is the call for each of us still today. The kingdom of heaven has come near.

This is a political statement. This is a radical statement. We are saying that the political maneuverings of this world are not the only things we are to be concerned about. There is something more, something very important. We have been called to proclaim the good news. It is summarized in our Eucharistic prayer: Christ has died, Christ is risen. Christ will come again. It is summarized in every line of the Creed we will recite. It is summarized for us as Episcopalians in the Baptismal Covenant we renew several times a year.

We are saying yes, we are citizens of the State of Utah and the United States of America. But we are also saying that we have another citizenship and it is not of this world, it is of God and we have pledged our selves, our souls and bodies to follow our Lord and to proclaim in word and example the good news of God in Christ.

In our Gospel reading we hear that Jesus saw a need he could not meet by himself. As any good leader, he commissioned others to help him in his work. He names them, commissions them, and sends them out. You also have been named in baptism. You have been commissioned through your baptismal waters and are sent out to be the body of Christ in the world. It is through your hands that the work of Christ is done in the world today. That is the politics of the kingdom of heaven.

We are called to serve others in his name. We are called to seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as our selves. We are called to proclaim, the kingdom of heaven has come near.

How near? It is as near as your voice to speak and your heart to care, as near as your hand to help and your ear to hear. It is as close as you are to being present with another person and sharing your story, your care and your faith, with them. That is the politics of the kingdom of heaven.

It is not that we reject the politics of this world, and its institutions, to devote our selves solely to the kingdom of God. Nor is it that we ignore our calling as Christians to follow the current political fad of the day in this state or nation.

It is the recognition and confession that we are called to do both, we are called to be in the world, but not of the world. We are called to proclaim the good news and we are called to help feed the hungry. We are called to announce that the kingdom of heaven has come near, and we are called to work for the betterment of our brothers and sisters in this life, even as we look for the life to come. As Mother Jones so famously noted: Pray for the dead. Work like hell for the living.

As we as a nation move forward in the secular politics and the history making days and months ahead, may we as a people of God move forward in our call to proclaim in word and example the good news of God in Christ and that the kingdom of heaven has come near.