Sermon from 11/4/12

Read Psalm 146

In two days, the nation goes to the polls. The country has been badgered and battered by attack ads, polls and policy-mongering for almost two years. Tuesday, it comes to an end, until the next go round.  Today, as politicians make their final blitz of promises to us, I would like to offer five promises from God.  

And Psalm 146, is remarkably apropos.

Promise 1.God will still be our God.

Presidential campaigns have become a slug-fest, and most of us are not feeling particularly pleased with either candidate as we prepare soon to enter the voting booth. But regardless of what happens on Election Day, the earth will keep turning, the seasons will change, babies will be born, and God will still be in control of his complex and often contentious creation.

Psalm 146 begins with the command, “Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul! I will praise the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God all my life long”

In our society today, we often praise people for taking political stands we agree with, or making speeches that move us. But do such leaders really deserve our praise? Certainly, we should support our candidates and work with them to advance the causes that are important to us. But praise them? No. Praise is a word that should be reserved for the one God who holds thing together when the politicians make a mess. 

Consider the roots of the word “politics,” If you break it down, “poly” means “many,” while “ticks” are “blood-sucking parasites.”  :-)

After a long and brutal race for the White House, we need a few laughs.

For the most part, politics is not worthy of praise.

Psalm 146 is a celebration of the One God who promises to still be God no matter what kind of mess we make with His creation.

When we offer praise we are saying God is God, and we are not.

Neither is Mitt Romney nor Barack Obama.  

Promise 2. God’s constituency is eternal.

We take a chance when we rely too heavily on political leaders to claim us as their constituency.   We buy into a lie when we believe that an elected official will do whatever they can to help us, because they are as flawed, weak, biased, disloyal, and limited as any other human being on earth.  The Psalm warns us, “Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals, in whom there is no help. When their breath departs, they return to the earth; on that very day their plans perish”.

The humorist Dave Barry joked, “Democrats are the kind of people who would stop to help you change a flat, but would somehow manage to set your car on fire. I would be reluctant to entrust them with a Cuisinart, let alone the economy,”  “The Republicans, on the other hand, would know how to fix your tire, but they wouldn‘t bother to stop because they’d want to be on time for Ugly Pants Night at the country club.”

Funny….but sharp words about our two major political parties. The point, is that everyone has weaknesses and limitations, from the left to the right of the political spectrum. The Psalm warns us against putting our trust in mortals, because every one of us is made of dust, and to dust we shall return. Our complete faith should be directed toward the One eternal God, maker of heaven and earth.  

God has claimed us in our baptisms, and joined us to the eternal constituency of the kingdom of heaven.  Put your trust in Him.  

God's promise number 3. God will continue to bless us.

With all the energy that goes into a presidential campaign, we can certainly forgive voters for wanting their favorite candidate to bring them joy and satisfaction. But such an expectation is truly unrealistic. Whether the victor is a Republican or a Democrat.

But rather than be afraid of what may happen if the “other” party wins, there is a more faithful perspective for us to keep: Unreserved confidence that no matter what, God will continue to bless us, just as He has until now.  

“Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob,” says Psalm 146, “whose hope is in the LORD their God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever”.   

Better for us to look for happiness in a relationship with God,  the one who made heaven and earth, and who is eternally faithful.  God is the source of every good and perfect gift, and He is a God who keeps His promises. With God, we have a leader who can be trusted to provide for us, and to know what we need even before we ask.

Even more importantly, when we focus our perspective on God’s blessings we find that true happiness and peace is a gift from God, and we ground ourselves in the great commandment of Jesus to “love the Lord your God with all your heart … and your neighbor as yourself”. With our faith and perspective oriented toward God's blessings, we are not looking for a politician to bring us joy and satisfaction, but instead find joy and satisfaction in our relationship with God and with the people around us.  

This past week we weathered the storm of Sandy.  In the aftermath, we got one more opportunity like that of many other others, where we hear story after story from people who have lost everything...but when asked about the devastation, they reply something to the effect of, "We've lost our house and everything in it, but we still have each other."  God's blessings are most powerfully realized when everything else gets taken away, leaving behind God's blessings. 

Promise 4. God’s will will be done.

Psalm 146 says that God is the one “who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free; the LORD opens the eyes of the blind”.

This is God’s will, according to the Psalm.  And while good Christians will certainly debate the ways that our society can address these concerns, there should be no disagreement about their priority to God.

When our Lord, Jesus, taught us to pray, one of the petitions he gave us was

“Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

To be clear, this is not a petition that asks if God’s will will be done.  It is a prayer that asks that God’s will be done on earth…here among us, and even further, by us.  When we pray that line in The Lord’s Prayer, we are asking God to let us be active participants in God’s will being done on earth. 

So then, when you enter the voting booth, vote for the candidate who you believe is best aligned with God’s will. 

Justice for the oppressed — candidate who stands for equity and opportunity for those who have been mistreated, shoved aside, or ignored.

Food to the hungry — candidate who stands for access to necessary resources, in developing countries, and for Americans who are poor.

Freedom for prisoners — candidate who stands for both spiritual liberation while incarcerated and work opportunities once released.

Opening the eyes of the blind — candidate who stands for not only physical healing, but is willing to open his own eyes and the eyes of Americans to new visions of a better future for America.

These are part of God’s will, and they under-gird what the Psalm tells us about God: “The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin”.

We like to think that God is fair...that God has the same concern and priority for all people equally.  But, this just doesn't hold up to Scripture.  The truth is, God has a special concern or priority for the strangers, the poor, the oppressed...those who have no way to provide for themselves.  Once again, there will always be honest disagreements about how best to fulfill God’s will, but God’s will itself on these matters is indisputable.

Justice, generosity, concern for others, righteousness — this is God’s will and with or without us, it will be done.   Our prayer is that we might be a part of God's will being done through us.  One way that is possible is for us to vote for the candidate who is best aligned with God's will.

Number 5. God will reign forever

If you are joyful on Election night, don’t get overly elated. And if you are disappointed when the election is over, don’t get too depressed. The next presidential campaign will begin before you know it, and the political pendulum will begin to swing in the other direction.

As Christians, the most important leader in our lives is God, and Psalm 146 reminds us that “the Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the Lord!”   With God's grace, we are joined to a community of faithful people who are linked together across the generations.  The church has seen countless political victories and defeats, as well as numerous times of national celebration and heartache.  Election days may be divisive and difficult, but they do not prevent us from looking up to God together, and taking the long view of human history.

There is nothing that can happen on Election Day that should shift our focus away from giving thanks and praise to the God who has created us, redeemed us, and sustained us throughout the course of life.

When we live by faith in the God who will reign forever, we can rejoice in all circumstances, because no matter what, God will make it right in time.  When we live by faith, we take the long view of history, and we give thanks to God in good times and in bad. 

So, remember these five promises both this election day and every day.

No matter what...

God will still be our God!

God's kingdom is eternal!

God will continue to bless us.

God's will will be done.

God will reign forever.

Amen.