With elections and politics seeming to beset us wherever we live, and the sense of polarization throughout our communities, I thought I would offer some questions for discussion.
In the various Gospels Jesus is recorded as praying with an example/formula we now call the Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And do not bring us to the time of trial,
but rescue us from the evil one.
Liturgically oriented Christian traditions (e.g., Anglican, Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran) repeat this prayer each service, including during daily prayers, so it is offered multiple times per day.
Jesus also, as his last gathering with his disciples prior to his arrest, instituted a communal meal, where each person was equal and where his disciples ate bread and drank wine as his body and blood. He then washed their feet and taught them to do likewise with one another, serving one another. He didn’t provide them a list of dogmas to which they should assent, or instruct them on how to handle the coming internal strife they’d experience, but instead emphasized selfless love as the hallmark of discipleship.
So I wonder what it would look like for us to do the same – to live “eucharistically”.
- What would it mean for God’s kingdom to come?
- If God is king over all creation, what does that say about those who demand allegiance today?
- How would God’s will be done here on earth as it is in heaven? What role do we have to play in bringing that about?
- Are our current economic and political systems in cooperation or competition with God’s kingdom?
- How should our political activities reflect the existence of God’s kingdom? Should that affect how we vote, organize, and lobby?
- How should this affect our discourse with one another?
- What would we be doing differently if we were actively implementing God’s will for his kingdom here on earth, today? Why are we not doing those things?
Wheat & Tares 
In one way they are in another way they will be even more…
Love this! What a powerful and simple reminder of the core of Christ’s gospel. Thanks for reminding us of this Cody.
Even though I see myself as someone trying to nudge extreme views back to wards the center a bit, this does give me pause to really think about the Lord’s prayer in the realm of politics.
As I go to e-punch my ballot tomorrow it does give me pause, but I have to also admit it doesn’t make one candidate in the primary stand out. I can’t say I have the same indecision for the race that comes later this year.
I think one of Christ thems was no poor among them, which is the opposite of the present government
Wealth redistributed downwards to raise everone out of poverty, and a restriction on the amount of wealth anyone can have.
Universal healthcare.
If the virus continues to grow, how will poor people be treated?
What about climate change? How does the Lord feel about us destroying the world He created for us? Will we be held accountable, or can we expect it to be fixed even though we refused to do anything ourselves?
I think we should also be removing discrimination, against women and gays.
We should be emphasising a lot more love and less obedience. No moral judgement required for obedience, and moral judgement is important in this election year.
All I can think of at present.
Hi, Cody. Really interesting questions. To me, they seem inevitably to rely on one’s definition of god and kingdom. A lot of the tension I see from W&T readers and via Mormon podcasting seems to come from this issue. Many progressive LDS people seem to be seeking a wholesome, devotional, community church experience. They don’t want fundamentalism. They just want a comfortable place they can make friends and provide their children with a moral framework for living. The problem is they were born into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is preoccupied with building a global kingdom (with power consolidated around kings, priests, and castles (temples). This church believes it is God’s kingdom on earth. In ways both explicit and implicit, it presses members to consecrate everything to building up that kingdom. I decided many years ago I couldn’t be an active part of that. The low-key (less-demanding) community church experience hasn’t been a long-term solution for me either, because I’m agnostic.
If I get your gist, the hope is to nudge people toward a humbler, compassionate notion of kingdom, driven not by hierarchy but by serving the less fortunate. I can get behind that ideal, even if I’m less inclined to think of it in religious/kingdom terms. I try to make my politics an extension of my core values, which did originate in significant measure from growing up Mormon. These include regular charitable giving and service. I also strive to rely on scientific sources instead of organized religion and political parties to educate myself about the big issues facing our species. I’m thoroughly disenchanted with political parties, which seem to be secular churches/kingdoms obsessed with power acquisition and consolidation. That being said, I often see goodness in individual politicians.