Homily: Election Night Vigil

Sermon Text
Matthew 20:25-28

In a few moments, we will pray and ask God to make our nation a blessing to the world. We will pray for wise and compassionate rulers, for courageous lawmakers, and for judges that act with integrity. And some of us may scoff at these prayers – we may think that praying for wise and honest leaders to be an act of wishful thinking. I, myself, will confess to being cynical when it comes to our political leaders. Perhaps that is the inevitable result of the 15 years I have worked as a public servant. Or perhaps it is the natural distrust of authority that is baked in to our American political and social identity. A nation that was born in revolution will always be wary of those who hold power. But maybe that cynicism has a darker root. Maybe this derision of our political leaders stems from a desire to turn them into scapegoats – to deflect the blame for our social and moral shortcomings away from ourselves and on to our leaders.

Remember that the highest political office in this nation is not the Presidency, nor the Supreme Court, nor the Congress. It is the office of citizen. It is the people who exercise the ultimate authority, and it is the people who bear the responsibility of good government. And that responsibility extends beyond those two days a year when we head to the polls and cast our ballots.

As Christians, our job is to execute the office of citizen according to the words of our Savior – to serve, not to be served; and to sacrifice for the good of others. And Election Day is a great time to reflect on how well we are following the dictates of Christ in our civic life. So let us reflect:

• When we vote, are we acting out of self-interest or for the benefit of the greater good? Do we vote along the party line, or take the time to research the candidates and questions?
• Do we advocate for policies that assist the poor and the downtrodden? Are we sufficiently in touch with the needs of our neighbors – all of our neighbors – that we can really know how best to serve them?
• When we read and share news articles, do we just look for articles that align with our views and don’t challenge our biases? Or do we read news from a variety of diverse sources with a critical eye?

These questions are meant to challenge us and help us to examine how well our civic engagement matches up to the Gospel of Christ. As Christ challenges us in this gospel reading: are we here to serve, or to be served?

Hopefully, everybody here has done their part and participated in this election. The results are not yet known, and it might be some time until they are known. So as we wait with patience for the results to be counted, I ask that each of us reflect on our own citizenship. What do we do well? What can we do better? How can we encourage one another, and hold each other accountable? And most critically: how will Christ judge our actions? Let each one of us answer the call of our Lord; let us aspire, not to greatness, nor to high political office, but rather to attain to the greatest office available to a Christian in this nation: to be servant-citizens. May it be so.