Jesus Over Politics

Teri Sinnott calls Catholics to unite under Church teaching and start breaching the divide.

I thought the craziness would stop after the election, but it continues. Over the past year I have simply watched kind, loving Christian people turn their faith into their political party. I may have been guilty of this myself at times. Politics has gone from something that people can disagree on, to something that defines a person.

I have watched people worship Trump and others believe Biden is their savior. It has been all or nothing on absolutely everything. Common sense is completely gone. We have decided that the other side is the enemy. We know everything we need to know about you based on your political affiliation. We have drawn a line in the sand.

This may come as an awful big shock to a lot of people but Jesus isn’t a democrat or a republican. He isn’t even American.

Instead of asking what the Bible says or look at the example of Jesus, we find ourselves deciding our political party is the one Jesus would be a part of. We then blindly follow any of the chaos that is being created without stopping to look, reflect, or question.

Instead, we justify.

But if you truly sit back and look at how Jesus lived, you will see neither party has it correct. There simply isn’t a political party that follows 100% Catholic beliefs. We will never elect a perfect president. Jesus is King, but He isn’t a politician.

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If you have spent any time studying Ephesians, you may be familiar with this:

For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens. (Ephesians 6:12)

Our fellow man is not our enemy. Not everyone on the other side is evil. But don’t get me wrong, evil is completely at play here. We have forgotten who the real enemy is. Satan is loving the chaos. He is smiling with glee over how much we despise each other. The hateful things that we spew, the labels, the division; is all enjoyable for him. Paul tells us that our enemy is not each other, it is Satan.

If we are busy hating someone, we are not loving our neighbor.

In a recent discussion, a deacon told me that during one of his homilies a parishioner stood up and started yelling at him because something he said didn’t align with her political view. The deacon wasn’t speaking from a political view, but the view of the Church.

I urge you to take a step back from the world. Take a step back from political rhetoric. Stay off social media. Stop watching the news. And just spend some time reading the Bible, specifically the Gospels. Just start there. Meditate on it day and night; as we are told to do.

Pray. Really, truly pray for God to open your eyes and your heart to His truth, and only His truth. Not the Republican or Democratic truth. Don’t go looking for ideas that fit your beliefs, but instead, look at what is really there. Look to the teachings of the Catholic Church.

I question myself: who am I following? What am I believing? Is it what Jesus teaches? Is it really what is in the Bible? Am I distorting it to fit my own personal beliefs?

I read a quote from Matthew Kelly that stated, “Peace comes from elevating the only opinion that truly matters: God’s.” This spoke directly to my soul.

As Catholics, it doesn’t stop with simply believing. It is so much more. And it might be hard. And you might lose friends. It might not be popular, but Jesus was never really part of the “popular” crowd.

At a time, such as now, when we are watching our country simply appear as if it’s crumbling, we need now more than ever to focus on Jesus. We were born for such a time as this. So, what do we do? Do we sit back and point fingers and spew hate? Or do we become the change we want to see in our country, in the world?

I know that when this life ends I want Jesus to greet me with open arms and say “well done, good and faithful servant.”

Breach the divide. Put down our weapons. Pick up our Bibles. Stop seeing others as the enemy. Keep the real enemy in sight. #catholicmom

As Catholics, we have a choice. We can blindly follow politics or we can try and change things within our party that do not align to God’s truths. Imagine what this country would look like if all of us Christians truly started living and loving as Jesus teaches. Imagine the effect of that type of love. We all want to be the Christian that brings people to Jesus and not the one that turns them away.

No matter how good a person you may be, you are still a sinner. And no matter how bad you think that person is, Jesus still loves them. Regardless of how you may feel about certain politicians: God loves Trump, God loves Biden, God loves McConnell and Pelosi. God loves us too.

With the help of our Lord, we may be able to bring healing where there is so much pain. Breach the divide. Put down our weapons. Pick up our Bibles. Stop seeing others as the enemy. Keep the real enemy in sight.

So, I urge you, take some time, stop posting politics. Stop reading the comments. And open your Bible. Open your mind. Open your heart to God. You will be so glad you did.