By Father Casey
Early voting begins on Monday. I trust all of you (of age) are registered to vote and ready to do your duty as citizens. We are blessed to live in a nation in which we get to stand and be counted. We get to apply our consciences to the work of choosing our leaders, and take part in shaping the direction of our republic. It’s so important that we not let cynicism or exhaustion take away our power, for it is a privilege to vote.
Every presidential election cycle feels monumental, like the fate of the world depends upon our choice, and the stakes feel high this time, too. Whoever we elect to be our next president, representatives, senators, and judges will have great power to shape our society. Whoever we elect will be given the reins of government and pursue policies that affect all our lives. This reality can lead us to think that how we vote, and for whom we vote, is the most important thing we can do to shape our world.
But please remember that as important as voting is, it is not the most significant use of our power to shape the world. The most powerful person in the world is not the one elected president. The most powerful person in the world is you. We are each responsible for our own Christian duty. We are each responsible for loving our neighbors as ourselves. We are each responsible for seeking and serving Christ in all persons. We are each responsible for respecting the dignity of every human being. No one else has power to do that for us. That power is entirely ours.
So as important as your ballot is, don’t forget the greater importance of using your energies, your time, your power to make a righteous influence on the world. See each day as another gift, each encounter as an opportunity to love, each decision as a chance to choose the way of Jesus. Your ballot is a piece of that, of course, but the minute you leave the polling place, life will go on, and you will be faced with countless opportunities to use your power for good.
In that spirit, I want to commend something special we’re doing at Transfiguration on Ingathering Sunday, October 27. After our combined Eucharist at 10 o’clock in the school gymnasium (just down from the church, on the backside of our campus), we will walk up the hill together to the Gathering Space and use our power to do something good.
One of our main outreach partner agencies is Vogel[1], which provides educational and mental health services for homeless children in our city. Every day, Vogel hosts kids after school, offering a safe and nurturing environment, and when they depart for the evening, they are given a brown bag filled with nutritious food (something they call a “bye-bye bag”). It is often the only reliable food these kids receive, outside of school. Vogel serves hundreds of kids, so you can imagine that they pass out a lot of bye-bye bags.
Well, on Ingathering Sunday, after we celebrate the Eucharist and thank God for our church, after we’ve presented our pledges of support and said our prayers, we will make 2,000 bags for Vogel.[2] We’ll pack these bags with good things, and pray for the kids who will receive them. I’d like to think we’ll sprinkle a little salt into each bag, and shine a little light in there, too, because we’ll be what Jesus says we are: his salt and light.
So cast your ballot next week, but don’t begin to think that it’s the only important thing you can do these days. You are the most powerful person in your world. And God has given you that power for good.
Fr. Casey +
[2] If you’re able, it would help us if you could make a donation to help us have enough supplies for all these bags. (Click for items needed)