Love Thy Political Neighbor // M-Note 10.11.2024

Last weekend, I began a new sermon series, Hold These Truths: Centering Jesus in a Divisive Political season. I talked about two myths we often hold when it comes to Jesus and politics. It was an important message given the season so if you missed it, I really hope that you will listen or share it here.
 
Some believe that Jesus is not political, and therefore politics has no place in the church. The second myth is that Jesus is partisan, and that being a Christian means that you have to vote for a certain candidate or line up with a certain political party. Neither is true and like in most things, Jesus is more nuanced than that! I ended by saying that Jesus is political, but Jesus is not partisan. Jesus’ teachings have implications for our lives together and how we choose to organize our communities and world. This is the most basic definition of politics. But, Jesus is not partisan. He is not perfectly aligned with any earthly political party, and Christians of good faith are found on both sides of the political aisle.
 
This week, I received an email from one of our CoreGroup leaders. It read:
 
In our CoreGroup conversation yesterday, I asked my group:
"If you could have Matt speak to the exact political question that is your personal biggest challenge now, what would you have him address?"
 
Most of them quickly agreed: "We wonder when our loved ones have strong political opinions that we disagree with -- should we distance and avoid conversation, or should we try to engage?"
 
Often when it comes to politics, people don’t ask me about candidates, issues, policies, or positions. Most of the time, our political questions are really relational questions. What do I do about these people that I deeply disagree with?
 
This weekend, I will continue our series by talking about three simple rules for engaging other people during this divisive season. Whether online or in-person, with family or at school and work, these simple rules help us to remember who God is, who we are, and how to center Jesus in our relationships with others. I think it is a critical message for the next few weeks, so I hope that you will be in worship, and please invite someone else. These messages are designed for all of us, whether we are used to going to church or have never been before.

It is finally feeling like fall, so I hope you get the chance to be outside this weekend, and I look forward to seeing you Sunday!
 
Peace,
Matt
 
P.S I have a favor before you go, something that will take you less than 2 minutes but will make a significant difference for our church. The Gathering adopted a new way to give online called PushPay. It is hard to make giving to The Gathering a regular practice when you must remember to do it each week or month. PushPay allows you to set up a recurring gift. It is easy to set up, and you can change it at any time. Everything The Gathering does depends on the giving of those of us who come. If you have not yet set up a recurring gift, please take a minute right now and do it right here. Thank you to all of you who give!