Matthew 22:34-46

My ballot is on the kitchen table waiting for me to take my pen and fill it out. I know how I am going to vote but I am not quite ready to make it final. The election is just two weeks away and I am very tired of the all the TV ads but I am still not ready to mark my ballot. I suppose that may sound strange. Maybe it is a little like Christmas. Many times the best part of Christmas is the anticipation. When Christmas finally arrives, it is such a letdown because we had such high expectations. I hope that my candidate or my position will prevail but I have been disappointed before.
I know that by Sunday many of you will have casted your ballots. So our conversation will be more about principles of voting as a Christian than about the specifics of this election. How do we apply the teachings of Jesus to the way we elect our leaders or decided on initiatives? I know that there are both Democrats and Republicans sitting in the pews. So I would pose some questions:

• The two great commandments from this week's scripture invite us into loving relationships with God and one another. How do we invite our leaders to create a nation where such relationships are of the highest value?
• In Matthew 5 Jesus invites us to be peacemakers. Do the people we are electing see war as a tool of last resort seeking peace instead?
• God calls us to be advocates for the vulnerable in our society. Whose policies and values seek to protect our children, disabled, and elderly?
• Creation is a gift from God for which we are to be good stewards. Do our policies and laws protect the environment?

There are many other questions to explore but this is perhaps enough to get the conversation started.