Vote!
By The Rev’d Jennifer Zogg, Rector
Dear Epiphany,
This morning I submitted my request for a mail-in ballot for our November 3 election.
I cannot say this strongly enough, please make sure you exercise your right to vote this fall. If you are not registered, do it now (Oct 4 deadline in RI). Request a mail-in ballot: vote.ri.gov (Oct 13 deadline). The Rhode Island mail-in ballot system is organized, efficient and safe. You may mail, or even physically drop off, your completed ballot at your local Board of Canvassers (for many of us, that is the East Providence City Hall) on or before November 3. Here is information on the similar process in Massachusetts.
Jesus stands in the middle of the Temple in this Sunday’s Gospel portion from Matthew, in the halls of the highest powers of his day, and confronts the leaders and the elders of people for loving their power more than what is right and good for the people. Jesus often spent time confronting the powers of his day to wake them up to the cries of the people for basic necessities, healing and justice. More than that, Jesus’ very incarnation in human form reveals a divine way that elects self-sacrifice and service as the way of love, emptying himself of all power in order to be human like us and thus draw us closer to his divinity (see this week’s reading from Philippians 2 for an ancient Christian poem about this truth).
As Christians, we promise to love our neighbor and work for the common good following Jesus’ example. Our public systems and structures are the vehicles for that work and require our voices. Our Presiding Bishop, Michael Curry, presented a video “Word to the Church” this week pleading for us to match our lives and public participation this fall to the actions of Jesus. Curry challenges us to consider “What did Jesus do?” (vs. the popular saying ‘What would Jesus do?’) when trying to determine how we choose now. Jesus did not incite violence or hatred. He did not manipulate or deceive. He embodied God’s compassionate mercy and love, caring for the stranger and outcast, pleading with the leaders to heed a better way of love and justice for all. Shame on us if we abdicate our calling to the same way of life by not voting. In general, I feel like I never do enough to make a difference in changing the troubling state of our nation. But this I can do – I can vote.
Voter turnout in this country is historically abysmally low. Let’s turn that around this year. We may live in a state where we think we know how elections always turn out and feel as if it is less important for us to attend to this detail among all the others in our lives. But we vote for local representatives as well and they are as important in impacting life in our communities as the national elections. Educate yourselves about their positions and vote with your conscience. The late Rep. John Lewis and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, among many others of history, devoted their lives of public service to the equal application and protection of the law for all people. Let’s honor their legacies and encourage everyone we know who is eligible to vote. As Bishop Curry asks in his address, consider “What Did Jesus Do?” and then go and do that.
Yours in Christ,
Rev’d Jen
