The Historical books of the Old Testament record a sometimes confusing
mixture of good and bad kings in Israel and Judah. The kings either led the
people to renew their faithfulness to God's Covenant or led the people in
rebellion against Him.
When the faithful kings led the people in the ways of God, the land was
blessed. When the unfaithful kings led the people in sin the land was cursed,
and God allowed their enemies to come in and overrun them. This was not a
political problem; it was a spiritual problem. The Old Testament is
theological history.
And so it is today. Our leaders in civil government will either lead us in
the ways of God or they will lead us in rebellion against God. It's not
that people get up and say, "Let's rebel against God." Rather, they get up and
say, for example, "Marriage is not necessarily between a man and a woman, and we
want to pass laws to legitimize gay marriages." Or they will say, "I'm
pro-choice. A woman has the right to abort her child."
It's no better than King Ahab setting up sacred pillars to Baal and giving
the people an opportunity for false worship.
Great men of God had the opportunity to challenge kings who departed from
God's law. You and I in our nation have the opportunity not only to challenge
them but to choose them.
Yet too many Christians are not even registered to vote; polls in the 2000
elections, in fact, showed only half of Christians registered, and only half of
those going to the voting booth. Yet our participation in the election process
is an obligation for us. To take part in this process is a virtue.
It is not a virtue to stay home and just pray on election day. We've got to get
out there. Here's what our bishops have written on the subject:
"We encourage all citizens, particularly Catholics, to embrace their
citizenship not merely as a duty and privilege, but as an opportunity
meaningfully to participate in building the culture of life. Every voice
matters in the public forum. Every vote counts. Every act of responsible
citizenship is an exercise of significant individual power…We get the public
officials we deserve. Their virtue -- or lack thereof -- is a judgment not only
on them, but on us" (1998, Living the Gospel of Life, n.34).
Various national Christian organizations are preparing to join Priests for
Life to announce National Voter Registration Sundays. This is simply a
way to encourage pastors to do what any Church is entitled to do: to give
their congregation an opportunity to register to vote, if they are not
registered already. It only takes five minutes, filling out some information
about one's name, address, and citizenship. The first four Voter Registration
Sundays will be June 15, September 7, November 9, and January 18. Interested
pastors and parish volunteers will be given guidance on how to proceed. See
www.priestsforlife.org/elections for
more information!
