History will tend to itself

Politics is one of the biggest challenges facing religion. It should not be that way, of course, since religion really has little to do with politics. I remember from the Bible (1 Samuel Ch. 8) reading about the people coming and asking the judge Samuel to appoint a king for them, like other nations had, and how displeased Samuel was by this. He warns them the extent to which the king will be a burden to the people, who will have to support his royal lifestyle. He also warns them that a king will get in the way of their relationship with God (Samuel says "but on that day the LORD will not answer you") but they insist.

Jesus too tries to make clear that the individual's primary obligations are not national - they are personal. When he says that it is right to give the coin with Caesar's face as a tax payment, he tells us that our relationship with our country is personal - God does not demand of us that we be rebels or opponents of the "system", even if it is not perfect. We should cooperate with it, as even St. Paul tells us to pray for the authorities in power.

At the same time, we do not need to mix our faith with our participation in the daily world, either. I know I spend an awful lot of time worrying about things that ultimately I have no power to change. We are always hearing of wars, shenanigans at world bodies, corporate malfeasance, and badly behaved public figures, and it is hard not to be perturbed by it.

But what power do we have to change it? We of course have some influence in terms of who we vote for or making our voice heard. And certainly we should use that influence, albeit judiciously. But why worry about it? If you can change it, change it. And if it is not in your power to change it, try to understand it, and have peace about it.

As Jesus observes, God arrays even the lilies of the field, in a way that even Solomon was never dressed. The birds are fed. Tomorrow has enough worries of its own. God knows we have needs, but "seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well." God never asks us to endure anything beyond our ability to bear. And that is not to say that life is always easy to bear - the last few weeks of my life have been a living testament of this. But my family, my brother in law, is getting through it.

"These things shall be yours as well" - seek God, first and foremost.

Life takes care of itself. So does history. The world will unfold as it should. Just play your part well. :-)