The Wilderness of Politics
RENAE MILLER
(She/Her)
What do you think of when you think of a wilderness? I often think of a cold, stark, lonely place with few resources. I imagine that the brave souls willing to embark on a journey in such a place will be stripped of all of the frills of pleasant society that normally cover up the dark places of the heart that are waiting to be revealed when our interdependence and grave need is laid bare.
That description for me doesn’t land too far afield of what it feels like to be involved in politics, either locally or nationally. The problems that political policies try to solve never seem to have enough resources to indicate easy answers. Our society seems almost infantile at times when faced with the task of having hearty and nuanced political discussions with those who sit across the aisle from us- leading to an experience of lonely echo chambers. Ourselves and our neighbors can exhibit the worst versions of ourselves when we are zealously riled up over our opinions. The events of the past several years have left many of us feeling traumatized and paralyzed.
It’s easy to see why those who have the privilege of removing themselves from politics simply choose to.
As I’m often reminded from the first Imago sermon series about politics nearly 5 years ago, the word “politics” simply refers to group decision making about shared space and resources. When put this simply, it sounds more inviting. It sounds like something I should care about, and I may actually have the capacity for in my pandemic-depleted state.
There was a time when my privileged soul stood proudly as “a-political”- uninvolved in the fray of politics. Free from the drama of it. Free from coming up with any answers- I had no idea what the right thing to do was, so I just didn’t bother with trying to answer, or doing the research that would be required to be educated about a voting decision. As Holy Spirit nudged my soul towards a greater understanding of who my neighbor is and what my neighbor experiences, I realized I could not afford to be uninterested in the regular, daily plight of my marginalized neighbors who were daily and regularly affected by suffering, often as a direct result of national and local policies that govern them.
I learned more and more about how especially local politics have the most power to change a person’s experience in the world. I voted in my first ever local election in 2017. I was thrilled that Imago was a polling place, because that meant that we were participating in the patriotic and Image-bearing stewardship task of shared decision making over shared space and resources. Even as there is messiness in a religious organization like a church being involved in politics because endorsing or appearing to endorse any one candidate feels like a slippery slope towards politicizing religion or spirituality, I am still happy when I see political signs placed on the shared city-owned space between the sidewalk and the street as I pull up to our little church. Because I know that people inside (or virtually inside) this little church have pushed me to become a better citizen, more responsible, and more loving of my neighbor in the ways in which I participate in shared decision making. It was at Imago where I was pushed to become more politically involved for the sake of all the Image bearers in my community. .
During this recent Lenten season and beyond, I continue to ponder Jesus’s time in the wilderness and the temptations that he faced and overcame. I wonder what it looks like to traverse this political wilderness landscape. What does it mean to exercise my right to vote in our city elections this month- hard-fought and won by those braver than me who came before? What does it mean to engage my neighbors, co-workers, friends and family in discussions about difficult problems that can appear to be hopelessly without a solution?
In the Matthew 4 passage describing Jesus’s temptations, I’m struck by those things that Satan used to tempt Jesus: food (resources used for sustaining life), safety (sustaining health and protection from bodily harm) and power (decision-making ability). These are the same things that regularly get discussed today in political discourse- a never-ending battle over who controls the resources in our shared space. Jesus’s answers to Satan indicate that He never considered food, safety, or power something to be handled lightly, or to be gambled with. One could argue that as he fed the five thousand or healed many people that he wanted food security and health and safety to be accessible to all. The One who had ultimate power- defeating death on the cross through Resurrection- used that power and the example of his life to encourage us to share our power with each other and engage in the way that power over resources is shared in our communities. Jesus engaged and encountered people with problems that seemed hopeless; he did not standby and consider them beyond reach.
May we all grow together to be ever more rigorous in our individual and intellectual wrestling with our political positions; and ever more zealous in using the gift of action and engagement in our communities to actively, civilly and even politically love our neighbors.
Renae is a wife to one, mother to two, and part-time mental health therapist to many at a private practice in Peoria, specializing in anxiety disorders and OCD. She has attended Imago since the 2nd Sunday it has been in existence and loves the church and its people deeply. She sings in the Peoria Area Civic Chorale and kickboxes for fun. She has ridden over 220 different rollercoasters and continues to love traveling to different theme parks to increase that number. She has been excited to join the Leadership Team at Imago to add this to her list of adventures.