When the Homily is about Immunology

Idolatry

One of the things I confessed last night was what I believed to have been my idolatry of politics. It is not an easy thing for me to explain and so I am not sure I will even be able to do it - but I knew there was a problem when I spent a substantial portion of a litrugy thinking about politics and discussions I had had with people about them.

I've made no secret of the fact that I have a had a rather significant turn in my political thinking, but what I have forgotten (I think) is that this really is not that significant. I began to feel that I was letting the United States government take on the role of Church or even God - in that I expected IT to protect me from Militant Islam (on the right) or that I expected IT to protect the poor and provide for them (on the left).

While I do not presently deny that there is a certain and varied level of importance to these things and the role that government plays in them, I am reminded that the Orthodox faith has traditionally existed in hostile environments as often as it has existed in more friendly environments (to varying degress depending on geography) and so one is forced to wonder and marvel at our freedoms here.

It is funny to listen to people argue about morality in this last election. A coworker, knowing me to be a "church person" challenged me on this topic - wanting an explanation as to why we (meaning Christians) should be so concerned about morality in things like abortion and gay rights. While I distanced myself from the gay issue by citing my standard sort of libertarian response: "the state cannot marry anyone", I did ask her to consider that asking the government to care for the poor at the expense of the wealthy is a decidedly moral issue. She had to agree and no further arguments have been offered to me in this regard.

But God does not, and I believe will not ask me if I voted for a candidate who would take care of the poor or who would end the holocaust-like death of unborn babies. Rather, I think God will ask me what I have done, personally to address such issues. It seems to me, that in the Orthodox Tradition that "doing something" for the world needn't always neccesitate some sort of social action...but neccesarily includes (perhaps even with greater significance) the healing of my own soul.

The poor we will always have with us, Jesus promises, and no president will be able to fully overturn Roe vs. Wade. But my icons and incense sit quietly on my altar at home - gathering dust. Oh yes, there is plenty of work to do.