What Would Jesus Say . . . about Politics?

I'll admit it. I've missed the last two presidential debates. And I really hate to say this, but I feel like I haven't missed much. Today I received an email from a friend whose sister had sent along this quote from the book In the Name of Jesus by Henri Nouwen--a dear author, Jesus-follower, treasurer of the least of these, and Catholic priest. (If you get to know him through his writings and things written about him, you'll come to treasure him for his pure love relationship with Jesus.)

Read below and you might understand why I consider myself neither a Democrat, a Republican, or an Independent. (This is a big change for me from just 15 years ago.) You might even start to contemplate how a Jesus-follower like Billy Graham could be a Democrat while ministering to several Republican presidents, or why a Republican might sincerely love a Democrat and come to respect his or her perspectives.

That would be because these individuals are not about politics. They are about listening to the voice of love that can be heard only by sitting at Jesus' feet. Note the sentence I highlighted, too, guys...and feel free to comment on this post! Would love to hear from you.

"Christian leaders cannot simply be persons who have well-informed opinions about the burning issues of our time. Their leadership must be rooted in the permanent, intimate relationship with the incarnate Word, Jesus, and they need to find there the source for their words, advice, and guidance. Through the discipline of contemplative prayer, Christian leaders have to learn to listen again and again to the voice of love and to find there the wisdom and courage to address whatever issue presents itself to them. Dealing with burning issues without being rooted in a deep personal relationship with God easily leads to divisiveness because, before we know it, our sense of self is caught up in our opinion about a given subject. But when we are securely rooted in a personal intimacy with the source of life, it will be possible to remain flexible without being relativistic, convinced without being rigid, willing to confront without being offensive, gentle and forgiving without being soft, and true witnesses without being manipulative."

More on Henri Nouwen: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Nouwen