I don’t know about you, but I’m like a church mouse when it comes to politics. I may speak freely with friends who share a similar worldview, but I stay far away from sharing my opinions publicly.

Is that the right approach? I hope so. What needs to be expressed from the mountain tops, however, is not who we favor in the next election cycle, but answering clearly Christ’s question to Peter after his resurrection: “…Do you love me?” If we answer, YES, then no matter what our political affiliation, we are of one heart and mind with other believers. 

“With great power,” is how St. Luke, the presumptive author of the Acts of the Apostles, says that the apostles witnessed their faith in the resurrection (Acts 4: 33). Luke is writing about Peter and John’s visit to the Temple in Jerusalem. The Spirit had already been gifted to them at Pentecost, and they were still going to the Temple in Jerusalem to pray and offer thanks. A man, crippled from birth, had been dropped off at at one of the entrances to the Temple earlier in the day. While he thought he was going to receive some alms from John and Peter, they had something else in mind. After looking at him closely, Peter prayed: “In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, rise and walk.” The man’s feet and ankles were immediately made strong and he leaped to his feet, even jumping around, and he entered the Temple with them praising God’s power. 

Jesus’ Resurrection and Ascension into heaven has not removed him from us. He is not some vague figure in outer space. Oh, it’s true, we do not have his gentle smile anymore. We cannot listen to the music or the thunder of his voice. We cannot reach out and touch the hem of his garment. But our Christian living would make no sense if we did not believe, at this moment, that Jesus knows what hurts us. Whatever our poverty, however we weep or hunger, wherever we feel unloved, Jesus seeks us out. It happened one thousand nine hundred and ninety-one years ago at the entrance to the Temple in Jerusalem and it is still happening today. 

Blessings,

Fr. Kevin MacDonald, C.Ss.R.