I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! -Luke12:49-51

The presidential election is approaching here. It’s going to be a rough one. In the next couple of months, old wounds will be reopened, old lies will be rehashed, and God’s name will be shamelessly taken in vain. Basically, a typical election process in most countries. I am sure that most of us, if not all, will agree that this is getting tiresome. It is not to say that I do not have my political views. I do have my strong convictions. I consider myself to be a very political person. Consequently, I find it hard to tolerate people who defend opposing views from mine. Even though I tell myself that these views are not important, the truth is that I am not entirely convinced. I tend to believe that my outlook is the most ethical one. This is the only reason why anyone would espouse any political stance. It is inevitable that we get entrapped in this “us” and “them” mindset. It is virtually impossible to avoid it. We are constantly bombarded with information and slanderous news to convince us to take sides. Needless to say, we live in a world sharply divided. When the devil tempted Jesus, he said that all dominions of this world belonged to him. Jesus never said anything to the contrary. On a different occasion, He acknowledged that the devil is the father of this world. One of the names of the devil in Greek is diabolos which means divider. We can see his trademark in his kingdoms. In fact, during any political debate in any given country, usually all the attributes of the devil are manifested and almost none of Christ.

It seems like Jesus is not going to resolve this dire situation. Instead, He is going to exacerbate it. In other words, Jesus is not the answer to our present political problems. Those who try to use His name to justify any political position are preaching a different Jesus, perhaps a false one who gave in to the temptations of the devil. The true Messiah was very clear,

“My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.” John 18:36

The kingdoms of this world survive on strife and hatred. They understand this language very well. Anyone who is well adjusted and successful in this world has acceded to the rules of this world. Jesus, on the other hand, was always at odds with the authorities. He refused to participate in their politics of hate. His trial was perhaps the final temptation to make Him submit to their standards. Thankfully for humanity, up till His final breath, Jesus refused to become another politician of this era. In His final prayer, He chose to forgive those who dehumanized him even though He had every right to seek justice against them. This is something the world will never understand. If we attempt to mention forgiveness for the worse criminals in our society, we will become objects of scorn. Others will say that we are impractical and naive to even say such things. In some cases, they might even react in violence towards us for mentioning such “nonsense”. Violence and hatred are the language moving this world. Without these, the whole system collapses.

“I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” Matthew 10:16

Wolves and sheep have completely incompatible natures. One seeks prey to consume and the latter seeks to hear and follow the voice of the shepherd. However, it is our human nature to belong to a group and more often than not, we end up joining a pack of wolves. In a world dominated by them, it seems safer to be like them. Many adopt their politics of hate and sometimes even confuse it with God’s will. Saul, before he became Paul, thought so. However, our Shepherd tells us that there is no room for hate even when the wolves around us give us every justification for it. Jesus tells us that we are to love them especially when they are our enemies. This sounds completely absurd and ridiculous unless we change our mindset. We have to stop perceiving the world from the perspective of the wolf. We have to become like sheep who listen and watch the Shepherd.

Living in Brazil as foreigners puts us outside the political arena of this country. Officially we are immigrants with no political voice. Besides this, we have cast our lot with the homeless children and teens. They don’t have a voice in society. Together we are outsiders. However, this does not mean that we are immune to the politics of hate. I would say that its presence is felt very strongly in the streets. The police operate on hatred. The criminal gang strives on hatred. The children and teens have grown accustomed to bearing the yoke of hatred and disdain. It is an unbearable burden for them to carry. The Good Shepherd walks through this valley of hatred and death and beckons His sheep to listen to His voice. It is the voice which will overcome the destructive force of hatred. Sometimes it is not easy. The temptation is to take sides. Therefore, we need to be wise as serpents. We have to know that all sides represented here are detrimental to our souls. Sometimes it seems like one side is obviously wrong but it does not give us the license to partake in their communion of hatred. At the Cross, it was obvious who was right and wrong. However the Good Shepherd listened to the Holy Spirt and responded with the greatest political act of all humanity. He showed us the path of true politics which will change hearts of humanity.

The Shepherd is beckoning us to follow a new political venture; one that would isolate us from the rest of society, perhaps even becoming an object of scorn. It doesn’t matter. We don’t seek approval of the masses, instead we seek to follow the voice of the Shepherd. He will guide us and give us the strength to resist all the forces of hatred.

Our most precious encounter this week was with Gabriel. A young man who spent a great part of his teenage years in crime. He puts on a tough and intimidating front. He hardly spoke for a long time although it was obvious that he was curious about us. Last week, Mary brought the camera to the streets after a long time. The children love to have their photos taken by us because we make hard copies for them. Most of the time, they just have digital photos on their phones. Gabriel had his photo taken. Initially he refused to take his cap off for it. We convinced him and it was like magic. He was hiding a warm and friendly face under his cap. We gave him his photo a few days later. He looked at it and was amazed. He did not realize that he was such a good looking kid. Then he asked us why we were doing this ministry. We said that we liked being with them. He said, “You have a generous heart.” We felt a barrier of hatred was overcome in his heart. He was almost emotional.

We were grateful that we are part of a different political party; the party of the Good Shepherd. It is not going to end wars nor overcome major social problems. It does change the hearts of people like Gabriel and makes them realize that they too are beautiful and lovely creatures of God.