Is there a difference between a political sermon and an ethical sermon?
Across the years I’ve given many sermons, not one of which was political in nature. The opinions of congregants are as varied as the opinions of others regardless of religion, race, etc. We’ve got Republicans and Democrats, conservatives and liberals, and a combination of those and other labels. That’s the way it should be; it’s what makes this country what it’s supposed to be. I consider myself to be a conservative liberal, a Democrat who has voted Republican on a number of occasions, even in one presidential election. Of course, in Delaware – a “blue” state – it is said that there’s little difference between Democrats and Republicans. In a way that’s true, but of course I digress.
I did give a sermon I felt to be ethical in nature and most people who heard it agreed. I delivered it three times in three congregations…once on the holydays in Jackson, New Jersey for about 700 people who weren’t affiliated but were residents of a number of “Over-50” communities: once in my Wilmington congregation and once in Winchester. People heard it during the fall of 2016. Some in Jackson walked out – maybe up to 20 – and the rest gave me the first and only standing ovation I’ve ever received.
In the other two venues no one left but I’m sure there were some who didn’t view it as an ethical message, rather a political one. What to me was important is that while it was obvious about whom I was preaching against, I never mentioned a name…rather, I based my talk on the par’shat haShavua, the weekly Torah portion, that pretty much lays out what a king should not be. What was good enough for the Torah was good enough for me! (See Deuteronomy 17:14 ff) Oh, yes, and in that portion we find “Justice, justice, shall you pursue,” the heart of the Reform movement.
In my humble opinion, a political sermon implicitly or explicitly endorses one person or one party or one ideology over another. An ethical sermon, on the other hand, looks at behavior, not only bad behavior but good as well. Whether the behavior is manifest by a Democrat or Republican a liberal or a conservative, matters very little. John McCain had some perspectives with which I did not agree - and truth be told my vote is usually based on the Supreme Court justices a candidate may nominate – but he was a good man, an ethical man, a moral man and in my opinion, was the candidate with experience who would defend our country better than Barack Obama. The operative word is “better” for it was surely not to say Obama wouldn’t, but I didn’t know much about the man for whom I voted the second time around (Had I really thought more about it, voting for a man whose death while in office would have given us Sarah Palin might have been a mistake, but only for that reason!).
What amazes me in all this is how the evangelicals who preach morality and ethics til they’re blue in the face are able to overlook immorality and unethical conduct. Thus, they have totally abrogated any respect I may have had for them. Hypocrisy to that degree is beyond belief!
That’s all I’m going to say on the subject.
(Speaking of some for whom money is the ultimate goal…Question: Who was the greatest male financier in the Torah? Answer: Noah – he was floating his stock while everyone else was in liquidation.
Question: Who was the greatest female financier in the Torah? Answer: Pharaoh’s daughter – she went down to the bank of the river and drew out a little prophet)