We are two days away from Election Day. It is the nature of any election, that each party feels they have the path to a better future, and are rarely shy to say so, nor to make sure everyone knows the other party doesn’t have a clue. The rhetoric makes good copy for ads, speeches, signs, and other forms of political promotion, and this year’s election isn’t any different. Having said that, this year truly does feel different, heavier perhaps, more divided, more partisan, and more extreme than other elections. As I sat in Mass (Church) this past Sunday, I hadn’t really taken note of the scriptures assigned to the day from the lectionary readings. It was the reading from the Gospel of Mark, Chapter 12, that stood out, particularly in Fr. Javier’s homily (sermon) that would follow.

Mark’s 12^th chapter includes the story of Jesus, speaking to the teacher of the law, of the love of neighbor. Jesus was drawing upon the book of Deuteronomy (6:5) from the Hebrew scriptures, where the Israelites are commanded to love God with all their heart, soul, and strength. Jesus doesn’t necessarily add to this command, but as is typical with him, he seems to go a bit further, to connect a scriptural teaching to our lived lives, or at least what our lived lives should look like. Isn’t that the nature of the Incarnation of God? So for Jesus, to love God is to love the image of God’s as expressed in the creation. But not in some existential or cerebral manner, but in the day-to-day experience of living, in context with and through each other. Not the easiest of tasks to be honest.

As I listened to Fr. Javier speak, I was moved by the passion he spoke with about the dehumanization of his own beloved birthplace and home, the Island of Puerto Rico, uttered at a rally by a representative of one candidate. You could hear the anger in his voice, and one could certainly understand the source of the emotion. And yet, in his next sentence, he found the grace to acknowledge that a representative of the other candidate spoke similarly of the first candidate’s followers. In truth, God’s creation was, and has been, dehumanized from many directions and voices, in this election and certainly within our history as a nation. I am reminded of Pope Francis’s words that neither candidate has a completely clean slate when it comes to the sanctity of life. I would say with a humble certainty, that none of us do. Pope Francis’, urging, specifically for Catholics, was that we are to discern who is the “lesser of two evils” when it comes to the sanctity of life, through the lens of an “informed conscious.”

The phrase, “sanctity of life,” evokes different thoughts for everyone, given their own experiences and the needs of their own loved ones and circles.  It’s application by most Catholics and Christians is much more-narrow than the continuum the application covers. It begs the question of who’s sanctity it is referring to? And Christians are not consistent in the answer.

Perhaps that brings us back to the command of Jesus, to love our neighbor as ourselves. “Neighbor!” Another one of those terms that has as broad of an application as the number of people you ask to define the word. We often think of neighbor in terms of “proximity.” That person right next to us, on our block, in our community. It doesn’t mean we have a relationship, or at least one of any significance.  Proximity as well, most often defines for us who is NOT our neighbor. But is this what Jesus meant by “neighbor?” He had a tendency to buck the norms of the day. Who else at the time would speak to the neighborliness of the “Good Samaritan,” to a culture that did not welcome that very same Samaritan.

It seems to be a habit of humanity to draw lines in the sand of various kinds, with the purpose of designating who is “in”…and who is “out!” But does Christianity welcome such lines? Did God only create parts of the creation, or was it truly ALL of creation. If it is the latter, who are we to minimize that for our own purposes, or perhaps insecurities. I am always reminded of the lesson from a Muslim brother of mine, who stated that one’s neighbor is not the next house, but the next 100 houses…that there is no end. In another piece, a more active call for the Christian was raised: “Who do we make our neighbor?”

As each of us, particularly those of us who affiliate with the Gospel of Jesus, who do we call our neighbor. Which candidate do we think of when we consider the protection of the sanctity of life? Or that of he immigrant? The homeless? The migrant? Those impacted by systemic racism? Those in the LGBTQA+ community? Children suffering from lead poisoning in their homes? Those living in food desserts? Children at all stages of life? The religiously diverse? Those with disabilities? The elderly? The undocumented? And sadly it seems these days, even Republicans and Democrats? The list could go on. 

As Pope Francis urged, we are to choose the lesser of two evils. Or perhaps another way to say it, we are to choose the candidate that most honors the human dignity and the imaging of God in each person and each community So the question for me is: “Will I have loved my neighbor through my vote?”