Let me begin by saying this: I don’t care about your politics. I’m not going to cross the street to avoid folks who voted differently than me. The problem is, as a person of faith – as a follower of Jesus – I care deeply about the effect political decisions have on human beings. Faithful people cannot play the ‘either/or’ game – our faith affects our politics, and politics affects people of faith. There is no hiding from that.

To take a stand in the early years – to claim the cross and the gift of the Holy Spirit – to stand up and follow Jesus was a political statement. The kind of faithfulness professed in 1 Corinthians was a hard NO to the political status quo in occupied Palestine. It was a political decision to crucify Jesus; Following Christ was a risky business politically. Loyalty to Jesus could get you killed.

In the early church, such persecution was a badge of honour. Taken straight to the cross, you could be assured that you had followed the master to the very last step. But that sort of persecution comes and goes. In the meantime, followers of Jesus are called to this compassionate duty: Love your enemies. Show hospitality to the stranger in your midst. Feed the hungry, don’t vilify them. Heal the sick, don’t shun them. Bring God to the world in the flesh – your flesh. This was Jesus’ example to us. These are the behaviours that run afoul of the political (and religious) status quo. Jesus invites us to challenge the accepted notions of our current time in ways that suit our situations and our particular gifts. And yes, this means speaking out about political things.

The powers that be – in any age – long for uniformity. “It would be better, and we would be stronger and safer, if we were all the same” is the underlying message.

We are encouraged to strive for the same things – to honour the same things – and most importantly, to fear the same things. This is the best way to control ideas that we don’t understand. This is how we work ourselves up to wage war. This is how tyrants consolidate power. This is how we reach a point where a group/party/nation decides that the loud majority have permission to eliminate any consideration of the minority, whether the minority are loud or quiet.

Yes – now I’m talking about politics. Global, national, provincial and local politics. And as it happens, the bible has plenty to say about our politics, and how they affect God’s people and all of God’s creation.

First Corinthians is full of quotable moments. “Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude…” being one of my favourites. But there is also this delightful analogy from chapter twelve. A gentle treatise on the kind of unity to which we are called.

Now let me say that the author of the first letter to the Corinthians was preaching to the converted. They had no allusions about any diversity in religious thought. The letter is aimed at the baptized – the ‘body of Christ’- though, to be fair, the author did seem to understand that there was diversity within this growing, changing and ultimately imperfect body of Christ. The passage we heard this morning is a plea for unity that we can use to help us in this wildly diverse, crazily divided time in which we live.

Unity – not uniformity. The unity of oddly diverse members working together as best they can.

Sure, it’s not a perfect image, since no bodies are perfect. Legs and arms let us down. Hearts fail; eyes get cloudy… Not to mention our senses of touch and taste and smell change as the responsible organs age and decay.

Even so, the body stands as a remarkable example of the kind of work that Jesus modelled for us – the kind of work in which we are called to engage. ‘God made flesh’ is not just a deep theological idea. It is an unfolding reality.

God in us – all of God- exhibited, however imperfectly, in each of us and all of us. Together, the ‘body of Christ.’ Together, an expression of God in the world. Working together – however imperfectly – each with the best interest of all in mind. That is an high ideal…neither easily nor often achieved. But it ought to be our target. And our pursuit of this lofty goal will bring us up against the ‘politics’ of the day. If the political landscape is tilted towards arrogance, fear and division, then the clash of religion and politics will be noisy and troublesome. And the followers of Jesus will be ‘blamed’ for causing the trouble.

You don’t have to take my word for it. You will have seen this happening in real time this week. An Episcopal Bishop preaches a sermon of love and tolerance – speaks in favour of mercy and grace – and the prevailing political power – and a fair few who claim to share in the Christian faith – lose their collective minds.

As we learn and grow as followers of Jesus – as God’s beloved – we begin to recognize that God’s love (and Jesus’ pattern of living) are no respecter of boundaries, political or otherwise. Neither culture, language, nationality – nor even a wide variety of religious expression – can keep us from the love of God.

Yes, we have experienced this divine love as Christians in the stories of Jesus – but for my part, I’m not arrogant enough to imagine that our way is the only way. God is way too big, and we are (as a collective religious people) way too small.

So – the political impact of our decision to take seriously Jesus’ call on our lives is real and immediate – and no respecter of party affiliation. Any calls for uniformity of thought or claims of ‘everything is broken and only I can fix it’ – when uttered by someone who desires to lead a city, province or nation – ought to be strenuously questioned and enthusiastically resisted. Likewise, and religious authority that claims exclusive command of the truth, or who would call for anything but mercy for ALL ought to be strenuously questioned and enthusiastically resisted.

The hurtful notion that any one person is worth more (or less) than another should be opposed. The hand by itself is just a hand – incomplete. The ear is not the body. The charismatic idealist is not humanity. The religious zealot is not God. The arrogant, self-satisfied politician is not a saviour. Single, bullying individuals (or ideologies) cannot be allowed to define the whole of humanity.

The good news is that God is (somehow – inexplicably) part of all of us. Jesus would lead us toward a balance of compassion, empathy and understanding – The kingdom of God looks to broaden horizons, not narrow them.

When politicians cast insults and spread fear and mistrust, the instinct of Jesus’ disciples should be to resist them, not elect them.

I don’t care about your politics. I care about you. I care about us. I care about a world that is full of God’s glory. And that is a world where faithful people must speak up against political thuggery. The body of humanity is not well served by a demand for uniformity and isolation against imagined enemies.

We are not the same, but we have common needs. And somehow, across the spectrum of political affiliation, religious belief, nationality, gender expression, economic realities or the colour of our skin, we serve as evidence of the length, height, width and depth of the love (and good humour) of God. Hands and feet – ears and noses – eyes and elbows, all of us. And the only path forward that makes sense is one that seeks the good of all.