Dear Friends,
We live in an age when politics has seeped into nearly every corner of life — our friendships, our families, our churches, and even our sense of identity. It has become the lens through which we interpret almost everything and everyone. What was once a means to serve the common good has too often become a rival religion, complete with its own creeds, enemies, and rituals of outrage.
When everything is politicized, truth becomes negotiable, compassion becomes weakness, and unity becomes impossible. We no longer ask, “What is right?” but “Whose side are you on?” The result is a society marked by division, fear, and cynicism. Sadly, our allegiance to political parties or ideologies sometimes overshadows our deeper belonging to God and to one another.
But as Christians, we are called to be different. Jesus never sought to build a political kingdom or claim power for one nation. He said clearly, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36). The Gospel calls us not to conquest but to conversion — not to domination but to love of neighbor. This leaves no room for the idea of Christian nationalism.
In the Gospel of John, there is a story that speaks directly to this moment — the healing of the man born blind (John 9). Jesus spits on the ground, makes mud, and anoints the man’s eyes. When the man washes in the pool of Siloam, he returns seeing — for the first time in his life. But what follows is even more remarkable: he begins to see not only with his eyes but with his heart. He recognizes who Jesus truly is — “Lord, I believe,” he says — while others, though they can see physically, remain spiritually blind.
This story is not only about healing; it is about illumination. Faith gives us new sight — to see the world, others, and even ourselves through the light of Christ. Without that light, we risk seeing only through the dim lens of ideology, fear, and self-interest.
