For Catholics, ‘Jesus 2020’ is the forever ticket

That’s the sign my neighbor proudly displayed on her lawn this week. 
    

A s I took the boys on a stroll through our neighborhood, I was surprised to see a car that seemed to be driving right toward us. It was our neighbor, checking in on the boys but also asking if we had seen the sign. 

    

And here’s the thing – she was asking because she was concerned that our neighborhood might take offense. Should she place it closer to the house? Maybe behind the tree? “No,” I responded firmly. “It’s a message the world needs.”
    

2020 is not the year we’ve expected, but maybe it’s the year we need. We live in increasingly divisive times. Every little thing has the capacity to divide, even aspects that should be unifying – like public health.
    

The “Jesus 2020” sign looks like a political sign. It has the red and blue colors with white lettering. Visually, the sign is unifying – it includes the colors of both political parties, and, of course, the colors of our nation. But the sign also, like all other political signage, appeals to certain values. Ideally when we vote for a particular candidate, we vote for the values they – as an individual – uphold. So, what does it mean to campaign for Jesus in 2020?
    

As Catholics, we’re taught to model our lives on Jesus’ example. It’s a tall order and often very difficult to do. Why? Because Jesus, if we recall from the Gospel accounts in which he calls his disciples, asks us to leave everything behind to follow him. To take only the clothes on our backs and the sandals on our feet; to put aside worldly possessions. It’s a tough pill to swallow in a society that values money and status over the needs of the poor and disenfranchised.
    

And those – the poor and disenfranchised – are the very people that Jesus would seek to protect. How do we know? Because we’ve seen it in the Gospels. Jesus is the miracle worker: He gave food to the thousands; he cured the sick and dying; he sought forgiveness for those who persecuted him. Those “without sin among you, let them cast the first stone,” said Jesus when confronted by the Pharisees about the punishment for adultery (John 8:7). 
    

The Pharisees were “convicted by their conscience” and left, leaving Jesus alone with the accused woman. Jesus judges no one. Judgment comes at our final breath, when we meet our maker face to face. At that point alone are we called to answer for our actions and are judged for them.
    

Can we honestly say that we are “convicted by (our) conscience”? Do we allow our conscience to guide our actions?
    

This year has forced me to see how individualistic and selfish we, as a society, have become. From the hoarding practices at the beginning of the pandemic, to the reckless behavior of those who put the lives of others at risk, to the increased tensions boiling over between political factions – all of these actions have demonstrated how far we’ve strayed from Jesus’ teachings. 
    

The road ahead is difficult. No one promised it would be easy. We’re all fallible, but we are also capable of change. Perhaps that’s the lesson of campaigning for Jesus in 2020: It’s not too late.
     

Dr. Heather Bozant Witcher can be reached at hbozantwitcher@clarionherald.org.