Would Anyone Elect Jesus?

Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.’ Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’ When Jesus saw Nathanael coming towards him, he said of him, ‘Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!’ -- John 1:44-47 (NRSV)

This part of the daily office gospel reading certainly got me thinking. In light of the political mess we have going on at the present time, my mind certainly makes leap from Galilee to America, from looking for a messiah to simply looking for a savior.

Clearly Philip had found someone of whom he certainly had an immense regard and respect. He claimed that Jesus was the person of whom Moses, the prophets and the law spoke. Obviously, for Philip, Jesus was the prime candidate for messiah, complete with the potential and ability to fulfill the expectations the Jews had been storing up since probably the time of Moses. The messiah would be a warrior like David, a leader like Moses, a prophet like Elijah, a wise man like Solomon and holy man like Samuel. It was a tall order, and, given Galilee's reputation of not being in any respect the center of learning, leadership, sophistication, trade and worship, Nathaniel's skepticism certainly seemed warranted. Still, Philip persuaded him to come and see -- and the rest, they say, was history.

Fast forward to today. We're still looking for a messiah, and every four years we try to elect one -- or a bunch of them. We elect people to our legislatures and political offices that we feel reflect our beliefs and values and try to defeat those who we feel are not. We want to believe that those we elect have our best interests at heart, that the campaign promises they made will happen and we will all live happily ever after in a safe, prosperous, Godly nation that is the one all nations look to and wish to emulate. We have hopes for these leaders, but so often we find that perhaps they aren't what we believed them to be. And we look for people "in whom there is no deceit."

I wonder --- if Jesus were standing for election, what campaign promises would he offer us? Safety? Security? Fair taxation? Preferential treatment for people of our specific religious beliefs, our social status or economic clout? Would our enemies be his enemies and his friends our friends? Which political action committees or lobbyists would be buzzing about, urging him to "do the right thing" and support what they represented? Would he even be able to get elected on a platform of honesty, fair treatment for the marginalized, dedication to the ethics of the kingdom (of God, not of the PAC or lobbyist or even "certain individuals with great influence"), and the obedience to the intent of God's laws and not necessarily to the literal interpretation of it? Would he compromise his election promises if he were faced with having to throw the most vulnerable under the bus so the upper echelons could continue to amass wealth and withhold more? Where would he stand on "From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded" (Luke 12:48b)?

Would anyone but the marginalized believe him? Or would he be brushed off as just another Galilean, ignorant, dirty, poor and not worth believing?

Would anyone elect Jesus? Don't say "yes" too quickly; it might be the hardest choice to make with the hardest road to walk.