60 second sermon BBC Southern Counties, 02.05.10
During the last few weeks the airways have been dominated by the upcoming general election, the competing claims of the different political parties, and, in particular, by the personalities of Messrs Brown, Cameron and Clegg as the three TV debates have taken centre stage.
The budget deficit is massive and none of the parties seem to be suggesting cuts big enough to tackle it – although whichever one gets in, will have to deal with the huge fall out of the economic crisis – so should we really be so preoccupied with how these three leaders measure up against one another under the media spotlight?
Perhaps, not – but for all that, the three debates have reminded us that although the election is about which party gets into power, individuals do matter: not just the individual political leaders – but everyone; all of us: each individual voter – and not just at the moment when we vote: each one of us has a role to play in tackling the problems we face as a nation; and indeed, as human beings on this planet. We may feel powerless – and yes, so much power does lie in the hands of the government and the banks, who share responsibility for the mess we’re in. But what each one of us does – or fails to do – can make a difference.
In the Talmud, the compendium of rabbinic law and wisdom, edited fifteen hundred years ago, there is an important teaching for all of us as we prepare to vote next Thursday:
[Rabbi Eleazar son of Rabbi Shimon said:]
Because the world is judged by the majority of its people and an individual is judged by the majority of their deeds, happy the person who does a good deed that may tip the scale for themselves and for the world. (Kiddushin 40b)