Why Aren’t Nuclear Weapons a Key Issue in This Election?

This is a sermon delivered by the Rt. Reverend William E. Swing at Grace Cathedral, October 27, 2024

In ten days, we will elect a president of the United States. Among the myriad responsibilities that go with the office, none is of greater magnitude than the use of nuclear weapons. Either Kamala Harris or Donald Trump will, shortly, have the prerogative of starting a nuclear war, or not. Soon, one of their hands will be hovering over the button. And if by them or whim, accident or design, the silos open, the submarines launch, the airplanes release their weapons, and apocalyptic consequences will follow for the United States, for our enemies, for oceans and mountains, for the human species and all species, on our planet. Either candidate could, soon, start the bombing that could terminate 4 billion years of life on the planet Earth. Nothing, nothing is as crucial at this election time as to where Trump and Harris stand on the use of nuclear weapons.

But… in their one debate, the matter of nuclear weapons was mentioned once, in passing. As for us in the listening public, more was made of the lie about immigrants eating pets than the truth about which one of them gets to make the decision to wipe out life on Earth. Wipe out life on Earth, in the name of national security! Two blind candidates speaking to a blind audience. Sixty-seven million of us watched, and nobody cared about nuclear weapons. Then, no follow up articles about the presidential candidates and nuclear weapons, or editorials or sermons or any hint of concern about the presidential prerogative to use nuclear weapons first. First! Blind, blind, blind! Harris and Trump and all of us! Blind!

We come to Grace Cathedral today and hear a story about a blind man, Bartimaeus. He is special to me personally. Three summers ago, I was driving my car in San Francisco, and suddenly, I could not read streets signs or identify the red and green signals in the intersection. And…  I had to drive back home to San Mateo. Later, my eye doctor told me that in four weeks I would be legally blind. Let me tell you people, today’s story of blind Bartimaeus captures my imagination. And what a man, Bartimaeus!

He could see as a youngster.  But then he lost his sight as he got older. In those days, the only thing that Bartimaeus could do was to sit on the street each day and beg. He had to come to grips with his reality. But…  he didn’t give up, he didn’t give up his hope that he would one day see again.

Bartimaeus is like me and nuclear weapons. I am older than nuclear weapons. They were born in 1945, but I was born in 1936. I am 9 years older than nuclear weapons. And I still believe in a world without nuclear weapons because I actually saw that world with my own eyes. I lived in that world, a world without nuclear weapons. And now I believe that I will get my sight again, sight of nuclear free world. In this regard, now I am only a beggar on the side of the road. The entourage of power passes me by. But an outrageous hope lives in me, like it did in Bartimaeus. One day I will open my eyes and again see a world without nuclear weapons.

Keep in mind, that on that special day when Jesus was hurrying through the town of Jericho, Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem where he would be crucified. And he knew it. He didn’t want the disciples to break up his concentration. When blind Bartimaeus kept yelling and yelling for Jesus, the disciples told him to shut up. But Jesus heard Bartimaeus’ voice, and it stopped him cold.  The Bible says, “Jesus stood still.” I can picture Jesus, who was finished with so-called miracles, thinking ahead. What might be special about this blind man when Jesus was nailed to a cross? When the tomb was empty? When the power of resurrection was unleashed? What if a blind man saw it all? His name – Bartimaeus – would live on and on when other names had disappeared.

Here is what I think.  I think that Bartimaeus needed Jesus, and Jesus needed Bartimaeus. What Bartimaeus needed was his sight.  What Jesus needed was a certifiable blind man to witness what was about to happen 17 miles up the road in Jerusalem. No one sees like a blind man who sees through the eyes of faith.  The crucial question in Jericho was asked on the spot by Jesus who said to the blind man. “What do you want me to do for you.” “What do you want me to do for you?” Well, that works both ways. What did Jesus want Bartimaeus to do for him?

Please note that Jesus did not heal Bartimaeus. When Bartimaeus’ eyes were opened and he could see again, Jesus was quick to say, “It was your faith that healed you” – not me. “Your faith!” The role of Jesus was not to be a magical healer. It was to call out the most subterranean, primitive faith that lives and pulsates inside you. 

All right, congregation, what is it now – today -that you have faith in regarding nukes? Genuine, rock-solid faith heals and changes the situation. “It is your faith that healed you.” Okay, people, what is your faith regarding nuclear weapons?

Jesus was involved in about 30 miracles in his ministry, and most all of the people who were healed were anonymous. Names were not mentioned. But Bartimaeus’ name – Jesus’ last miracle – Bartimaeus’ name was conspicuously mentioned then and now. This morning in all Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Lutheran and Anglican churches, Bartimaeus is featured in the lesson. An audience of 1.5 billion people potentially! What if a billion and a half Christians all over the world answered the question, “What do you want regarding nukes?” What if they had faith in a nuclear free world. What if their eyes were opened? Jesus said, “You’ve got to heal yourself.” Your life will follow your faith.

Today, 10 days before the election, Jesus speaks to 1.5 billion Christians who are living under the aim of the nuclear warheads. He looks into our blind eyes and asks, “What do you want me to do for you?” Okay, do you have an answer or are you blind to the question? Do you have faith that Donald Trump and Kamala Harris will heal the world of the nuclear threat? Or is your faith going to be part of a whole different story? A healing story! For the ages?

The world is about to be crucified. Open your eyes. Get on the road. Walk with Bartimaeus. Amen.