Perhaps you would think of the TV singing competition, which aims to find unsigned singing talent. Or maybe you would think of John Farnham’s song, which encourages us to speak up and make things better, to write a new page in history. Or maybe when you hear the words ‘the Voice’ you think of the upcoming referendum to the Australian Parliament. The options are to vote Yes for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament or to vote No. Each of us must decide on the future we wish for our country.
This referendum should not be viewed primarily as a political contest but an issue of morality and theology. So, how should a Christian vote?
I suspect that Christians will vote both ways for the referendum. Each of us is formed by our stories, our families and our heritage. We carry understandings ingrained from our upbringing, but with new insights we sometimes choose a different way of thinking from our past. Let’s consider some Biblical understandings.
In the New Testament, Jesus shows love and compassion for the oppressed and those in need of healing. He encourages us to love the Lord God first, but then to love others as we love ourselves. He looked at the world through the eyes of those given no place in society. The Apostle Paul writes that we are all equal in Christ, no matter our sexuality, religion, or race, and that the Christian ministry is one of reconciliation.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament is a means of recognising the First Peoples of this land in our constitution and taking a first step in reconciliation. The First Peoples are the most incarcerated people on our planet while not being innately criminal people. Their children are alienated from their families at unprecedented rates, and youth languish in detention in obscene numbers. This is wrong. This is not just. What we have done in the past has not worked. We need a new way of living and working with our First Peoples. Like Jesus, we are called to be bearers of justice, not just in our words, but in our actions. We need to change systems that continue to deny the place and rights of First Australians. We are called to solidarity and justice that places us alongside those who struggle. This is within the mission of God.
The Voice to Parliament came out of ‘The Uluru Statement from the Heart’ and is a call to constitutional reform. The Voice is to recognise and honour First Peoples so that all Australians can walk together as a nation towards a better future.
Christians may well vary in their voting at the referendum, but the hope is that each of us considers the ways of Jesus. Let us do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God.
Rev Michele Lees,
Minister, the Echuca Moama Uniting Church.
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