The Veto Is a Stone, Not Bread

I was in the temple courts once, watching a widow put two small coins into the treasury. Rich men were making a show of their gifts, but she gave all she had. No one noticed her. The powerful were busy arguing about seats and titles. It is the same today. The news from Washington is that President Trump told reporters on the South Lawn Friday that if Democrats win Congress in next month’s midterms, “I veto everything.” He said Democrats would then come to make a deal. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries says Democrats are “on the verge” of winning the House. The story is about power and threats. But I keep thinking of the widow.

When a man says he will veto everything, he is not talking about the rich and the comfortable. They will be fine. He is talking about the soldier’s family waiting on a pay raise, the farmer hoping for a disaster loan after the hail, the mother in public housing who needs the housing bill renewed, the veteran waiting for a new clinic. These are the people who do not fly to Washington to lobby. They do not have a super PAC. They are the widow with two coins, and they are the ones who will be overlooked while the powerful play their game of thrones.

I have seen this before. In my time, the Sanhedrin would argue over ritual purity while the tax collector took the last of a family’s grain. The Roman prefect would threaten to withhold funds from the temple to get his way, and the people would starve in the streets. Power that says “I will shut everything down” is not strength; it is a stone offered when your neighbor asks for bread. And stones do not feed anyone.

Now, I am not a partisan. I have no party. But I know what a kingdom looks like when it is run for the sake of the powerful. It is a kingdom where the least are forgotten. And I know what a republic looks like when it is run for the sake of the least. It is a place where the widow’s coin matters. This country has a Constitution and a system of checks and balances. That is a gift. But a gift can be squandered. When leaders threaten to shut down the government because they might lose an election, they are treating the needs of the people as bargaining chips. That is not how a shepherd treats his sheep.

What would I say to the president? I would say: You have been given much. You have a voice that many listen to. Use it to feed the hungry, not to threaten the ones who already have little. And what would I say to the Democrats? The same. Do not make the widow’s coin a political football. Do not promise everything and deliver nothing. The people are watching, and they are not fools.

What would Pilate say? He would shrug and say, “Vetoes are the way of the world.” Herod would say, “Let them eat slogans.” And Judas would say, “I can get you a deal.” But the people—the ones who are overlooked—they are the ones who will remember. They will remember who fed them and who played games.

So here is a small parable. A man had two sons. He told the first, “Go work in the vineyard today.” The son said, “I will not,” but later he went. The second said, “I go, sir,” but did not go. Which did the will of the father? Not the one who made the grand promise. The one who showed up. That is what the American people are asking for. Not threats. Not vetoes. Just showing up and doing the work.

When you cast your vote, do not look at the loudest voice. Look at the widow. Look at the soldier’s family. Look at the child in the public school. They are the ones who will bear the cost of a shutdown. And they are the ones who will remember.

“Whatever you did for one of the least of these, you did for me.”

The story: Washington Examiner — Trump threatens to veto 'everything' if Democrats win Congress