Election Day

Happy Election Day! As we celebrate our democracy in action, I know that it also brings up fears and insecurities about the state and direction of our country.  We have grown more polarized as a nation, and we have also become more fearful of one another. This polarity often creates an inability to be community. It is in these moments that we as Anglicans can look at our polarized history and know the reconciling power of our God is more powerful than the forces that separate us.

When the polls close and the votes are tallied, there will be a group that celebrates and one that mourns. In the moment it might seem like it is the most important thing in our world. I want to caution you to not let the magnitude of today or the days that follow knock you off center. Our center is the God of love. The church is the place that we come to reorient ourselves to God and the hope that comes through his saving acts.

No matter how big the decisions that are made this week, the mission of the church will not be changed.  We are called to come together and be a beacon of love and hope to a broken and hurting world.  We are the ones who will love our neighbors, even if they are political enemies. When Jesus walked the earth people debated about which of the six hundred and thirteen commandments were the most important.  Jesus looked at them and simplified it all saying, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind…And love your neighbor as yourself.” Let us point one another back towards God and God’s mission while we walk through these next few days and weeks.

I invite you to this Wednesday’s healing service as we talk about and pray over the wounds our country is healing from and reorient ourselves to our loving and compassionate God.

Matt+