On the day after this past week’s election, I spent the day sitting with people who were experiencing some big feelings. Not all of these big feelings were about the election results, mind you, but many of them were.
I know that plenty of people were quite pleased with the election’s outcome, but I also know that plenty of others were not.
It’s my calling to be a pastor to both sets of people.
A friend of mine named Chris Henry, who is a Presbyterian pastor in Indiana, said it a lot better than I could on Wednesday:
I’ve spent most of the day in community with good and faithful people, the kind of people who show up for each other and make space for honest reflection without rushing to solve or answer.
What I’ve experienced is the tender vulnerability that is possible in these kinds of communities, a graceful willingness to be present and to let that presence speak beyond words.
That’s good, because words have not come easily.
What I do know is this.
Those of us who claim and are claimed by faith have a burden of responsibility.
We are charged to be witnesses to truth grounded and embodied in the love of God.
This charge must transcend all other loyalties and labels.
If our faith does not make us more loving than we would otherwise be, we should spend some time in honest soul-searching.
If we are able to excuse the demonization of others in service of some other objective, we should examine our hearts.
If the message we preach fits neatly into the box of some narrow-minded cause, we should prayerfully consider our call to God’s kingdom and not our own.
Our work remains the same. No one else will do it for us.
This is what I will do.
I will preach the gospel, leaning on its transformative power when mine is insufficient.
I will denounce rhetoric or action that denies the image of the sacred in any person.
I will invest my time and energy in that which builds up and does not tear down.
I will teach my own sons, as well as all entrusted to my care as pastor or coach, that compassion is not weakness but strength; that morality matters and no success is worth the betrayal of our values.
I will seek to provide spiritual leadership that privileges moral clarity, integrity, and courage.
We have choices to make.
In time, we come to resemble that which we worship.
We should, therefore, be very intentional about where we direct our devotion.
There will be no ultimate gain if we forfeit our soul in self-centered pursuits or the adoration of idols.
I remain convinced that God is with us and that God has work for us to do.
I, too, remain convinced that God is with us and that God does, indeed, have work for us to do. May we commit to working together. . .
See you in church!
Grace and Peace,
John
Prepare for Worship
This Week: “Grace in a Moment – Grace and Gratitude – Week 5”
- Read Mark 12:38-44
- Read James 1:17-27
- Read or sing Hymn # 822 – “When We Are Living“