Sermon for Sunday, November 13, 2016
26th Sunday after Pentecost - Luke 21:5-19
It was a long and drawn out contest. Both sides worked extremely hard to come out on top. At times, it felt like the outcome was inevitable or even pre-ordained at least that narrative played into what many people wanted to hear. I’ll admit it played into what I wanted to hear. The media didn’t help things at all. They continued to tell the stories that accentuated the rivalry, that hyped the differences or challenged the deservedness of the potential victor. They profited in viewership and clicks by digging up old histories, some celebrated, some shameful. Just before it was over, it felt like the whole world was on the edge of their seats. And I was too.
Like many, I watched the final hours of this seemingly endless contest wind down on television, taking comfort that, at some point and hopefully very soon, it would all be over. And then it was. It was Wednesday, and I learned that there was a new champion. The Chicago Cubs had won the World Series! And, to be honest with you, it felt really good.
Oh, and this Wednesday, I woke up and we had elected a new President. And, as long as I’m being honest with you, it really didn’t feel that good. Yes, I had gone to bed the night before, anxious about what was unfolding, and I secretly hoped that what was playing out would somehow look very different in the morning. But when I woke up, it didn’t take long to confirm, we had elected a new President and it wasn’t the person that I had voted for.
This wasn’t the first time this had happened to me. I went back and added it up. In my Presidential election history, I have only voted for the winner 50% of the time. That doesn’t seem like a very good record.
With that kind of record, you would think that I would have handled my sense of disappointment a little better on Wednesday morning. But something was different. Right away, I turned to my social media feeds to check in on my friends to see how others were processing this revelation. I spent a good chunk of my waking hours on Wednesday, reading everyone’s reactions. This has continued in the days since and as much as I wanted this election to be over so that we could finally be done talking about it on November 9th, it seems like a whole new round of rhetoric is just beginning. As I’ve been processing all of this, I’ve decided to focus on two fundamental realities that all of us now face.
Reality #1: We have elected a new President.
Yep, I needed some time to let that sink in. It’s kind of obvious but this reality is built on some important facts. First, this reality was going to be true, regardless of the outcome. Duh. That was the whole point of all this effort. Like him or not, the current President’s time is coming to a close and we needed to determine who was going to take his place. Regardless of what happened on Nov. 8th, we were going to wake up to this reality: we have elected a NEW President.
Second, let’s remember what a privilege it is that we have had the opportunity to ‘ELECT’ a new President. There is something importantly life-giving embedded in the democratic system within which we are free to participate. Yes, our version of democracy isn’t perfect and those imperfections sometimes feel really hard to tolerate but I don’t think I could convince you that something other than democracy would be right for us.
Next, take note that we have elected a PRESIDENT. We have not installed a supreme ruler or coroneted a monarch. There is a limit to the President’s authority and capacity. And most importantly, there is a time limit to how long any one particular person gets to hold onto this power. Yes, I know many are worried of the potential damage that could be done in the next four or eight years but that shouldn’t stop us from keeping vigilant and holding all of our elected officials and those whom they appoint accountable to governing justly. This is a participatory democracy but that only works if you participate.
Finally, take note that this is something ‘WE’ have done. There are some who might be tempted or want to think, “I didn’t vote for him so, he’s not my President.” That’s just not how it works. I might not have voted for him, but others in my community, my state and my country did. And the system is designed so that we’re all pulled together into this process. This is the one election where what people in Minnesota and Michigan and Maine and Montana and all the other states, whether they start with M or not, get to decide together how this will go. This country, in it’s collective, with all of its diversity, elected this President. I’d much rather be in this together then try to go it alone. History has taught us we are capable of great things when we come together and I refuse to believe otherwise. I also know that I am called to be a pastor for the whole of the church, not just those who think like me. If you woke up happy on Wednesday, then I am willing to celebrate your excitement. If you’re willing to acknowledge my anxieties, I very much look forward to walking along side you as we tackle the many huge challenges that still face our nation.
So this is the first reality that we need to let sink in: we have elected a new President. But there is another reality that we need to hold up as well.
Reality #2: We have the same God.
Just like I needed some time to let that first reality sink in, I also needed to be reminded of this second reality. As much as it felt like the world was a very different place on November 9th, in one very important way, it was very much the same: God is still God. Let’s take a moment to unpack the truths of this reality as well.
First, even faithful people need to be reminded that there is nothing more important, nothing more life giving, nothing more capable of salvation than the love of God. If we think that the results of this Presidential election, regardless of its outcome, could somehow outperform the love of God, then we should spend some time exploring where our faith is rooted. To be clear, I believe that God’s love is primarily experienced through creation, especially in our relationships with each other. So the people of this election, those who voted for the other guy or gal, those who didn’t at all, those who were elected and those who weren’t, those who still hold office and those who have and never will hold office, it’s through these people, that God will work and deliver on God’s promises. This is what faithful people will believe.
Next, this election has not changed one single thing about God’s priorities. God is still focused on loving the world and the church is still the primary means by which this is accomplished. It’s important to note that God does maintain a preferential concern for those who are most in need of God’s love. This includes the sick, the poor, the hungry, the widow, the orphan, the refugee, the imprisoned. It also includes the abused, the pushed-aside, the addict, the forgotten, the lost. It includes the single mom, the struggling dad, the neglected child. And yes, it includes the person whose skin color is different than my own, whose gender identity is different than my own, who lives and loves differently than I do, who worships differently than I do.
As a church, it follows that our mission is to pick up these same priorities when we set about to do God’s work. If you think the outcome of this election calls any of this into question, then it is the church’s responsibility to remain a prophetic voice and to take action when necessary. Much of the rhetoric leading up to this election rightly questioned how each of the candidates would behave as president given all the inter-related complexities of the world. As a church, we are called to hold our elected officials accountable and I would suggest that we not be shy about speaking up when we see them acting counter to the truth of the Gospel. I suspect we will also continue to be called upon to fill in the need to care for the marginalized and all too easily forgotten if and when their concerns are pushed aside. We have always had this work to do and this does not change in the face of this election. This is our reality, we have the same God and we must continue to be the same church.
Finally, the world was created in its complete fullness and God called it ‘good.’ We are the ones that have carved up the world and its goodness by class, and race, and gender, and any number of other human-perceived divisions. But we have the same God. And we all belong to God, all of us, not just some of us. It’s only in our collective that we can experience the life-giving mercy of the Body of Christ. To think that political ideologies would somehow run counter to this truth is to discover just another way in which we are broken.
Perhaps this is the hardest piece to this reality for you today. I know it’s the one I’ve been struggling with the most. Before Wednesday, I held out hope that the flaws I saw in one candidate would be worse than the flaws others saw in mine. I was wrong. But to be clear, voting for someone is not necessarily an endorsement of their flaws, rather an act of hope connected to their qualifications. Why was this an election that focused on flaws and not on qualifications? I suppose the pundits will spend the coming weeks and months on this very point. Intellectually we understand being both sinners and saints but, apparently, it’s a lot more fun to focus on the sinner, much less so on the saint. I know we can do better and I’m certain the starting place is to remember that we are all equally flawed, just as we are equally forgiven. Thanks be to God.
So our realities remain: We have elected a new President but we have the same God.
If acknowledging reality #1 feels like the world is crumbling down around you, then today’s Gospel is for you. Similarly, if you feel vindicated or uplifted by or energized by reality #1, then today’s Gospel is for you.
Confronting his disciples with the very real prospect of the destruction of the temple and the persecution of the faithful, Jesus offers his counsel:
“I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict.” (Luke 21:15)
What are these words? What is this wisdom? “Not a hair on your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your souls.” (Luke 21:18-19)
But not just these words or this wisdom, Luke’s story compels us to consider the entirety of his account of the Good News of Jesus Christ. Look at the fullness of the story and discover that God’s love has no boundaries, no limits, no restrictions.
I also want to make a point, and this is extremely important, ‘your opponent’ is not the person or people who voted differently than you in this election, or in any election for that matter. Your opponent is the person who would act in such a way as to attempt to separate you from the most important reality of all. You are a beloved child of God and your life can be lived in the surety that God’s promise to love you will never be taken away.
You may have noticed this safety pin on my alb today. Perhaps you’ve seen others in the past few days starting to wear a safety pin too. This is not some subtle attempt to declare whom I voted for or didn’t vote for on Tuesday. This isn’t an act of swearing allegiance to an alternate version of the realities I’ve been talking about today. This is a declaration that I want to be someone ‘safe’ to talk to. It means I am willing to hear you out and will do my best to really listen to what you have to say. It means I will do everything in my power to share God’s love as I feel I’m called to do. It also means that when I see someone in need of an ally, I will do my best to step in and help. I think God has some pretty clear ideas on how the church will go about the task of loving the world and I think the responsibilities of wearing this safety pin will help make that possible.
I would invite you to grab a safety pin to wear today and in the days ahead. Wear it as a reminder to what God is calling you to do. Wear it as an invitation to others to share their stories with you. Wear it in recognition of all the deep listening that we need to do. Wear it as an announcement that you will stand with those who need you most.
Now you know a little more about me. You know whom I didn’t vote for last Tuesday. Maybe that’s something we have in common or maybe it’s something that makes us different. On the list of things that matter, that’s going to show up pretty close to the bottom, just like who won the World Series in 2016. Whether you cheered for the Cubs or voted for the other guy in this election, don’t even for a minute think that I don’t want to be on this journey with you.
I know I’ll be wrestling with the reality of our new President for some time to come but I am grateful that the same God who loves a flawed preacher like me, loves a flawed listener like you. Amen.
