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Just like a lot of others, I’m glad the election is over.  I’m also glad that the Democrats won as overwhelmingly as they did—but not just for the reasons you might think!  I find it encouraging for a lot of reasons.  First, I feel that because a lot of the races were not close there will be less partisanship and polarization, compared to an almost evenly divided country.  I feel like a lot of the political rhetoric the last few years has been driven by a harmful “all-or-nothing” mentality.  Because the country has been so evenly divided—especially over culture war issues—it seemed to me that each side would “fight like hell” and demonize the other to get just one more person on their side, as opposed to seeking solutions that are common to everyone.  In other words, to make a comparison, I feel like this election has created a different atmosphere than the one that resulted in Jan. 6, 2021 (which was horrible in my mind).  My hope is that with such an overwhelming result for one side everything won’t be SO politically charged (I also blame the media for a lot of that).

            Meanwhile, the Holy Spirit is not idle.  I know for some that might seem hard to believe, but if there’s one thing God demands of us is that we wait.  And so the question then becomes, “Are you ready?”  It really is that simple.  This Sunday, Jesus tells a parable about 10 bridesmaids (Matthew 25:1-13) waiting for the Groom who is delayed.  He shows up at midnight!  Five have extra oil for their lamps, the other five don’t.  Five go in to the party, the other five go looking for extra oil and are left out.  It’s not their fault the Groom was delayed, but oh well.  Are you ready? 

            What does it mean to be ready??  THAT’s a hard question to answer because it is such a BIG question.  And there are a lot of different responses to it.  Has American politics grabbed our attention to the point where we aren’t attentive to the Groom’s arrival, to what the Holy Spirit is doing now in our midst?  That question can be answered a lot of different ways too.  Speaking personally, I am glad and hopeful that “politics” won’t be so consuming of our attention, and we can get back to making our selves “ready,” keeping awake, and waiting…

Peace,

Pr. Christian