This past Sunday, we heard the good news that we don’t have to be stuck in inaction until we have it all figured out, because it’s Jesus that is making us into peacemakers. He’s teaching, forming, and equipping us so that we can work for peace in the situations and relationships we encounter.
This good news is timely for us as we move through the final several weeks of this presidential election cycle and, to be honest, I wish I had put a finer point on that in the sermon this past Sunday. The questions of whether to vote or how to vote are constantly being asked. Beyond that, a lot of folks, in our community and across the country, are experiencing a good deal of anxiety about this election and the potential aftermath of it. Much of this anxiety is rooted in reality and cannot — and should not — be simply brushed away or spiritually bypassed.
To those of you who are feeling this weight heavily, I see you. We have been in what feels like a constant firestorm of political rhetoric, violence, and even familial fracture for almost ten years and many are rightfully asking what we as Christians are to do — in this election or if our worst fears about it are realized.
In answer to those questions I want to encourage you by restating the good news from this past Sunday. As Christians, we are called to make peace. Not to preserve our inner peace or “preserve peace” by not talking about hard things, but to work to enact peace that has concrete consequences. So on whether or not, or how to, vote — do what you believe has the best opportunity to make peace. On what to do if your worst fears come true after the election, work to make peace.
Making peace is hard work and it rarely is straightforward, but, beloved, Jesus is giving you what you need to join in his peacemaking work in the situations you face.
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord this week,
Spencer+
