Dear Friends,
If you’re not in absolute seclusion, you are aware of the great tide of emotion surrounding Tuesday’s election of our next President. Grief, jubilation, fear, smugness, and a host of other responses fill our FaceBook pages, our emails, and even our news outlets. Protests erupted last night in major cities across the country. As I watched former Secretary of State Clinton’s concession speech yesterday with our office staff, and later a replay of President Obama’s statement, I was relieved to hear calls for calm and cooperation during this transition of authority. Perspective. Grace.
Perspective and grace are also abundant in our readings for this Sunday. Jesus asks us to remember always the bigger picture. Governments, nations, people, and events will come and go. They are not unimportant, certainly, but they are transitory. God’s New Kingdom is not. We can continue the work Jesus entrusted to us whether the election has left us grieved, exhilarated, or somewhere between on the strength of God’s promise of the “new heavens and a new earth” to come.
Wishing you every blessing,
Mtr. TJ
[Photo caption: “For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind . . . The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox . . .” (Isaiah 65:17-18, 25)]