This reflection is also available as a podcast on Spotify.
It’s easy to get stuck thinking about all the negativity during a bitter election cycle. Or, perhaps our brains get busy anticipating all that might go wrong if one thing happens or another. Yet if you take some time to meditate and give thanks for what is going well in your life or the many blessings around you no matter how small, you might just find some peace along with better clarity.
When so many people tell you that the world’s about to end, civil war is imminent, the (fill in the blank) party will destroy our nation, or “it’s us versus them,” that’s the thinking of the world. Try to remember that Jesus said you will always belong to him when you believe (trust) in him. No earthly events can ever change that promise. You can act (and vote!) in loving faith rather than in response to any fear.
We are called as Christians to love our neighbors, even enemies. Try to show others grace, patience, forgiveness, and kindness on social media and in real life, even if you disagree with them or they turn on you. All things will somehow work for the good of those who love God (see Romans 8 ) including whatever happens in the US during this election cycle – even if times grow hard. Kingdoms will rise and fall in this world, but we are called to always reflect Christ, because we belong to him forever.
So, even our vote should reflect our love of God and neighbor. Our Lutheran faith particularly places emphasis on this. Recall that on 4 November 1520, Martin Luther published “On the Freedom of a Christian” to describe how God’s love is both a radical gift and a call to service. (The treatise is sometimes called “A Treatise on Christian Liberty.”) Specifically, the treatise introduces the concept that as fully forgiven children of God, Christians are no longer compelled to keep God’s law to obtain salvation. However, Christians freely and willingly are to serve God and their neighbors. We are subject to none, but called to be servants to all.
Where as God calls us to care for our neighbors and actively shape a just and compassionate society, as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America points out, civic engagement, including voting and public service, is a meaningful way to live out our faith in the public sphere. Therefore, voting responsibly and faithfully becomes part of our Christian call. Representing Christ’s Church, we are to engage in the political process with integrity, advocating for justice, peace, and the common good. Consider the issues soberly and pray for the Spirit’s guidance before you vote. Approach opponents with respect for their humanity. In losing or winning, we are meant to be gracious, trusting in the Lord, reflecting our faith in Jesus – especially in how we engage those in opposition. Rather than giving into the power of anxiety or anger, we can remember Jesus who always helps and cares for us.
Please join in this prayer for the election shared by Bishop Phyllis Milton, Bishop of the Virginia Synod:
Lord of all, you have declared what is right: to seek justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with you. Help us to participate in wise decisions for our common life that we may serve our neighbors. We pray for the volunteers who share their time and experience to assist us in the election process. Give us grace to live in unity and peace. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, our sovereign and our Savior. Amen.
Another prayer I mentioned on social media that many indicated they thought helpful is the tried and true Serenity Prayer in its long version. This prayer composed in the 1930s is helpful on all days, including Election Day. The person who composed the prayer, Reinhold Niebuhr, was one of America’s leading theologians and ethicists for several decades of the 20th century. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964. Thought of as a “public theologian,” he wrote and spoke frequently about the intersection of religion, politics, and public policy. A short version of the prayer (the first sentence with three sections) has become popular among 12 step communities as well. You can pray along with me and others using these words:
God grant me the Serenity
To accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And the Wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time.
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is,
Not as I would like it.
Trusting that he will make all things right,
If I surrender to his will.
That I may be reasonably happy in this world
And supremely happy in the next.
Although many other prayers suitable for this election cycle and presidential transition exist, last for this essay is a prayer an Episcopal priest friend shared on his Facebook page. The prayer was written in 1882, and he reports that it was actually suggested to become the Thanksgiving Day prayer of the day for Episcopalians in 1892. It has been part of the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church since the 1928 edition. I think it encompasses many of the shared concerns of reasonable people on the left or the right politically. It seems to reflect well the sentiments I have shared recently in preaching, teaching, as well as this essay:
Almighty God, who hast given us this good land for our heritage: We humbly beseech thee that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of thy favor and glad to do thy will. Bless our land with honorable industry, sound learning, and pure manners. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion; from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way. Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people the multitudes brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues. Endue with the spirit of wisdom those to whom in thy Name we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that, through obedience to thy law, we may show forth thy praise among the nations of the earth. In the time of prosperity, fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble, suffer not our trust in thee to fail; all which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
In closing, I share a quote from Abraham Lincoln. As the tumult of the Civil War approached, Lincoln shared these words which still hold true today: “Let us at all times remember that all American citizens are brothers of a common country, and should dwell together in the bonds of fraternal feeling.” This is difficult. Historically, we have failed as a nation many times before. Yet, for those with faith, it remains always possible. We can serve as a catalyst for unity, rather than division.
As Saint Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5, “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.”
Think about these things. Pray these things. Hope in these things. You might not see any noticeable change in others, but it matters. If nothing else, this attitude of faithful positivity in the face of so much evil and angst has the power to change us. In that way, it certainly changes our world for the better.
Parts of this reflection originally were published in the November 5, 2024 weekly newsletter, the Hub, of Christ Lutheran Church, Fredericksburg, VA as well as Facebook posts that I shared. The Book of Common prayer paragraph is thanks to a friend who wished to remain anonymous.
© 2024 The Rev. Louis Florio. All content not held under another’s copyright may not be used without permission of the author.
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