An Open Letter to The Church - Post Election

I sent this letter to my congregation, but it could easily go to the whole Church...

Election 2008 has finally come to an end. For those of us who have been suffering from election fatigue these past few weeks, it's a welcome relief, to tell you the truth.

But now, after months and months of being made aware of all the ways Americans seem to be divided, we will begin to hear (and quite rightly) that we must come together. In president-elect Obama's victory speech last night he spoke directly to this when he quoted Abraham Lincoln, who also presided over a divided nation. "We are not enemies but friends," Lincoln said after the Civil War, "though passion may have strained...it must not break our bonds of affection." These are fine words. We can't escape the sense of history in that they were spoken by an African-American who has been elected President of the United States in Lincoln's home state, and in Chicago, the very city where Lincoln won the nomination for President. They are fine words, and historic. But the road to unity is going to be difficult, and there are many among us who are anxious and fearful of what lies ahead.

As the Church, the Body of Christ, we need to lead the way in the healing that must begin after such a long and contentious political season. How can we do this? We can first recognize that as the Church we are called to "unity in diversity," through the power of the Spirit of Christ in us and all around us. The Body of Christ is diverse. There are people in our own church---the First Presbyterian Church of Eustis---who probably voted for different candidates. There are members and friends of our congregation who gather together each Sunday for worship, sing together in the choir and serve side by side in mission and ministry, who may not agree at all when it comes to politics. I know that today I am the pastor of a church where some of my flock are rejoicing over the victory of president-elect Barack Obama, and some are not.

But the Body of Christ is also unified. Paul referred to this in Galatians when he wrote, "There is no longer any Jew nor Greek, male nor female, slave nor free, for all are made one in Christ." In Philippians Paul exhorted the early church to be "One in spirit and in purpose." The culture that Paul was speaking into was no different from our own in that it sought to divide people by race, background, political leanings, faith, gender, and so much more. But though the world will try to divide us, and cause us to strive against one another on the world's terms, as Christians we are called to One-ness. I use the word "One-ness" because we are drawn together by the One who gave everything so that we might have life, and "life more abundantly."

I have many Christian friends all over the country who are despondent today. Many of them have expressed their anxiety over an Obama presidency in fairly apocalyptic terms---end of the world kind of language. I have other Christian friends who are unbelievably excited and hopeful---triumphant, if you will---that a new day has dawned. I am quick to remind them all that four years ago, the tables were turned. Those who are rejoicing today were predicting the end of civilization then, and those who are despondent today were on top of the world. As Christians we need to understand that if our outlook of the future is determined by the outcome of an election, and not by the hope we say we have in Jesus Christ----then our priorities need adjusting.

To that end---and this is the second way the Church can lead in healing division---we need to look to what unifies us as brothers and sisters in Christ, and live into that hope on a daily basis. What the world needs to see from the Church is not angry rhetoric or bitterness and fear. The world does not need to see a Church divided by politics, but united in the love of Christ and for the purpose of being salt and light. Jesus prayed that his disciples would live out this hope and that they would be a witness,
"My prayer is not for [my disciples] alone," Jesus prayed in John 17. "I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one. Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one. In them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unit to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."

And so, my beloved congregation...
If you are filled with joy at the outcome of the election, remember the very words that president-elect Obama used last night to frame his victory. He said that he saw the victory as a challenge to show the kind of "humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress." Your joy today should bring with it a measure of humility and grace, and a sense of duty to heal wounds, find common ground and point to Christ in all that you do.

If you are filled with anxiety and dread on this day, be at peace. We serve a risen Savior, who is at work in and among us in the world. We believe in a Sovereign God, who sets up kings and kingdoms and takes them down. We are heirs of a hope that is not found in politicians nor the outcome of elections. Live into that hope in a spirit of unity with your brothers and sisters in Christ who perhaps voted differently than you did yesterday, and above all show love and demonstrate the kind of grace that you yourselves have been given.

You are loved and prayed for daily.

Counting it all Joy, 

Leon