Where Do We Go From Here?

Galatians 3:26-29

The election is over, and some people are ecstatic, and some fear for the future of our democracy. As with any election, there are winners and losers. This day brings many of us conflicting emotions. As we celebrate our right to vote and the opportunity to have a democracy in our great nation, we also understand that there is a lot of division and sometimes hatred that rears its ugly head during this time. How do we manage this as loving people?

The good news is that we don’t have to choose hatred. When I get concerned about our country and try to find my way of loving others like Jesus, and St. Francis did, I remember something that gives me great peace: God is more significant than anything.

In this election year, we have constantly heard mean, nasty, and degrading speeches as part of the debates, rallies, and primary election ads. We have heard:

• Women are human incubators denying them decisions about their bodies,

• Personal religious beliefs are slandered

• A whole segment of society is prevented from having recognized loving relationships

• Blatant slander of immigrants, people of color and women

• Revenge and elimination of anyone who disagrees with them

• Code words denigrating and demeaning anyone who is not like them.

I have never heard such language and disrespect for others in my seventy-some years. For a country that professes to be a ‘Christian’ nation, what I see is about as far away from acting in the way Jesus taught as you could get. It makes me ashamed – and appalled that those who truly follow Jesus’ teachings were so silent or had made capitulation against their beliefs to achieve political power.

Aren’t we sending a message to those non-religious or unchurched a message that we ‘Christians’ are hypocrites at the highest level?

And in my humble opinion, at the root of all this . . . what is the unspoken issue . . . what no one wants to say it is

RACISM,

SEXISM,

CLASSISM,

PATRIARCHY

And BIGOTRY!

Those people who are fundamentally opposed to an African Asian woman president used codes to incite their followers. As we have seen, this can lead to insurrection and assault on the fundamentals of our government.

As followers of Jesus, it is our responsibility to extend a hand in search of a united country that will continue to uphold the principles of democracy. The world is watching us, unsure about their future security and stability.

As we heard in the Scripture, Jesus taught that no one is better than another. This teaching was revolutionary at the time because society was based on ‘haves and have-nots’: those who were like the masses and those who were not. There were distinct class differences: the upper class did not associate with people with low incomes, servants unacknowledged by their masters, and people with illnesses or disabilities abandoned on the streets.

Jesus’ proclamation that we are all equal in God’s eyes upset all the cultural boundaries of the day—and still do today.

But He repeatedly said that we are all one – equal in the eyes of God. That means that each one of us, no matter whether.

Upper class, middle class, or poor

Homeless or housed

Healthy or disabled

Educated or uneducated

People of color or white

Citizens or immigrants

Straight or gay

Are equal in the eyes of God. . . are to be loved and respected as each of our brothers and sisters.

Did everyone forget the Golden Rule:

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you? (Matthew 7:12)

And I have to say that as much as we see all this in the public arena, I have also seen it in our community and churches. Lately, there has been an undercurrent that disturbs me – people are taking snipes at each other and making racial and sexual slurs.

I will tell you that this is NOT the place for that. This is a house of God—where everyone is equal. We should not and will not allow it to continue as a community!

We all have our good points and the not-so-good sides of our personalities. At any time, we may be having a difficult day, but that is NOT an excuse for treating our fellow brothers and sisters with disrespect. There is no place for any ‘–ism’ (racism, sexism, classism) in this place. . . or in God’s kingdom!

When we are hurt, we want to pull back, but the one who hurts us is often too powerful, so a safe substitute is found. We find someone we tell ourselves is lesser than us and blame everything on them. So many riots and wars have been fueled by this anger and bigotry. In a depressed economy, more people are jockeying for a position in society, which can cause one group to denigrate and defile others if not recognized and purposely controlled. It may be subtle, using code words so only those who feel that same way understand the ‘–ism.’ Or it may be pronounced and blatant.