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Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
-- Matthew 5:6
Beloved of God:
The presidential election has been held and our nation elected a new administration. There are those who are rejoicing. There are those who are devastated. This is true within our congregations and our communities and evidences a very different interpretation of the candidates and what is best for our country. The chasm between these two interpretations may be as wide as we have experienced in recent memory. Such circumstances can lead to suspicion, resentment and perhaps even hostility toward one another. As we live into the days ahead, may we be mindful of these varied perspectives and maintain respect for one another’s worldview. And, may we repent of our failure to listen to one another and understand one another more fully.
While our approach to the election may be different, for Christ-followers there is one thing that remains consistent and is sacrosanct: our baptismal covenant. Through the waters of baptism, we renounce sin and make a profession of faith. We renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of this world and repent of sin. We accept the freedoms and power God gives us to resist evil, injustice and oppression, in whatever forms they present themselves. We confess Jesus Christ as our Savior, put our whole trust in his grace, and promise to serve him as Lord of our lives. Finally, we commit to doing this in union with Christ’s Church, which is open to all ages, nations and races. This regenerated identity in Christ supersedes all other identities, affiliations, affinities, or memberships. At this time in our nation’s history, and always, the waters of baptism must run deeper than the waters of our secular identities.
As United Methodists and those who are baptized, we are called to live out our faith in communities – not as partisans, but as those baptized into the image and likeness of Jesus Christ – building beloved community and creating God’s kin-dom. This new life compels us to live the prophetic mandate of working for justice, loving mercifully and walking in humility with God. It requires that we treat others as we want to be treated. We are called to love our neighbors as ourselves and to understand that we are, in fact, our brother’s and sister’s keeper. We have pledged that we stand in solidarity with Christ as he announces the purpose and promise of his ministry: to bring good news to the poor, release to the captives, sight to the blind and free those who are oppressed. This is our sacred task, and it supersedes all others.
Further, as United Methodists, we have, through our Social Principles, affirmed that while we embrace diversity as a precious gift and understand the challenges it can create, we are called to a disciplined discipleship “to do no harm, do good, and follow the ordinances of God.” We reject any governmental use of threats and other forms of coercion and hold government officials accountable to use their power in service to the common good. This includes the responsibility to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America and the rights, protections, liberties and freedoms it affords to all its citizens. This is our duty as citizens and it supersedes all other agendas or enticements.
Wherever you stand on the outcome of this election, there are those in our churches, communities, and country who feel threatened, targeted, rejected and vulnerable. This includes the poor, immigrants, migrants, LGBTQIA+ people, women, and communities of color. To love them as neighbors is to see their pain, acknowledge their grief and stand in solidarity with them against evil, oppression or tyranny. God holds each of us in a beloved, healing and empowering embrace, including those who feel righteous indignation and anguish. May we know with certainty that God is with us.
So beloved, today we remember who and whose we are. Today we pray for the President-elect, Donald Trump, and his administration. Today we recommit ourselves to our baptismal covenant. Today we stand in solidarity with one another as the family of God. Today we seek grace. Today we yearn for justice, but we must also be willing to take a moment to grieve with those who wail at our unrealized possibilities. Let us always remember that God is present.
Lord, let us hold fast to our hope that remains rooted in the resurrected Christ. Let us live as children of light. Let us embody the high calling of our faith and be willing to act as the hands and feet of Jesus, the Christ, knowing that blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
In Christ’s love,
Bishop LaTrelle Miller Easterling
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