This is the week that churches would normally have special ecumenical celebrations,  mutual prayer services, or even exchange preachers (my congregation might welcome that)! We recall Jesus’s “high priestly prayer” in John 13-17, otherwise known as “the long farewell” to his disciples on Maundy Thursday. Especially in 17:21 that “they may be one…so that the world may believe.” Coming together to pray for unity. How timely, at this moment in our nation’s history! Tomorrow we will inaugurate a new President, much to the consternation of a large number of our citizenry. That in and of itself is nothing new; we have had many close elections just in our lifetimes. What we have not seen for a long time is this degree of rancor, vitriol, and division. The turbulent ‘60’s and ‘70’s lurched us forward to present time. It is so bad that many feel we are headed toward, or already in, a state of civil war. Hard to argue that. Our country pauses, we pray, this week to lift our hearts and souls to God in repentance. We recall that in Old Testament times God’s people were led in and out of exile, both physical and spiritual. It all pointed to, led to, the coming of the Promised One, who ushered in the kingdom of God in word and flesh. Let us embrace our diversity, pierce through the hostility and malaise, with the saving grace of Jesus! Push into a closet, then slam the door on negativity! Celebrate what is good in us!

 I tread the battlefield of blue and red, church and state, praying that God would give me His prophetic word. Sometimes I fear I tread too lightly, when decisive, convicted speech is called for. In the depths of our Christian hearts, I believe that we do not intentionally try to offend our neighbor. Now provoking or as the late Senator John Lewis said “getting into good trouble” has a time and place. We are restless, even anxious. That’s okay. But in the spirit of love that was (and still is) the civil rights movement, we must do so non-violently. That includes our words, that often become too personal. We can channel and direct our anxiety and unease through our prayers for Christian unity. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ prayed and died for it. His unending, unconditional love, seals it for us. Share that, confess it, believe it! Our country, our church needs you! God will provide, as He already has, the ability to be His holy people, with the ability to facilitate change, according to His will and good purposes for us.

Pastor Art