What Next?

The Church is inherently political- don't stop reading! When I say political, I don't mean partisan, nor do I mean that the Church is wedded to the values of a democratic republic. We are not a political party, nor do we seek political power. But we are political.

The Church, at her finest, takes very seriously these words from James 1:27 "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." In other words, the Church recognizes that the Gospel is an inward (free from pollution) and outward (caring for those on the margins) reality.

The Gospel is a perfect wedding of spiritual reality (Read the Beatitudes in Matthew) and social relationships (Read the Beatitudes in Luke). The Gospel proclaims that there is a new Kingdom here and coming in its fullness. Kingdoms are political entities. We care about real people living in real situations, and so we are inevitably drawn to politics.

Last night, people were disappointed and elated across the United States. Some fell quickly into the melancholy of resentment and others catapulted into the jubilation of a victory lap. Others did both. Others went to bed. Everyone woke up this morning to find that the world is still in desperate need of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5).

So what next? These words are for those encouraged and those discouraged by the election: It's time for a new and broader imagination. Our job in the Church is not done at the election. It's never done. Our work will always be before us- Christ even told us that the poor would always be among us, even while Deuteronomy bears the bold command that there ought to be no one poor among us. That job still stands before us, and encourages us to a greater imagination than we have had.

Political partisanship has encouraged division which Christ has torn down in His crucified and risen body. It has limited our vision to "our guy winning" and generated either anger or apathy. We can do better. Let's take some time to catch our breath, to reconcile where reconciliation is needed, and be reminded of these words from Jesus: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all I have commanded you. And I will be with you, even to the ends of the earth."