[Below is a portion of my November 13, 2016 sermon, the Sunday after the election of Donald Trump. I offer it again on this day after his inauguration as a way to help our country move forward together, especially for people of faith.]
Many
of us continue to feel the highs and the lows of the recent presidential
election. Regardless of who we supported with our vote, this election cycle has
led us through many twists and turns throughout the very long campaign. It has
been a roller coaster ride like no other.
In
many ways, our presidential election process has felt like a country music
song, that has taken us all on quite an adventure that has included many
surprising detours and an election result that has left people from both of our
political parties speechless.
In
light of this past week’s election, there are many people which includes half
the country who are very hopeful for the future. They see our next president as
someone who will make needed changes in our country that our present elected
officials have not been able to accomplish.
At
the same time, the other half of the voters in our country, while trying to
have an open mind, are very worried, fearful, and concerned about how this
change in the oval office will impact the lives of immigrants, minorities, and
the LGBT community. These fears are very real and concern many of us greatly.
How
do we move forward as a country? No matter who we voted for this week, this is
a question all of us have been asking these last few days.
As
your pastor, I want to offer some thoughts on how we as a people of faith can
move forward and find unity. I pray that these will be helpful to you.
PRAY!
The
first thing is to pray. Pray for President Obama who is our president now, and
pray for our next president, Donald Trump as he prepares to take office. The
scriptures are pretty clear that we are to pray for those who are in positions
of authority. So the first thing is for us to continue to pray that their
leadership will ensure freedom and justice for all.
SEEK UNITY!
The
second thing we need to do, and this is the challenge for those of us who may
not have voted for Donald Trump. We need to come together as a country and work
toward unity while at the same time, be faithful to our beliefs and core values
about what is right, what is wrong, and what is unjust. Holding our elected
leaders accountable and working toward unity as a country are not mutually
exclusive things.
REMEMBER, WE ARE CITIZENS OF GOD'S KINGDOM!
Here’s the third thing. As people of faith, let’s remember that as
followers of Christ, we are first and foremost, citizens of God’s kingdom. And
this means that we recognize Jesus Christ to be the true Ruler, Savior, and
Just Judge over all creation.
LISTEN TO EACH OTHER!
And
then this fourth thing which came to me 9 o’clock last night. God just hit me
with this out of the blue. The fourth thing is for us to actually listen to
each other’s hopes, joys, fears, and pain. And I’m not just talking about
listening to the people who agree with us, but especially with the people who
think differently than the way we do.
This
is hard stuff, because it means that maybe I should do less talking and more
listening. And you know what? Confession time. I personally really stink at
that. That’s why I think God gave this to me at 9 o’clock last night! A wise
friend once told me to do these three things. Listen. Listen. Listen. I forget
these all the time! What are the three things again?
I
don’t offer this as an easy answer in how we move forward as a country. I offer
these thoughts to remind us that no matter how many twists and turns our
country has faced over this past election cycle, not to mention the twists and
turns that remain for us as a country in the future, this presidential
transition is not something that God can’t handle.
God’s
got this. God’s got this because God has always been faithful.
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