On This Day

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven, for he makes the sun to rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those you love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others?  (Matthew 5:43-47)

Love of neighbor, stranger, foreigner, resident alien, and even enemy lies at the heart of the Christian life.  (And at the center of most of the world’s great faith traditions.) Love is the surest way to find God in the swirling confusion of our world and to follow Jesus, who, after all, came as the light shining in the darkness.

On this day after a contentious election, take good care of yourselves and the people in your lives and our community, especially those most vulnerable and most directly in harm’s way as the winds of change begin to blow. This always has been, always will be our call.

Don’t isolate yourself. You most certainly are not alone. Allow yourself to feel whatever you are feeling, but don’t get stuck. Find kind and welcoming spaces, like St. Stephen’s, where you can bring your fears and worries but also your hopes and dreams. We gather at 9:30 on Sunday mornings.

Fill your day with everyday pleasures. Take a walk. Read a book. Watch a movie. Pray. Sing. Dance. Eat real food. Call a friend. Bake a cake. Send a handwritten note to someone you haven’t seen in a while. Rake the leaves (and use them to mulch your garden). In the words of one of my wisest mentors, don’t postpone joy. 

In the days to come, just like the days now passed, there will be light-sharing and neighbor-loving work to do. In the meantime, may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds, in Christ Jesus.

Pastor Sue