News and Views

By Matt Poole*

Like many of us, following the presidential elections Nov. 8, I spent a day or two not knowing what to say. I watched some people simply trying to make sense of the new president-elect and what it means for our nation. Others were frustrated. Their shock moved to anger. There are also those who felt disenfranchised by the results of this election.

I don’t have all the right words, but one thing I do want to say – now is the time for us to be the people of God.

I woke up Thursday morning after the election and this message just flowed out of me. I share it because I want us to be the people of God – not Republicans, not Democrats, and not Independents. I am asking us to consider being who God created us to be (the me I want to be) and not the reactive people I am seeing. This election has certainly not brought out the best in some of us.

There are a few questions to help us center ourselves in God.

Who are we placing our hope in?

Some people are responding to the election out of fear and concern for the future. People are feeling disenfranchised by the president-elect. This has created quite a bit of frustration and anger.

I don’t know where your hope is today, but mine is in the Lord.

In Psalm 20 we read, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.” And in Psalm 121:1-2, the Psalmist helps us reframe our hope: “I lift up my eyes to the hills – from where will my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.”

So when did some of us start placing our hope in politics? Or a politician? Or a president? Or what the media was telling you? Who have we been placing our hope in? I want to remind us all that we put our hope and trust in God.

The second question I have for us is…

What is our mission?

We have a new president. We do not have a new God. Our mission has not changed. Our mission is to love God and love others.

And then the question everyone can’t seem to answer:

What do we do now?

Let me share with you what John Wesley said about voting:

“October 6, 1774 –  I met those of our society who had votes in the ensuing election, and advised them 1. To vote, without fee or reward, for the person they judged most worthy 2. To speak no evil of the person they voted against, and 3. To take care their spirits were not sharpened against those that voted on the other side.”

Before modern warfare, people fought with swords. When they got upset and wanted to go to war they would sharpen their weapons. We have been sharpening our tongues and taking to social media – not a good place to resolve issues. I know people whose friendships have been strained or even lost over this election.

We are to be people who work toward the healing of divisions. We need to be able to cross the lines that now separate people.

Jesus crossed lines. Jesus, a Jewish rabbi, crossed the religious line between saint and sinner. He crossed the national line between Jew and Roman. He crossed a political line between Samaritan and Jew. He crossed the line between life and death with Lazarus. He crossed the dividing line between heaven and earth.

We are to love even those who voted differently than us. Disagree all you want, just don’t stop loving and doing it in love. Remember that relationships are more important than being right. Don’t sever ties with people who didn’t vote your way. Talk to them and speak the truth in love to one another.

Jesus crossed lines because he had a different vision for humanity. In Revelation 22:2-3, we read about a vision of the new city of God in heaven. God’s vision is for a place filled with people of all nations.

“On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.  No longer will there be any curse.”

We are either a part of that healing or a part of its demise. We are people of hope and healing or people of division and destruction. The job of God’s people is to bring heaven to earth and reveal a better way.

So, I want us to be the people of God and that for us means… be a people of prayer.

Whenever we are worried or anxious, we are to be people of prayer. Whenever there is a problem or a joy, we are to be people of prayer. We are to pray in all circumstances.

I want to ask you to spend some time praying for our country and leaders.

Pray for the healing of our nation – what would that look like?

Pray for someone different than you or who voted differently than you.

Pray for our newly elected leaders. What will your prayer be?

*The Rev. Matt Poole is the senior pastor of Glen Mar UMC in Ellicott City. This essay is excerpted from one of his sermons.