On our
journey of healing, let’s consider tomorrow.
Election Day
is tomorrow. Finally! We have watched with disdain and boredom the variety of
campaign efforts to persuade us. I have friends from all parties who are adamant
in their beliefs for their candidates and I applaud their participation in the
voting freedom we have as Americans. And while I am hardly a pacifist, I tend
to quietly make my decisions based not on political rallies or phone and print
propaganda, but some inner core of beliefs that often seem outdated and unpopular
and definitely not politically correct.
This
morning, I read about “Society” from Bobby Gross’s excellent book Living The
Christian Year, Time to Inhabit the Story of God. Gross writes from the
lectionary text through the year and elaborates today on the Ten Commandments.
At the heart of the law is the command for us to be holy because God is holy.
He says that holiness is a social thing
– it has to do with our moral standing before God and our moral behavior toward
others. Just how are we living with each other?
From the Ten Commandments, he moves
to Psalms 15 where the question is asked, “Lord, who may come and worship with
you? And the answer is clear – those who maintain relations of integrity and
justice. Before true worship begins, we must know how to live. Do we?
And finally, he moves to Isaiah 65
where the prophet paints a new picture of creation. The city of God will be
joyful and its society a delight. I am trying to imagine a world of joy and delight. Gross asks
the question, “What kind of society should we all be working toward?” Isaiah answers: “In the delightful society, infant mortality is rare and elder care
extensive, the economy is just and labor practices are fair, work is meaningful
and families are protected, violence is low and collaboration is high. This
social justice and peace is God’s shalom.”
And this is our work as Christians to seek
God’s shalom – a state of peace, justice, wholeness and human flourishing.
Vote for
God’s shalom.
