The Election

What to say? All my thought and energy since Tuesday night has gone into preparing to lead the service and preach this coming Sunday in Guilford. I agreed to lead that service knowing it would be the first Sunday after the election, which was perhaps a form of hubris. But it is an opportunity to witness to something important in a time which the New Testament would call ho kairos - a "pregnant time," a time rich with possibility because of a national crisis. 

David Remnick, editor of the New Yorker, has called the election of Donald Trump "an American tragedy." I can appreciate his article but I'm not sure that is the first word I would choose. I'm thinking more along the lines of "judgment." I'm thinking that maybe we have "gotten the president we deserve," (which can mean different things to different people, of course). But I think a willingness to accept personal responsibility may be the first step both toward the "healing" that everyone says needs to happen, and also toward a commitment to working to turn things around. This is a spiritual crisis for the nation as a whole, but also for all of us individuals who are its citizens. We need to get as clear an understanding of the nature of this crisis as we can. A time for soul-searching and talking with others, including those who see things differently.