News 11-7-12

Dear Family of faith, It’s over! The robo calls, the bulk mailings, the irritating TV ads and Internet pop-up plugs are finally over! The election has been called and the people have chosen. By some estimates there was $2 billion spent on the campaigns—the most expensive election in the history of the nation. In the end we are left with the same problems to fix, the same realities to face, and a country that is as polarized as ever. Some of us are elated; some of us are dejected. Some are hopeful; others are fearful. And this dichotomy of emotions exists not just among neighbors, but within congregations and families and even marriages and partnerships. What does it mean for us? It means that whatever our feelings on this day after, we have work to do—the work of reestablishing relationships and goodwill that such a vicious campaign has threatened and damaged. It is a call for us, who claim to follow Jesus, to get out of our comfort zones and dare to be the peacemakers that Jesus called his disciples to be in the Beatitudes. If we are disgusted by the gridlock in the halls of congress but are unwilling to extend the hand of friendship and reconciliation to those who differ with us on much more minor issues, how hypocritical is that! No, dear family, if the country is to change, it will be because the people who care become the people who dare to be different. That is my prayer for all of us—that we listen before we speak, that we think before we act, and that we treat others the way we wish to be treated ourselves—in short, that we become the peace the world needs so desperately. Let’s let the hospitality that has won so many newcomers over to our church be the same spirit we extend to the world! “Don’t be afraid!”—that’s the message that angels kept bringing to people throughout the Bible. The older I get, the more I realize why that message was so universally applicable. There are a lot of fearful people in this world today—and that fear breeds all kinds of other horrible things like greed, envy, dissension, hatred, prejudice, loneliness, and violence. But John teaches us that perfect love (God’s love) casts out all fear. When you trust God for all the important things in life, you can live in hope and courage. What a breath of fresh air it is in our world! Live without fear today, and let those around you sense the peace you have by the unusually kind and caring way you treat them! With affection for you, Pastor Carlan