One of my irreligious and lovely FB friends gave a good invocation for the post-election liturgy.

“There is no weighted blanket heavy enough to get me through this week, my GOD.”

Funny, true — and what a good lament! Nothing seems able to solve America right now.

The situation moves me to fire up my blog and say SOMETHING, at least. My prayer this morning felt like renewal, now that I know things are not likely to get that much better in the country with Mitch McConnell still at the helm in the Senate.

I was reminded of when the U.S. first invaded Afghanistan. In a speech I admired Taliban fighters who were known to be up in the caves like David hiding from Saul [DP today] making their own guns to fight the Great Satan. I caused a little trouble with that story. But some of us might be looking for a cave before too long. Because I still think most Americans, and most American Christians, were more upset their stores got boarded up or looted than upset black people, in particular, were gunned down in the street by the militarized brotherhood called the police. My point was then and is now that following Jesus is clarified greatly by seeing the evil we are up against. The worse things are the more chance we get to be real. I am not encouraged today, since I really hoped for something effectively new, but I am reoriented.

I don’t really feel like getting out from under my blanket, but I also feel like this moment is a really good time to be an actual Christian, and I want to follow Jesus. Here are two things that rose up in me as I prayed this morning and what I think we should do about them.

Transformation starts small, from the inside out

Trump does not act out of any spiritual awareness and he dragged us into his outside-in world where every day is just a matter of winning that day. A lot of us do that same thing in our little worlds and every day is a fight. We are so tossed about by the “deceitful scheming of men” that it is not funny. I need to get smaller so larger things can happen. I need to live out of my relationship with God, daily renewed, moment by moment, Jesus centered, if I have any hope of joy and newness.

• Discipline the media consumption

Whether Trump finally wins or not, I need to end my codependency with the media: Stop notifications to my phone. Put parameters around news consumption, gaming, social media, shopping sites. We’re getting killed, literally, by this stuff.

• Make the church work as a survival strategy.

Goodness is encultured not proven. You give good principles to people who are safe enough in Christ to apply them, you don’t force principles on people as if applying them will save them. Jesus saves and his home address is our church.

• Get used to creative suffering as the way to life

Satan is a liar and a murderer, he calls disease and disaster nothing and creates catastrophic weapons to wheel into your neighborhood. Not being on his side will cost us. Not being on his side will make us into people like Jesus. Our main battle is fought inside where fear tries to dominate us and despair tries to glue us to sin. Moving through fear and despair, or whatever it is for you, feels like suffering to us, even though the process is healing us.

Social action is about love, not power

I admit I am still a bit disappointed at times that God did not allow me to follow my dreams outside the United States. But I was called to work in the belly of the beast [Psalters]. That beast has eaten any number of my comrades and convinced any number of Evangelicals that Trump is God’s man. No matter how much we preach, a good number of people, even in Circle of Hope, still see themselves as primarily part of an economy, identified by their race or orientation, and a “free” individual — and, contrary to the Bible, everything will matter before faith working itself out in love. I hope this next bit of history is a proving ground for what is better.

• Reconciliation is a top priority

No matter what we have to say and do, if it does not come from love, it does not come from Jesus. People might be legitimate enemies of all that is good and we still come to them in love. The church is meant to be the example of this kind of Jesus-empowered love, so start there. If our church is divided up, it basically puts Jesus out of business. I am not grandiose enough to think I am part of unknown “churches” out there in statistic land. So I don’t wake up despairing of my impossible task of reconciliation every morning. But I do think I have to do what I can with those with whom I live in face-to-face covenant, for sure.

• Practice blessing

I really felt myself getting activated as I bore the stress of my clients and directees as we all dreaded the results of the election (along with more virus, violence and weather disaster). When I prayed this morning, I was reminded of an old calling that usually arises at just the right time. My prayer was “Help me out from under the blanket and make me a blessing.” Each of us has gifts to give from the Love and Truth we carry. Even if the ship were sinking, we’d find a way to give them.

• Focus action from a spiritual and relational base, not an ideological construct

I have been stereotyped more in the past year than in my whole life, I think. Maybe I am becoming more of a stereotype, or maybe people are less willing than ever to listen to someone’s story in love and call out their best self, regardless of who they are at the moment. We accept first like Jesus accepts us, then we can deal with the intricacies of righteousness. If people need to match our present ideology, or else, that’s the very judgment most of us hate with a passion. We certainly need to get into action (and our map calls for that)! But we need to act out of fearless faith, mystical hope and self-giving love, or we are just a tiny gong adding to the cacophony of this evil day.

Do not hope in “chariots and horses”

2020 has certainly exposed the United States for what it is.

• My friend, Drew Hart tweeted this morning: “I’m stressed about how my state, Pennsyltucky will go in the end. White supremacy is religion for large swaths of PA. I’m still always shocked at how many white Pennsylvanians in central PA have confederate flags. Only our cities large & small can save us from self-destruction.”
• Another old friend, Leonard Dow, replied: “This is who we are.” (with an emoji face palm)
• I added: “Unfortunately, as much as I do not identify with that we, this is who most Pennsylvanians are.”

Let’s not give up because of the corruption in the government, in the church, or in our hearts. Instead, lets sing along with Jonny Szczesniak and the defiant worshipers at Frankford Ave.: https://archive.org/details/IWontPutMyTrustInChariotsAndHorses