Let me lay this scenario before you. You are a good person who believes in women’s equality and same-sex marriage. Some aspects of “woke” culture concern you, but you are generally supportive of people being who God made them to be. You have friends who are LGBTQ, and you believe that women, in certain circumstances, should have the right to control what happens to their bodies. You support Israel’s right to defend itself, but you also weep at the carnage going on in Gaza. You support Ukraine’s fight against Russia, but are concerned about the economic toll it is taking on our country. You rejected VP Harris for reasons you believe are valid – and there were some good reasons to not want her as president, like it or not. You may have held your nose and voted for Trump, but you did it anyway. Now – what will you do, if he follows through on his promises?
What will you do if he, or those he chooses for his cabinet, follow through with their rhetoric and begin to work at limiting the rights of LGBTQ people, including trying to make their marriages null and void? I don’t know a single person who identifies as one of those letters who isn’t afraid right now. What will you do if he deports the naturalized citizens who live down the block – the one whose child your kid plays soccer with? What will you do if he tries to take revenge on those who have opposed him politically? What will you do if he blatantly defies the Constitution or creates an alliance with Putin? These are all actions he, or one of his advisors, has said he will do. If – and I mean “if” – he tries to follow through, will you resist, or will you go along?
I began this thought with “You are a good person”, and I mean it. If you are reading this, you are a member or friend of my congregation. You are a friend of mine, or a friend of a friend. And while I believe that there are bad people in the world who will not go to heaven, my understanding of salvation is very broad and diverse. If any part of what I have laid before you happens – if Trump turns out to be a monster – what will you do? I, for one, hope and pray that he does what is right for all of us, and that his bluster was just to get votes, and I am clinging to the possibility that my fears and concerns will not come true. If they don’t – if your daughter is denied life-saving care – if your gay buddy is fired from his job – if your non-American-born mother-in-law is deported – if the local mosque or synagogue is attacked – what will you do? Think and pray and pause before you answer – everyone who feels afraid is waiting.
Prayer – Holy God, we pray for peace and seek Your guidance and encouragement. Amen.
Today’s art is “Fear” by Natalia Marinych.