Holding Together in Uncertain Times
Dear First Pres SLO Family,
Grace and peace to you in the name of Jesus Christ, the one who holds us and redeems us in difficult times.
It’s a hard day. Whether or not your candidate won or lost, it has to be hard knowing that our country is so divided and angry—and now you can add wounded and fearful.
Others who are more qualified than I will do the analysis. They’re sure to mention the economy, deep divides on social issues, and the impact of social media. They better start addressing the way working people in this country have been abandoned by both parties. They better make the point that twice now, decent and qualified women have been rejected by American voters. Are we really so afraid to be led by a woman?
But I have to stay in my lane.
On Sunday I reminded all of us that whatever our party affiliation, God calls us to defend principles that reflect the ministry and teachings of Jesus. Our allegiance to one party or another should never—ever—be more important than our faith in Christ and making sure that our nation is fair and gracious and welcoming and peaceful—things that have already made this place great to live in.
And yet it feels like all of that is falling apart.
In the first chapter of Paul’s Letter to the Colossians, he reminds of who Jesus really is:
15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
That’s meant to be a comfort in uncertain times, and it is. The Son of God is the source of all things—the earth, the ways we’ve created to govern ourselves, and even our very lives.
He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Think of Jesus as the glue that holds everything together—the one who keeps things from spinning out of control, and into a state of chaos. Whatever else is happening in our nation and in the rest of the world, it is Jesus the Son who stands in the brokenness, gently tugging the fragments of our wounds and divisions back into place.
In our own Presbyterian tradition, our modern creeds and confessions have tried to address these important issues. In the Confession of 1967, written in the aftermath of the assassination of John F. Kennedy, as the war in Vietnam was heating up, and as riots revealed the racism and injustice present in too many American cities—with all of that in the background the Confession of 1967 reminds us that we are all in need of what Christ offers.
Wise and virtuous men and women through the ages have sought the highest good in devotion to freedom, justice, peace, truth, and beauty. Yet all human virtue, when seen in the light of God’s love in Jesus Christ, is found to be infected by self-interest and hostility. All people, good and bad alike, are in the wrong before God and helpless without God’s forgiveness. Thus everyone falls under God’s judgment. No one is more subject to that judgment than those who assume that they are guiltless before God or morally superior to others.
And so I leave you with that today. Whatever else happens, remember our need of Christ’s love and redemption, and also our responsibility to work for freedom, justice, peace, truth and beauty.
Mostly, though, remember that Christ is before all things, and in him all things hold together. That includes us.
Blessings to you and yours,
Pastor John