PRE-ELECTION ANXIETY
(Tuesday, November 5)
“Then one from the crowd said to Him, ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.’ But He said to him, ‘Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?’ And He said to them, ‘Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.’ Then He said to His disciples, ‘Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds? And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest?’” (Lk 12:13-15, 22-26)
Our church’s full reading for this past Monday, only a part of which is quoted above, was Lk 12:13-15, 22-31. So, the reading skipped verses 16-21, which is the Parable of the Rich Fool, who builds larger barns to store his crops for himself, but then dies. With that part skipped, it seemed to me that our attention was drawn to the connection between the first verses of this reading, where our Lord refuses to be “an arbitrator” between brothers arguing over material possessions, AND the final verses, about not being anxious or worrying about the material stuff. In effect, while our Lord does not get involved in our squabbles over material things, He does gently encourage us to consider being a bit more detached from worrying about them. Consider the ravens…, He says, among other gentle suggestions here.
I thought some of this might help with Election Anxiety, which some people are feeling today, if we consider the election a big squabble between brothers and sisters about “dividing an inheritance.” While our Lord doesn’t get involved in it, He gently suggests we will be OK, because we are of much more value than the birds and “God feeds them” as He feeds us. And none of us “by worrying can add one cubit” to our “stature,” so – let’s do what we can, and vote, but not be anxious about it. Some of us (like we expats) have already voted, and I for one believe that we’ll be OK, whatever happens next. In any event, I can’t be helpful to anyone, if I’m anxious or worried.
Lord, thank You for our beautiful country; for our democracy, however imperfectly we live it; and bless us all, together with our political leaders, whichever ones get elected; and help us have faith rather than fear, whatever happens this election, because we hope in You and not in princes. Or princesses. “Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, just as we hope in You.” (Ps 33:22)
