Monday, November 9, 2020
The fracturing we face as a society did not begin four years ago, or even twelve years ago when the political leadership of the Senate dug in its heels stating that it would not cooperate with President Obama on any plans to heal society at that time. The issue that the Senate now faces with much the same politicians in control is whether it will continue the same kind of intransigence and continue to tear our society apart.
The refusal of certain political leaders to look beyond their own narrow desires will not just hamper a new presidency but much-needed healing of distrust and anger in our society. The forces that permitted the open and often public display of venom and hate are deeper than what we have experienced over the past several years.
Those forces are a resurgence of the fears of many descendants of the original colonists in the 1850s that they would be outnumbered by the Irish Catholic migration resulting from the potato famine. How ironic it is that descendants of earlier migrations now fear a new form of a heterogeneous society.
Prayer for the Day
Lift the scales of blindness from our eyes, O God,
And the limits of intolerance from our hearts.
Crumble our walls of exclusion and fear
So we are able to heal our wounds as a Nation.
Break down the chains of caution that bind us,
And open our hearts to the hospitality you offer
In the name of him who points the way,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen
Thoughts for the Day
Democracy in order to live must become a positive force in the daily lives of its people. It must make men and women whose devotion it seeks, feel that it really cares for the security of every individual.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, President 1932–1944
Each of us has a unique part to play in the healing of the world.
Marianne Williamson, American writer
You who live in the shelter of the Most High,
who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,
will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress;
my God in whom I trust.”
For God will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence;
God will cover you with pinions,
and under God’s wings you will find refuge;
God’s faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
Psalm 91:1–4