Tuesday, November 3, 2020
This is a day that many of us have anticipated, and some of us have dreaded. This is the day when we learn whether we as Americans are able to participate in the promise our ancestors gave us: free and fair elections without fear of intimidation or violence. This is the day when we learn what we are really made of.
The campaigns have been rancorous and tension-filled and not just for the Presidency. Congressional candidates and their families have been threatened; voter suppression attempts have been at an all-time high. The pandemic has caused fear and yet people have been determined to exercise their fundamental rights.
The results may not be known for days, even weeks. It is during this time that we as Christians must consider what our responsibilities are as citizens and act accordingly. We must remember that we are called to witness to justice, mercy, and peace.
Prayer for the Day
We come to you, O God, at a time of conflict and uncertainty;
Calm our anxious minds and hearts.
We come to you, O God, at a time of turmoil and despair;
Bring us the peace of your presence.
On this Election Day, fill us with the courage and resolve
As our ancestors had when they established this Nation.
In the name of him who is the source of our strength,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting.
Milan Kundera, Czech writer, now 90 years old
Democracy makes many taxing demands on its practitioners, but the suspension of the intelligence is not one of them.
Margaret Halsey, American writer (1910–1997)
Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,
for God will speak peace to the people,
to God’s faithful, to those who turn to God in their hearts.
Surely salvation is at hand for those who fear God,
that the glory of the Lord may dwell in our land.
Psalm 85:8–9