Maybe it’s the season, you know, Advent, which is generally called Christmas by non-religious folks. This time of year we see the mix of consumerism, outdoor decorations featuring Santa, Charlie Brown, and the Grinch, a few crèches, and special programs to feed the hungry. When it’s all over and we enter the liturgical Christmas season, most people will go back to their previous lifestyles.
In the midst of Advent, a few voices continue to call us to take the meaning of the faith we profess seriously. Senator Ralph Warnock (D-GA), a pastor, admonished us in a speech at the Georgetown Center for Faith and Justice, notes that we are in a spiritual crisis, that are disconnected from the values and covenant we had with each other.
He decried politicians who say we must fear our neighbors, mistrust those who need our help, and create a climate of individual isolationism. While people lose their health care, are unable to feed their families, and have decent housing, partisan politicians squabble about who will have power, and the power of money steps in to fill the gap. Taken to task for focusing on social and economic issues by some, if you read Scripture, you will see that it is about justice, God’s justice as much as about saving our souls..
Prayer for the Day
Reveal yourself to us, Eternal Spirit, giving us a vision of the future;
Be visible to us tangibly as we are visible to one another.
Open our eyes so we recognize you in the faces of those among us
Whether they be here in our particular community or beyond.
Open our hearts as we encounter our brothers and sisters,
Making Advent visible to us so we may make it visible to others.
In the name of the One who is to come,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
There is no sugar coating it. These are dark days. These are tough times. And I think maybe a strange thing for someone in elected office to say, but I think that the puny language and vocabulary of partisan politics is not adequate to the task. What ails us is deeper than that, even as we engage in the process, America is struggling with a spiritual crisis.
Senator Ralph Warnock, November 15, 2025
When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none,
And their tongue is parched with thirst, I the Lord will answer them.
I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
Isaiah 41: 17