Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Cooperative Baptist Fellowship

Home
About

Home
Progressive Christian
Loving my neighbor, seeking cleansing and participating in God’s redemption

Loving my neighbor, seeking cleansing and participating in God’s redemption

Last updated on: November 13, 2016 at 3:26 pm by Guest Contributor

Loving my neighbor, seeking cleansing and participating in God’s redemption 2016-11-13T15:26:01-04:00 Guest Contributor

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

By Rev. Carol Harston

I confess how much I dread reading the morning news. I confess how averse I had become to commentary on audio recordings, suspicion over emails, sound bites from speeches, debates between voters, and varying poll numbers. I confess now how nervous I am for the future that lies ahead of us.

Rev. Carol Harston

The air feels toxic as I wonder what comes after Election Day. I confess my inability to even find hope for unity now that the presidential race has ended.

As one soul that is worn down and weary, I stand in need of some ritual cleansing from all this mess. I need a religious rite through which I confess my implicit participation in division, name the hopelessness in which I have dwelled, and receive the good news of something better. I need a path forward where I can love my neighbor whose vote was cast for the other candidate.

I need to believe again in a God who does not wear down the way that I do.

I need to hear again of a hope that does not depend on a political outcome.

I need to receive again a truth that is more powerful and eternal than any campaign promise.

I need the Church to remind me that God has a larger project at work that thrives most in the mess. As Walter Brueggemann writes in Prophetic Imagination, I need people who embody the truth that, “God does not quit even when the evidence warrants his quitting.”

I feel desperate about losing this hopelessness for it is into this mess that I am about to bring new life. In a few weeks, our baby boy will leave the safety of the womb and begin this human adventure. He will be born into a brotherhood with two older brothers ready to receive him. But more importantly, he will be born into the brotherhood and sisterhood of the Body of Christ. It will be upon this Body of Christ that he will have to depend when he, too, is weary and worn down.

He will come whether or not I feel cleansed, forgiven, or hopeful. God does not wait for us to be ready. God does not wait until elections end and politics resolve. God interrupts our lives with responsibility bestowed.

This new life will come with demands of his own…

Hold me close.

Sing me a hymn.

Embody a love that endures long nights and will not quit.

Bless my life with gentle words of courage that can last.

Recognize the divine revelation within me.

See the care of me as stewardship rather than ownership.

Redefine productivity to include nurturing the life of another.

Teach me that I can trust humanity to provide for fragile ones like me.

Tell me that you still believe this human project is worth all its costs.

Perhaps the cleansing I seek is already available to me, right there in the demands this new life will make. Perhaps it is not that I must wait for the cleansing to happen to me but that I must participate in redemption to believe, again, in the Redeemer.

Can I still believe it’s all possible? I must. The need is too great. This life is too beautiful. Our God is too relentless.

Carol Harston is living in Durham, N.C., for one year while her husband participates in a Duke Orthopedic Fellowship. Carol and Drew have two boys and are expecting their third boy due this Thanksgiving. Carol will return to Highland Baptist Church in Louisville, Ky., in fall 2017 to serve as Associate Pastor of Faith Formation and Congregational Engagement.

Note: The views expressed here in columns and commentaries are solely those of the authors.

Interested in writing for CBF at Patheos? Submit your column idea to CBF Communications Director Aaron Weaver at [email protected].

Politics

2016 Presidential Election

Donald Trump

Election Day

Hillary Clinton

Previous Post

November 9, 2016

Time to put people before politics and work for peace and reconciliation

Next Post

November 11, 2016 Land of the free, home of the misuse of freedom?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Advent Advocacy Baptist Black Lives Matter Campbell University CCM Chaplain Children Church Starts Clergy Sexual Misconduct Coaching Culture Environment Equality Ethics Events Field Personnel Health History Human Trafficking Immigration Interfaith Interviews Lent Ministry Missions Payday Pentecost Politics Prayer Race Refugees Religious Liberty Sermon Spirituality Theology Uncategorized United Nations Women Worship Young Adults

Select a Month November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 February 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz