Bearing Bold Witness

Beloved in Christ,

In these years, national elections are always fraught, framed as they are by our deeply polarized society, and surrounded as they are by the possibility of chaos, disruption, and attempts to discredit results. Thankfully, everything seems to have gone smoothly this week. I’m particularly grateful to a number of our clergy who served as poll chaplains, providing a grounded, loving presence in a tense moment. 

While the political pendulum swings, our work remains the same. As I say regularly, what we are to be about as followers of Jesus does not change with the political weather. So here are two ways of thinking about what we do now, and in the season to come. 

1.We remember where our hope lies.

While who we elect to public office matters immensely, particularly in the lives of those who are most vulnerable, no political party or candidate will save the world, and no party or candidate will destroy it. In a highly polarized moment, when times are hard and the stakes are high, there is always a temptation to believe that salvation comes through political victory. 

It doesn’t. We don’t hope that any government will heal the world through policy, we know that God will heal the world through love, and even now is healing it. We know this because the resurrection of Jesus settles forever that there is nothing more powerful than God’s love. 

Our hope lies in Jesus. No matter the weather, we keep our eyes fixed on him. 



2.We practice the politics of Jesus

The gospel is always political, and never partisan. The way of Jesus is concerned with what happens in the real world, with how resources are shared, how the poor are cared for, the stranger welcomed, and power is exercised. But the politics of Jesus are never those of the left or the right. The politics of Jesus are always seeking good for the other, showing radical mercy, embracing every outsider, other, and even enemy as a beloved child of God. 

It’s not our work to bring about the kingdom of God on earth. Every human attempt to do that through history generally results in oppression and destruction. Our job is to point to what that kingdom looks like by how we live. Our job is to join where God is already bringing it about in the world, lending our efforts, our voices, and our vote to those places. 

So with another Election Day behind us, let’s get on with the business of bearing bold witness to the healing power of God’s endless love.

Grace and peace,

The Right Rev. Craig Loya