Fr. Bill Carroll – Twenty-Sixth Sunday after Pentecost, November 17, 2024
Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds.
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In many ways, this sermon is a sequel to the one I preached on the eve of the election. On that occasion, I urged us to make the best choices we could, in light of justice and the common good. Christians often come to contrary decisions, even about things that really matter. At times, we are mistaken. In the end, God alone must be our judge.
As Christians in a democracy, we trust God to work through the “struggle and confusion” of sinful and fallible people. That’s why I urged us to get out and vote and defend the right of others to do so. In this country, people died for the right to vote.
I also noted that, once again, half the country thinks the other half has lost their mind. And so, “the world needs Jesus more than ever. And the world needs communities like Trinity, where Jesus is preached, our neighbors are served, and we actually follow his example.”
Now, we know that Donald Trump has been elected to a second term as President. For my part, as I promised in my ordination and baptismal vows, I have cared for all the people entrusted to my care. (And people have been talking to me about how they feel about what just happened.) I have counseled a number of people who are terrified and considering leaving the country. I have also cared for people who are excited about Mr. Trump’s victory, as well as those who are cautiously optimistic or more moderately apprehensive about what it all means.
In our pews, Trinity has people representing a wide spectrum of opinion: everything from enthusiastic partisans of Mr. Trump, to reluctant supporters, to “never-Trump” Republicans, to moderate, liberal, and conservative Democrats, to members of third parties, or of none. And my answer to all of you has been the same: No gloating if you feel that you have “won.” No despair if you feel that you have “lost.”
As people of faith, we may lament, but we must never despair. And we may never, ever give up on each other. For God is not finished with any of us. And God calls us to be people of hope, of death-defying love, and of action. The mission of Jesus in our time goes on. And his love is needed now more than ever.
In this light, let us turn to our lesson from Hebrews: “Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds.” As Christians, as much as we may love our country or identify with one or another of its political parties, our primary allegiance is to Jesus and to “the least of these, who are members of [his] family.”
And so, we will keep on preaching the Gospel of his great love for us all. We will continue to gather for worship, Bible study, and fellowship. We will continue to serve the neighbors he gives us–without exceptions or excuses. Guided by his Spirit, we will work harder to “provoke one another to love and good deeds.” And we will stand in solidarity with anyone who is vulnerable or at risk of violence.
Our new Presiding Bishop, Sean Rowe, has made this commitment more concrete. After committing himself to pray for President Trump and his administration, the Presiding Bishop notes that
Regardless of our political allegiances, we must remember that God has called us in the Episcopal Church to seek and serve Christ in all persons. No matter the party in power, we are one Church (he continues), and we will continue to fulfill our baptismal covenant by proclaiming in word and example the Good News of God in Christ, striving for justice and peace among all people, and protecting the dignity of every human being.
More specifically, Bishop Rowe goes on to remind us that, since 1988, Episcopal Migration Ministries has worked in a bipartisan manner to resettle more than 100,000 refugees. In obedience to God’s commandment to “welcome the stranger,” we will continue to promote just and compassionate treatment for these children of God. Bishop Rowe also notes that we are equally resolute in our commitment to “the dignity, safety, and equality of women and LGBTQ+ people as an expression of our faith.”
Now, to this, I would add the following. The Church in every age is both deeply involved with social reality and above partisan politics. For we are, in fact, citizens of the New Jerusalem, which “comes down out of heaven from God.”
St. Augustine of Hippo—in many ways, the founding father of Christianity in the West—spoke about the earthly city, which was founded by Cain, and therefore based on murder and “lust for domination.” In the aftermath of an election, the passions of that city burn hot. But the Church’s task is to seek the City of God, which is founded on the love of neighbor.
As we face the ongoing deep divisions in our country and strive to make God’s priorities our own, our sacred task as Christians today is to change the conversation. We need to provoke one another to a deeper, more faithful love. Love can change the world. We need to repent of the attitudes and behaviors that keep us from loving our neighbors. We need to “love kindness, do justice, and walk humbly with our God.”
For Jesus lived and died for all of us. He commands us to love one another. He commands us to love even our enemies and especially the “least of these.”
And so, let us pray together (as we sang in our opening hymn):
O God of every nation, of every race and land,
Redeem the whole creation, with your almighty hand;
Where hate and fear divide us, and bitter threats are hurled,
In love and mercy, guide us and heal our strife-torn world.
Amen.