Still hung over from celebrating last night’s vote tallies?

Or have we begun packing for Canada?

Or are we somewhat dazed that $6 billion dollars was spent to figure out we want to keep the government essentially the same?

It was an expensive and divisive election for a divided nation. Yet we have awakened to another day, as the Pledge tells us, ‘one nation, under God.’

Yes, our Christian challenge in this contentious election cycle has been to remember that. We’ve been called to resist the anxieties that anger and demean, to remain cool in heated conversation, poised as things shook, and firm in our conviction that while our political life is very important, no man, movement, candidate, or cause, can keep God from reigning.

Oh yes, no matter who is in the White House, God is on the throne.

This is no small matter. This conviction has caused fishermen to drop their nets, widows to give their last mite (as we shall see this Sunday), and you and me to totally alter our lives by giving them to God, fully and wholly to be made holy.

This means our morning-after-the-election job is clear: to renew our partnership with God and God’s mission to reconcile the world.

We have a job to play in patching up differences, healing wounds, building bridges, forgiving others, and doing all we can to help bring peace to a discordant landscape.

Our morning-after mission is clear: hug your opponent, that’s where it all starts.

Prayer for a New Government

O blessed God, look upon your people and fill our leaders with your wisdom and insight, that righteousness and justice may abound in our nation, bringing peace and prosperity, especially for the lowly and poor, that all nations may live in harmony and respect, within the blessedness of your abiding glory. Amen.