Yours, Mine, and ‘Our Father’
For post-election American Christians, it’s a tough time to come together. Many voters felt that the choice they made at the polls—or their decision not to participate—was deeply important. Now that we know the outcome, some believers who disagree about their voting choices are finding it hard to accept one another’s differences. The temptation toward polarization is strong, even as the biblical call to reconciliation is clear.
In a recent article at CT, Carmen Joy Imes considers what the next steps for those who find themselves struggling to engage their political opponents peacefully.
“As we look toward gathering with believers who think very differently than we do—whether our fellow congregants at church or our friends or family members for the holidays—how can we aim to be agents of reconciliation instead of polarization?” she asks.
Imes encourages believers to start with prayer. More specifically, she hopes believers will reflect on how Jesus taught us to pray in The Lord’s Prayer.
Ime writes, “Instead of I, me, and my, the Lord’s Prayer tutors us to pray with collective pronouns: our and us. ‘Our Father’ is the one to whom we pray (Matt. 6:9, emphasis added throughout). God is not my personal genie in a bottle, ready to grant my wishes. He is the divine parent in whose family every follower of Jesus finds a home.”
Whether around holiday tables or in the church pews, may we ask God to draw us toward the transformative hope of the gospel that crosses barriers and cultivates community.
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As this issue hits your mailboxes after the US election and as you prepare for the holidays, it can be easy to feel lost in darkness. In this issue, you’ll read of the piercing light of Christ that illuminates the darkness of drug addiction at home and abroad, as Angela Fulton in Vietnam and Maria Baer in Portland report about Christian rehab centers. Also, Carrie McKean explores the complicated path of estrangement and Brad East explains the doctrine of providence. Elissa Yukiko Weichbrodt shows us how art surprises, delights, and retools our imagination for the Incarnation, while Jeremy Treat reminds us of an ancient African bishop’s teachings about Immanuel. Finally, may you be surprised by the nearness of the “Winter Child,” whom poet Malcolm Guite guides us enticingly toward. Happy Advent and Merry Christmas.
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