Showing posts with label grace. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grace. Show all posts

Friday, November 8, 2024

A Message from Dean Hollerith: The Work We Have To Do; Washington National Cathedral, November 6, 2024

The Very Rev. Randolph Marshall Hollerith, Washington National Cathedral ; A Message from Dean Hollerith: The Work We Have To Do

"Today, America woke up to a new President, a new Congress and a new understanding of who we are as a nation. For some, this was a long-sought victory after years of work and organizing; for others, this seismic shift feels disorienting and disheartening.  

Whether your preferred candidates won or lost, our work as Americans is just beginning. There is healing we must do, as individuals and as a people. Now is when we must listen to Abraham Lincoln and “bind up the nation’s wounds,” and we must follow his example to do it with “malice toward none and charity for all.”

This will not be easy work. We must start by showing grace to ourselves and to others. There are many among us who are hurt, fearful or angry, and they may have no desire to extend a hand, or give their neighbor the benefit of the doubt. Others among us may be tempted to write this next chapter with a sense of winner-take-all vengeance.      

We are weary of division and bitter politics; we have no need for more of that. Instead, let us aim for a better way to move forward together, as one people, one family of God. We may not agree, we may not understand each other, we may not even like each other. But we are tied together in our shared humanity, and as hard as it may be to hear, in the end there is no us and them; there is only us. 

If we can learn anew how we see each other, then maybe we can learn anew how to treat each other. In this moment, and in all the days to come, let us strive to embody the challenges and promises of our faith. As Jesus said: 

Love your enemies.
Do good to those who hate you.
Bless those who curse you.
Pray for those who abuse you.
Do good and lend, expecting nothing in return.
Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Do not judge, and you will not be judged.
Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.
Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
Give, and it will be given to you.
For the measure you give will be the measure you receive. 

And the blessing of God Almighty — Father, Son and Holy Spirit — be with you this day and always. Amen."

Wednesday, November 6, 2024

Kamala Harris concedes with dignity and grace; The Washington Post, November 6, 2024

 , The Washington Post; Kamala Harris concedes with dignity and grace

"Most important, she promised to assist in a peaceful transition of power.

This last promise is the hallmark of a democrat. That Ms. Harris offered it so convincingly was a refreshing contrast to 2020, when Mr. Trump prematurely declared victory, twisted arms of federal and state legislators to reverse his loss, and then incited a mob to riot at the Capitol as Congress counted the electoral votes."