Welcome to Wednesday! As we head farther away from summer days and a blistering election season, into holidays and hopes for a better new year, please enjoy this selection, "Bettered Angels" from The Fellowship of St. James (November 8, 2024). What a poignant reminder of all that truly matters!
Is there anyone of stature today who can speak anything like Abraham Lincoln did in his First Inaugural Address—to good effect?
“We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”
Political vitriol and the language of conflict remain after the election and will for some time. It is one thing to fight for a just cause, but another to hate your opponent, which according to dominical teaching is akin to murder. We are taught to love our enemies, including domestic and political ones. Which does not mean agreeing with them or allowing them to do wrong. But embracing hatred is to serve a severe taskmaster and not one of the “better angels of our nature.”
On this feast day in the East of the Archangels and Heavenly Hosts, I am reminded of the overarching reality in which we live that is permeated by the love of God, “who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” This God and Father made us “a little while lower than the angels,” who are “ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation.”
On the other side, there are fallen angels who hate us and seek the destruction of souls. God, in his love and mercy, does not desire the death of the wicked; thus “there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” The angels will rejoice at each conversion.
And the angels “of these little ones” continually “see the face of my Father in heaven.” The bottom line is God’s personal interest in the salvation of each soul, which is reflected in the words and work of Christ and in the ministering of his angels on his behalf for repentance. God is watching and working. We wrestle not against flesh and blood.
The task of the Church is to be seeking the lost sheep, for each one found is a battle won in the greater war in which God will be victorious. The impressions that men have about political victories—as important as those can be (ask Lincoln)—must be tempered by the realization that we do not know the mind of the Lord and that earthly gains and empires will turn to dust and ashes. The small victories we can strive to win where we live by living the Beatitudes so that all may see our good deeds and glorify God, will produce eternal fruit—and cause the angels to rejoice.
What does a nation “whose God is the Lord” look like? It begins with each person, truly loving God and his neighbor. “As far as possible live at peace with all men.” Conflict is inescapable, but it must be endured in faith and not provoked in anger. There are many unsung examples of such patient endurance and witness, like the longsuffering Jack Phillips, Masterpiece Cakeshop baker, who doesn’t give in, and fights, as a humble Christian.
Phillips should not have been targeted and the authorities and laws should not have allowed this. As a matter of justice, the politics must change so that the laws are just and justly applied. More citizens’ minds and hearts must be informed to see the true spirit of justice and to vote accordingly. Christians have their work cut out for them in convincing more citizens to protect the unborn little ones.
The world is political and thus man is as well, but politics will cease in the end and man will stand naked before his God to give account. But God’s judgment is delayed. The coming of the Son of Man is not yet. But we are warned to be awake, watching, and ready.
But when this ongoing delay ends, the days of delay will fade like a dream, and those angels will appear with the Son of Man. There will be no more polls, debates, ads, ballots, voting booths, or tabulations. Christ will take Office with All Authority in Heaven and Earth. I may not still be here. But I pray to witness the joy of the angels and countless numbers of elect.
Yours for Christ, Creed & Culture,
Jim Kushiner, Executive Director Emeritus
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