“Christians
will not quite be able to agree with President Obama’s statement that we are
all Americans first. But Christians in our country are at least Americans
second, and we should strive to be good ones as the president has urged, by
presuming the good faith of our fellow citizens and seeking common ground
whenever and wherever these may be had. Prescinding from the process, perhaps
to keep our hands clean, is not helpful, and cynicism is always a practical
failure, rooted in spiritual despair.
These are,
in fact, Christian encouragements that we should know well and be expert in
exemplifying, modern political democracy being, after all, a Christian bequest
to the secular world in the wake of our own wars of religion and recrimination.
The school of Christian unity-in-truth, indeed the gospel itself, includes
politics properly practiced in the classical sense, and in the sense presumed
by our commitment and call to good order, governance, and shared faith (see
Eph. 4).
It would be
hard to think of a better theme for the season of Advent, which inculcates
preparation for the promised apocalypse of our Lord: the final revelation and
unveiling of his return, judgment, and right ordering of all things. As
Scripture and our tradition teach, these are always upon us, in this time
between the times, and they form our faith and hope for both justice and mercy.
Their practical payoff is due “fear” that leads to humility and awe in the face
of our fleeting and fragile lives; repentance for our sins, not shifting blame
to others (Luke 18:9-14); resolve to remain focused on the most important,
ultimate concerns; and the commitment to living faithfully in the interim, that
is, with courage, joy, and confidence in the promises of God.”
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