Have you felt the arrival of the new season? Everyone is wearing red and talking about Mahomes, Kelce and Swift. The first tinge of red appears on the tree and mums are on display at the grocery stores. Fall settles over us bringing the anticipation of apple pie and pumpkin spice lattes. Have you also felt a bit of tension in the neck or angst in the shoulders as your neighbors display their political yard signs? This fall is the kind of fall we knew four years ago, a presidential election year and no less polarized than the last one or the one before that. Perhaps you are volunteering for your preferred candidate. Or perhaps you are one of the undecideds. Or maybe you have pulled away from the whole process because of its rancor. Many of us lament how our country could be ruined if the other candidate wins.

Peter Marty, the editor of The Christian Century magazine proposes that as Christians, “We can choose to live with a posture of hope instead of a disposition of dread. . . .To be for good and important things in life is more noble than merely being against disturbing events and trends.” In this politically polarized landscape, what would it mean for those of us who call ourselves Christians to live with a posture of hope instead of a disposition of dread? Can we take the noble high road and invest our time, energy, and resources into our deeply held values? Can we have healthy political dialogues with those we disagree with and love? Can we pour ourselves into local solutions and national changes without denigrating others?

I was encouraged by a recent visit to the Truman Library which I highly recommend if you have not been since it was redone. I had not remembered that the Marshall Plan that rebuilt Europe after WW2 was not the only plan considered by Truman and that he boldly followed his values and risked failure and unpopularity. I had not remembered that Truman stepped out of a long history of racism and integrated the military and that Colin Powell was always grateful to Truman for making his military service possible. I felt myself relaxing to remember that our country has faced many chapters of angst and turmoil. It reminded me to take the long view and do what I can to live with a posture of hope.

The poet and theologian Christian Wiman said “Cynicism is nothing but a retreat into your own little refuge where you can point and make judgments, all the while feeling a sense of superiority.” To be Christian is to behave in a Christ-like manner. In this season, Christ empowers us to be for good and noble things rather than only against what disturbs us.

Grace and Peace,
Carla