Reflection by Fr. Chris

Last Saturday, after 4:30 p.m. Mass at St. John, I decided that a nap was in order as I was still exhausted from BonaFEST fun. When I awoke at 8:00 p.m., I checked my phone and saw that I had thirty text notifications. The texts came from friends and family who were informing me of the tragic shooting which had taken place at a political rally for the former president in Pennsylvania. This was the most serious attempt on the life of a former president in my lifetime, a terrifying scene which was compounded when it was revealed that a bystander was killed in the shooting. Whenever there is a shooting (or any act of violence), we pause to offer our prayers for those impacted, and we also reflect on what brought us to this moment.

Anyone who follows the news notices that our political discourse has been becoming increasingly volatile. One can note that both sides of the aisle have been using inflammatory language to describe the opposition. Now there are numerous reasons for the course we have been on as a nation, and to be honest, people smarter than me have written at length on the topic, so I will not discuss that here. What I do want to note, is how we, as followers of Christ, ought to respond. We are called to speak the truth in charity, yet sadly, we have not been charitable and thus have not been truthful. We at times turn into the nameless people in the crowds who shouted for Barabbas over Christ, because we find security in “our group,” rather than our security in Christ. We turn into the pharisee, who prayed to God, “Thank you for not making me like the rest,” when we assume that those who we disagree with are ignorant, or worse, evil. We as disciples, need to take a long look into our hearts, and dispel any hatred or anger which has taken root. Or to put it more simply, we need to live differently.
 
There are still several months before the elections in November, yet regardless of who wins more than 270 electoral votes on  Nov. 5, we will still gather for Mass on Nov. 6 to thank God for the gifts He has bestowed on us. We do not seek a political leader to grant us salvation, nor do we condemn those for whom we disagree. Instead, we live each moment of our lives confident that Christ will indeed come again, while in the interim seeking to live out the command of God spoken through the prophet Micah, “What does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

Fr. Chris