Setter inn prekenen fra Tautra i anledning valget i USA. Father Anthony O’Brian, ire og cistercienser, tidligere jordbruksarbeider, i mange år klosterprest på Tautra, legger ut sine tallrike prekener til oss som abonnerer – via e-mail. Jeg har sagt til ham at han bør opprette en blogg der han legger ut sine prekener. Han legger også ut sine kilder og dagens tekster.
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Blessings from Tautra!
Tuesday 31
As Americans vote today, it is important for us to remember that the Spirit of God is saying: «Do not put your trust in princes, in mere mortals, who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing.» (Ps 146:3–4). Despite all the propagandistic promises to the contrary, political power cannot save. In fact, there’s exactly one place in Scripture where God laughs—when he scoffs at the pretensions of the powerful (Ps 2:4). ‘He who sits in the heaven’s laughs. The Lord laughs them to scorn.’
Remember Fr Daniel Berrigan’s Credo. In many ways Berrigan was a political liberal, but he nonetheless didn’t confuse his fidelity to the gospel with his engagement with politics.
I can only tell you what I believe; I believe:
I cannot be saved by foreign policies.
I cannot be saved by the sexual revolution.
I cannot be saved by the gross national product.
I cannot be saved by nuclear deterrents.
I cannot be saved by aldermen, priests, artists,
plumbers, city planners, social engineers,
nor by the Vatican,
nor by the World Buddhist Association,
nor by Hitler, nor by Joan of Arc,
nor by angels and archangels,
nor by powers and dominions,
I can be saved only by Jesus Christ.
So, the world is watching and wondering as the United States elects a new president. Will we see an orderly process, a clear result, and a peaceful transition of power? Or will this election somehow provoke an inflection point in American democracy?
With many bitter divisions and dysfunctions, it would be easy to abandon politics altogether. But citizenship is both a privilege and a responsibility. We dare not abandon the public square and the greater civic good. We have to thank God for all those who serve on city councils, school boards, and the like.
But our ultimate «citizenship» is in heaven, says St Paul. Thus, our allegiance to God should be absolute and unconditional, whereas our allegiance to Caesar will always be relative and conditional. Nonetheless, as citizens of the world, we care about «the public face of God’s purpose.»*
«The Maker of heaven and earth,» says Ps 146, cares for the oppressed. He feeds the hungry, frees prisoners, and heals the blind. He lifts up those who are weighted down, he defends foreigners, protects the orphan, and sustains the widow. These eight categories of people identified by the psalmist face different challenges, but what makes them similar is that they are all vulnerable to forces beyond their control. A just society protects the weak and vulnerable.
Jane Wilson Joyce’s poem ‘Crazy Quilt’ can be a good prayer to say today for anyone feeling deeply about the American election:
The Liberty Bell in Philadelphia
is cracked. California is splitting
off. There is no East or West, no rhyme,
no reason to it. We are scattered.
Dear Lord, lest we all be somewhere
else, patch this work. Quilt us
together, feather-stitching piece
by piece our tag-ends of living,
our individual scraps of love.
Sources: Dan Clendenin; *Walter Brueggemann; Creighton University; USCCB