Prior to November 5, 2024, many of us described this week’s elections as being the most consequential of any ever. Of course, as we reflect on the outcomes of the 2024 federal elections and those closer to home right here in Ohio, we all acknowledge with piercing clarity that elections have consequences. Indeed, they do.

 

While no one can fully predict with precision the decisions and actions that will come from newcomers to power and those returning to it, it is safe for us to consider the words from William Shakespeare in his play, The Tempest: “What’s past is prologue.” While the context most certainly is different than ours, Shakespeare’s offering does help us to do two important things in this moment: 1. Acknowledge tragic and heroic truths of our complex past, and 2. Make decisions about where we go from here.

 

Without publishing the full catalog of our past, I expect those anchored in honesty and tethered to accuracy will admit that our past is plagued by incalculable acts of hate, violence, and dehumanization – sometimes sponsored by the state and sanctioned by organized religion.

 

Students of historical truths who embrace facts will also admit that our country has a long and storied history of people whose loving, risky, and bold actions countered hate with respect, violence with peacemaking, and dehumanization with a blueprint for justice.

 

These people, motivated by their deep faith and an abiding sense of the common good, helped heal the land by building social and moral infrastructures that increasingly affirmed the dignity of all people while seeking to secure democratic participation for people of every zip code, precinct, ward, and borough.

 

By their selfless and courageous acts, immeasurable in numbers, these people saved the nation.

 

Friends, there are people who at this hour are aspiring to let the clock run out, or turn it back altogether, on advancements in social justice, inclusion, and democratic participation. Of course, we pray for them, asking God to equip them to do things that make for peace, justice, and goodwill for all. Yet, the reality of this hour calls for us to decide where we go from here.

 

Which part of our past will serve as the prologue of our future? Will historical and contemporary acts of oppression and dehumanization characterize our future? Or will loving acts, anchored in the rich soil of respect, and nurtured by the non-negotiable waters of peacemaking and justice shape the policies and practices of our future?

 

Though many of our hearts may be heavy and troubled, I am glad today that we in the Christian ecumenical movement are choosing to invest in the teachings of our Savior Jesus Christ who taught us to love God with all our hearts, souls, and minds, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. (Matthew 22:37-39 NRSVue).

 

As motivated by the commandments of our Savior, and in honor of those who graciously worked to save the nation, we have an unshakable commitment to respecting and honoring our diverse array of neighbors, even those from other lands; we have a non-negotiable commitment to making peace during times of public discord seasoned by divisive overtures; we have an irreversible commitment to working toward a future where structural oppression is replaced by social justice, the kind that rolls down like waters and is joined by ever-flowing streams of righteousness. (Amos 5:24 NRSVue)

 

All of this we will do alongside Christians, our friends of other faiths, and our neighbors whose compass is the common good.

 

As I contemplate both this moment and our movement toward a future of respect, peacemaking, and justice, I am challenged by verse three of “They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love, an anthem by Peter Scholtes:

 

We will work with each other

We will work side by side

And we’ll guard each one’s dignity

And save each one’s pride

And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love,

Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love. Amen.

 

With Hope,

Jack

The Rev. Dr. Jack Sullivan, Jr.

Executive Director

The Ohio Council of Churches