Tuesday, November 4

And he will send out his angels with a sound trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
—Matthew 24:31

It is election day. And so, not surprisingly, elect is one of the
words in today's springboard verse.

Coherence is one of the Leading Causes of Life. It is in our nature to make sense of life. We connect seemingly random events to find their pattern. We read the patterns and find a world of meaning. When chaos seems to threaten our sense of order, we do all we can to set things straight, to re-establish order.

There is something both beautiful and powerful about our desire for coherence. We want to belong. We belong to our family. We belong to a church or a temple. If we have not found one, we may belong to the legion of seekers who are looking for a sense of belonging. Most faiths would have us both know and believe that we belong to God.

But, needless to say, this sense of belonging must be held in check. If it is not, we will soon find that the " isms" of the world have taken hold in our heart. Nationalism, racism, classism, sexism, paternalism, are just a few of the " isms" that maintain their boundaries by excluding others. For a while they thrive. But ultimately, the walls of exclusion begin to break down.

Boundaries, it turns out, are always porous. The west end of heaven will hold council with those from the east end. The rich will sit at the table with the poor. The liberal will find a place for the values of a conservative, and the conservative will find a place for the concern of the liberal.

The elect of God that Jesus refers to knows few boundaries.

After all, it includes you.

And, amazingly enough, it even includes me.

Thank you God for calling us, for bringing us together as an ever-so-improbable assembly of the elect, and giving us a sense of belonging that reminds us of your love for all.