I kept thinking all night about Rev. Alagna’s sermon, which
I posted last night. He articulated what has been simmering in my mind.
It is an accepted truth of
psychology that the best indicator of future performance is past behavior, and
in this case the strength of this prediction has been amplified with [Mr.
Trump’s] promises to remake this nation in his own disfigured image. The demagoguery displayed in this race for
the White House can only persist and intensify.
And given his party’s newfound majority in congress there will be few
obstacles or checks to its advance.
While Jesus said, “Love your enemies.” And while He identified the archenemies of
God and of God’s children, Jesus never instructed His disciples to, “Love the
demons.” Rather Jesus admonished His
disciples to, “Resist what is evil.”
And He charged and empowered them to drive out demons, to expel and
exorcise them. Demons have no rights in God’s reign and Jesus showed them no
respect. Jesus always commands them to
depart. At one point in the gospel
story, a legion of demons were expelled into a herd of swine and driven over a
cliff to their death in the sea below.
The aftermath of this election may not be a case of “love
your enemy” and trying to find common ground with the opposite ideology; this may
be a full-on assault of evil. It was all the more poignant then to read Psalms
9 at Vigils this morning.
For the oppressed let the Lord be a stronghold,
a stronghold in times of distress.
Those who know your name will trust
you;
you will never forsake those who
seek you.
Sing psalms to the Lord who dwells in Zion.
Proclaim God’s mighty works among
the peoples,
for the needy shall not always be
forgotten
nor the hopes of the poor be in
vain.
The nations have fallen in the pit
which they made,
their feet caught in the snare they
laid.
The Lord
is revealed, has given judgment.
The wicked are snared in the work
of their own hands.
Arise, Lord, let mortals not prevail!
Let the nations be judged before you.
Let the nations be judged before you.
Lord,
strike them with terror,
let the nations know they are but
mortals.
And then Psalm 9b (10)
Lord,
why do you stand afar off
and hide yourself in times of
distress?
The poor are devoured by the pride
of the wicked;
they are caught in the schemes that
others have made.
For the wicked boast of their
heart’s desires;
the covetous blaspheme and spurn
the Lord.
In their pride the wicked say: “God
will not punish.
There is no God.” Such are their
thoughts.
Their path is ever untroubled;
your judgment is far from their
minds.
Their enemies they regard with
contempt.
They think: “Never shall we falter:
misfortune shall never be our lot.”
Their mouths are full of cursing,
guile, oppression;
mischief and deceit are their food.
They lie in wait among the reeds;
they murder the innocent in secret.
Their eyes are on the watch for the
helpless.
They lurk in hiding like lions in
their dens;
they lurk in hiding to seize the
poor;
they seize the poor and drag them
away.
They crouch, preparing to spring,
and the helpless fall beneath such
strength.
They think in their hearts, God
forgets,
God does not look, God does not
see.”
Arise then, Lord, lift up your hand!
O God, do not forget the poor!
Why should the wicked spurn the Lord
and think in their hearts: “God
will not punish.”
But you have seen the trouble and sorrow,
you note it, you take it in hand.
The helpless entrust themselves to
you,
for you are the helper of the
orphan.
Lord,
you hear the prayer of the poor;
you strengthen their hearts; you
turn your ear
to protect the rights of the orphan
and oppressed
so that those from the earth may
strike terror no more.
We can certainly and should certainly pray for the
conversion of those we think are on the path of destruction of their own souls
and leading others over the same cliff, but that is not the same as inviting
them to an equal voice of authority in the conversation.
Our psalms always end with a doxology that is also a
Christological prayer, a brilliant innovation of our Fr. Thomas. Here is my
prayer today:
To
you be the glory, O Christ,
for
you are the refuge of the oppressed.
When
you opened your hands on the cross,
you
redeemed all human sorrow.
