In the lectionary reading this past Sunday<\/a>, Jesus passed blind Bartimaeus on the road.<\/p>\n Then Jesus said to him, \u201cWhat do you want me to do for you?\u201d <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n The blind man said to him, \u201cMy teacher, let me see again.<\/em>\u201d\u00a0 Mark 10:51<\/strong><\/p>\n As I pass dozens of political signs on the road, I feel led to pray for this election.\u00a0 What if Jesus passed by those same signs and asked us, \u201cWhat do you want me to do for you?\u201d<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n I imagine that there are people of many different denominations and perspectives who are praying for their candidate to win.\u00a0 I have overheard political conversations in a variety of places, including in coffee shops and at my child\u2019s dance studio.\u00a0 One thing that stands out to me is my own rising sense of anxiety in response to those conversations.<\/p>\n I worry that our current political landscape is reducing my capacity to love my neighbor, and I am trying to fight back against that.\u00a0 If Jesus were to approach me on election day and ask, \u201cwhat do you want me to do for you?<\/em>\u201d, my hope and prayer is that I would say, \u201cI want to love my neighbor<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n When the system we find ourselves in causes us to feel pitted against one another, it can cause our capacity for love to dwindle until it is like the eye of a needle.\u00a0 What prayers or practices would help us to grow in our capacity to love during this time?<\/p>\n What small acts could help us to find a greater sense of grounding, so that the foundation of our inner stability goes deeper than the changes and challenges of life?<\/p>\n What else would help you to feel like you are standing on solid ground, spiritually speaking?<\/em><\/p>\n An atmosphere of division and conflict can tempt us to think that we must play by those rules, operating within that broken system.\u00a0 There must be ways to remind ourselves that the Kingdom of God operates differently, and that our king is Jesus Christ.\u00a0 Political discussions can feel like walking on a tightrope, but Jesus offers a spiritual landscape that has room for us to land.<\/p>\n In what ways could curiosity and questions help us to remain teachable, so that we are listening to how Jesus is leading?<\/p>\n How else is Christ inviting us to expand the scope of our prayer for our neighbors?<\/em><\/p>\n An atmosphere of worry and doubt can cause us to crave security and stability.\u00a0 While this may tempt us to try to control our lives even more cautiously, Jesus always has more to teach us.\u00a0 Even in the midst of worry, we can maintain a teachable spirit with our trusted teacher, Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n I decided to stop watching the news during the 2020 pandemic.\u00a0 I want to be informed, but I would rather read news stories than watch a program.\u00a0 This is one way that I try to engage current events in a more calm and intentional way.<\/p>\n In addition to wanting to be informed regarding the news, I also want to remain informed regarding how Jesus may be speaking to me.\u00a0 This is why I read a portion of the Gospels every day.\u00a0 I want the words and actions of Jesus to be a living example to me, even if I just read one parable<\/a>.\u00a0 I want the words and actions of Jesus to be more important to me than the words and actions of politicians who are competing for power.\u00a0 We don\u2019t just need good news, we need the<\/em> good news, and receiving it can be a spiritual discipline.<\/p>\n I am an \u201cout of sight, out of mind\u201d person, so I have projects visibly spread across my desk (and my desktop).\u00a0 When walking through this world where division is all that we can see, I need Jesus to tell me that he loves my neighbor. \u00a0Heck, I need Jesus to tell me that he loves me<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n I need those reminders in front of me.<\/p>\n I need intentional practices in order to walk in love.<\/p>\n What will your intentional practices be leading up to and following the election?<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n To read more posts, visit my column\u00a0here<\/a>.\u00a0 Check out my writing in \u201cSoul Food: Nourishing Essays on Contemplative Living and Leadership<\/a>\u201d, or listen to me read a portion of my writing for the podcast\u00a0Read, Pray, Write<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Outward Signs In the lectionary reading this past Sunday, Jesus passed blind Bartimaeus on the road. Then Jesus said to him, \u201cWhat do you want me to do for you?\u201d The blind man said to him, \u201cMy teacher, let me see again.\u201d\u00a0 Mark 10:51 As I pass dozens of political signs on the road, I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5444,"featured_media":264,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[138,141,135],"class_list":["post-255","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-election","tag-neighbor","tag-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nGreater Grounding<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Greater Curiosity<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Greater News<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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