Many years ago, someone shared with me that it was not nice for people to “wish for interesting times” for others. Days that are boring can sometimes be annoying, but they are welcome and celebrated when news cycles are busy and TV ratings are high. Though I wish that this November would follow a familiar, unremarkable pattern, I am concerned that events in our country and this world may not be as quiet and comforting as many of us would like. As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are encouraged to be a faithful in a world of constant change. In other places in scripture, we are invited to remember our calling to be fully present in the world, but not to embrace practices of the world that are destructive. Christ’s call has sometimes been described as counter-cultural, but during times of division our efforts to bridge chasms and remove obstacles to fuller understanding among fellow children of God remain more important than ever.

In addition to Election Day in November there are at least two other important dates for followers of Christ to consider. The first is the day that begins the month that the Church has designated as the Feast of All Saints. For Lutheran Christians saints are made by God’s love through the inspired Word and the water of forgiveness that is received in holy baptism. We are all on assignment from God to live our lives as a holy priesthood. All our activity is to be seen as an effort to promote God’s priorities and share love in word and deed in the world. In this way we all have something important to do each day of our lives. The other noteworthy date on the fourth Thursday of this month is Thanksgiving. It is our national day to pause and reflect on the abundant blessings that we have all received from our gracious God. Thanksgiving is the central theme for cultivating an attitude of gratitude. When forces have us feeling lonely, overwhelmed or afraid, the power of God’s love in Christ is a life line for saving us from a downward spiral.  In baptism we are made members of a communion of saints that spans space and time. In this time of barriers and conflicts in the world, the connections of community in Christ are more essential than ever. All of God’s saints with gratitude in our hearts and minds do well to exercise our civic duty through voting. Prayer is an important part of this process. I hope and pray that we can avoid labels and stereotypes as we press for what we believe is right in these challenging times.

People are complicated. Every person is unique. There can be a spacious and wide range of possibilities for relating to others in love. Building bridges and digging tunnels to make connections over and under what separates us continues to be the loving way to move forward. In making connections with others, I am reminded of the joy of travel and the invention of the airplane. It is true that flying is more complicated than it once was, but air travel still bears the promise of bringing people into contact with one another in ways that sustain and support loving human community. Travel can bring respect and reverence for different cultures as well as a deeper understanding of local challenges and unique community settings. Travel also provides an invitation to embrace and emphasize world views that identify and support what unites while helping us learn to live in the tension and paradox of varied viewpoints. We seek unity without uniformity while acknowledging that life in an echo chamber often stagnates our growth in grace as children of God. Look for the ways to keep learning and growing in love during the important days ahead. I remain convinced that actively emphasizing ways to practice love becomes more essential with each passing day.