DAILY BYTEEvery once in a while, in all of our lives, a day arrives that is quite different. Every once in a while a defining moment occurs that radiates a certain luminescence. And in those shimmering moments, history itself seems to be cast into a new light.
One such day happened a few weeks ago, on the morning of the 5th November, when the whole world, it seemed, witnessed the news of the election of Barack Obama as the first black president of the United States of America. And with the exception perhaps of the 57 million Americans who voted for the other guy, it was news that was greeted around the world with unbridled joy.
Because something happened on that Wednesday morning. Something truly historic, that has stirred the imagination not just of the American people but of a world that has grown weary of the arrogance of power and greed, and longs for something authentically new.
The French philosopher and mystic Pierre Teilhard de Chardin once said, “The world will belong tomorrow to those who brought it the greatest hope.” That is what we have witnessed in this American election as hope has been ignited again.
Friends, could it be that the Spirit of God has been at work? Could it be that God, with stunning imagination and spectacular creativity, has used the all-too-flawed and fallible American electoral system to do what God does best – make things new?
If that sounds like mushy preacher babble, I’d remind you of another election not that long ago that many of us experienced first hand, and recognized in it the grace of God making things new.
It happened, of course, on the 27th April 1994. South Africa’s first ever democratic election. I was a theology student in Grahamstown at the time. I remember standing in a queue for a couple of hours waiting to vote, in this hushed and holy stillness that was infused with grace. The two hours in that queue were amongst the best in my life. And then, just before I entered the voting hall an amazing thing happened that has been seared onto my mind forever.
An old gogo, a grandmother, was being helped out of the polling station. She was a small frail woman, bent over as she walked quite unsteadily with a stick. The deep lines etched into her face spoke not simply of her great age but also of the great suffering that must have been hers as an impoverished black woman living in Apartheid South Africa. But she had just cast her vote, for the first time in her life. Her voice had just been heard.
As I stood back to allow her to come past, she paused and looked straight at me, and I saw something in the face of this simple old woman that got me all choked up. There was this expression that is almost impossible to describe. It was a mixture of pride, and dignity restored, and courageous strength, and sadness perhaps that this had taken so long, but above all there was this radiant HOPE, and of course, great joy.
And in that luminescent moment I knew, with absolute clarity and conviction, that God was there and that God’s work was being done.
My point, very simply, is this. Ours is a history-shaping God, who consistently steps into the often messy business of our human affairs, like elections and politics and pretty much everything else that makes up our individual and collective existence, and stakes a passionate claim for the things that make for life and wholeness and peace. We witnessed it in South Africa’s day of grace in 1994. And we’ve witnessed it again in America’s day of grace a few weeks ago.
This is truly good news, because it reminds us that as history is laid down day by day, God is there, involved, present and active, doing what God does best. This is the hope for each of us today.
PRAY AS YOU GO
History-shaping God, you are here, with us in the midst of our often messy human existence. Thank you. Your presence brings hope and life. Amen.
SCRIPTURE
Isaiah 43:18-19
Stop dwelling on past events and brooding over days gone by.
I am about to do something new, this moment it will unfold.
