Can we have the audacity to hope?

Is it possible now to have the “audacity to hope”? Is God giving grace to our country and world by ushering in a man of peace from a diverse background? Can we be inspired to return to our values of “all men are created equal” and endowed with opportunities for “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”? Are we ready to cease bullying the globe, pushing values we aren’t currently living ourselves? We pray so, oh Lord, we pray and call upon You that this is our moment of grace to reestablish peace, love and the courage to fight evil not with weapons, but with righteousness.

How much greater courage it takes to fight the enemies of love with Love itself! Transform our country, oh Lord! Change our hearts and minds! Strip us of our pride and instill within us Your two greatest commandments: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and your neighbor as yourself.”

We know that change is often preceded by turbulence. Therefore, our own “audacity to hope” is not the naïve type many criticize. Ours recognizes that suffering, sacrifice and the loss of a superficial show of “strength” may be necessary for change to come into its own. We do pray for the victory of our candidate who speaks of peace, change and hope; who represents multiple nations and races; and who has the unique capacity to reconcile our nation to a globe that increasingly hates us.

But we know that if he does win, he and we may face struggle. If so, we pray You give him courage to face it righteously. If, like 30 years ago, we have a leader who is courageous enough to fight evil with patient endurance rather than the heavy hand of weapons, will our hearts and minds have been changed enough to see such courage as true strength? Or will we remain as we are, unable to see it when God vindicates a leader for his courage? Will we continue to think that a show of arms that scores a quick victory through the sacrifice of lives is a better victory than a patient one that costs not a single death? And if the leader sacrifices his own reelection, will we continue to think, as we do now, that such a loss is a “failure” as opposed to the mark of genuine leadership?

We invite history not to foretell what is to come, but to pray that our hearts have changed. If turbulence accompanies change, grant us faith, Oh Lord, to sacrifice the bully sort of “strength” for the true strength of peace, love and righteousness.

The outcome of our forthcoming election has more to do with the American soul than it does with the man who wins the presidency. Whether he lives up to our hopes or not, our willingness to take a risk for change indicates You have already begun to change our hearts and minds. Thank you, Lord! May the work You have begun in us be carried out to completion. Amen.