Hebrews 1:5-14

But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of your kingdom.” (Hebrews 1:8, NRSV)

It has only been about six weeks since the mid-term elections came and went. As we neared Election Day, the campaign ads were flying so fast and so frequently that they seemed almost inescapable. Each ad was, of course, aimed at getting us to support a particular candidate or a particular viewpoint on one issue or another, but there was also something more going on. Many of them were written with the underlying assumption that to defy the message of the ad was to invite certain ruin for our communities, our state, our nation (and, in some extreme cases, the entire world)! Putting aside our American penchant for the dramatic, there’s something troubling about that kind of message. Certainly opinions and viewpoints matter, and elections have consequences, but – thanks be to God – none of the people running for elected office can truly wield enough power to threaten our existence. As the nations rage and the powers seek to tout their influence, let us always remember that God’s throne is forever, and that the one we’re waiting for is the only one who holds the righteous scepter.

Stir up your power, Lord Christ, and come. Remind us today and always that yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

– Pastor Andrew Chavanak, St. Paul’s Ev. Lutheran Church (20th and Towle)