In the wake of a National Election – An Advent Journey from Darkness to Light

By Geoffrey A. Black

     I can’t help myself. In the aftermath of the election of President Elect Barack Obama, I really need to join the chorus of the many who have taken to print to celebrate this historic event in American history. I suspect that many readers of the UC News were and remain Obama supporters. I am also respectfully aware that there are readers who did not support Obama in the election. So, I hope that what I have to say has meaning for all.  In the end, my view is that the significance of this election transcends the political divide.

     Although readers won’t see this commentary until several weeks after the November 5th election, I am sure that many of you will be still reflecting on the deep meaning this particular election carries with it as the Holy season of Advent begins.

     Each year the church year begins with Advent, a season of hope and expectation, what I like to call Holy anticipation. It is a time of prayerful looking inward to the rebirth of the Christ Spirit within and among us and forward to the celebration of the birth of Jesus. This year all we need do is to begin by remembering the feelings that we experienced during the long election campaign, and we’ll be transported right into the Advent mode. This year we have the memory of the election as a helpful backdrop as we explore the themes of hope and expectation that are woven into the fabric of this season. The euphoria of election night was the culmination of a long period of hopeful waiting and expectant longing.

     For eighteen months we watched the story unfold. During those months we witnessed a virtually unknown candidate emerge and ultimately secure nomination. Along the way we were inspired by is vision and challenged by the obstacles he faced, especially that of addressing the issue of race and racism. Moreover, we in the United Church of Christ faced our own challenge from the IRS, because Barack Obama is one of us and spoke at our General Synod. Through all of this many of us hoped for his success in this endeavor and our lives were filled with anxious anticipation of the outcome.

     This year is special, because our experience with the election really does remind us that things we have long accepted as impossible are possible. We are reminded that our hopes and dreams that are in keeping with God’s will for justice and peace, for reconciliation and the realization of the beloved community are indeed possible. It could well be that the Still Speaking God is telling us that as a people we are capable of eradicating the racism that has plagued the nation since before its beginnings.  

     For a nation, with as long and sordid a history of racial exploitation and oppression as ours to elect an African American to the highest office in the land was for most of us a wonderful vision, but also one that was outside of the realm of possibility. Yet, today it has come to be. This says as much or more about the spirit of the American people that it does about the President Elect, gifted and well qualified though he may be. 

     After all, it was the people who caught the vision of a different kind of politics and a different kind of political leader – politics and a leader that might bring us a step closer to being the people God created us to be, in spite of our past.  It was the people, including significant numbers of young people, who went against social convention, raising money, knocking on doors, registering new voters - who did everything necessary including and most importantly casting their votes, to win.  These were not African American people alone. No, what we witnessed was a coming together of all kinds of people who shared a vision and that is also an element that made this election very special.

     Advent often includes a reading from the Prophet Isaiah during worship – a reading that includes these words, “The People who walked in darkness have seen a great light.”  In the wake of the election of 2008, I certainly feel that we, the American people, have walked in darkness. Now, with the election of Barack Obama we are again beginning to see a glimmer of light. Barack Obama is not the light. That glimmer of light is to be seen in the spirit of hope and aspiration of the people to see God make real the seemingly impossible. As the season unfolds, let us remain prayerfully mindful of the light we have glimpsed and let us together, continue our journey toward God’s possibilities.