Election Day Attitude

Our first reading is a powerful message for us to hear today, Election Day. As Catholics, we pray for whomever is elected, we pray especially that Christ’s peace will be a hallmark, not only of our country, but also of our own lives, and we pray that we, as our reading says, may “have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus.”

The beautiful section from Philippians we heard today is actually an early Christian hymn about Christ that Paul is quoting. He dearly loves the people of Philippi because they were the first Christian community in Europe that Paul established. This letter is Paul at his pastoral best – at one moment he’s praising the community, then teaching, then encouraging, and then warning. Always, however, he clearly loves these people as he gives advice and direction. He speaks to this community with the pride of a founding father and frequently associates the word “joy” and “rejoicing” with it.

He wants the people to always remember that it is Jesus Christ who is our example of how we should live. He passionately wants them to manifest the qualities of Christ: compassion, mercy, selflessness. As they imitate Christ they will then treat one another with humility and consider others to be better than themselves. They will also be more concerned about others rather than themselves.

Tomorrow, after this election, our faith tells us that God will still reign supreme and that our Constitution will still be a solid foundation of our government. But we, the people, will still have the hard work of fostering understanding, practicing reconciliation and nurturing healing among us as we seek the common good for all. We do that difficult task by looking to Christ and remembering the first lines of Paul’s heartfelt plea to us:

Brothers and sisters:

Have among yourselves the same attitude 

that is also yours in Christ Jesus.