Hiatus

(www.entrepreneur.com/article/237687)

The first time I heard the word hiatus was when an actor used it on television to speak of an extended period she took between film projects. The word tickled my ears. I liked the sound of the word. I like the definition of the word. Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines hiatus as, an interruption in time or continuity: break; especially: a period when something (as a program or activity) is suspended or interrupted. (www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hiatus) A hiatus is a gap in activity.

History records when John Calvin returned to Geneva, after his exile to Strasbourg, he picked up reading Scripture and preaching at the point where he ended when sent away. It seems he interpreted his exile as a hiatus, an interruption to his early ministry and preaching. Sometimes a hiatus is freely chosen and at other times imposed by circumstances not of our choosing.

It has been several weeks since I last posted a blog. In large part, my hiatus was freely chosen. In part, I chose to take a hiatus from blogging because I knew it would be ease to be sucking into the heated rhetoric of the presidential election campaigns. There were sporadic lapses on Facebook and other social (anti-social) media. I am not proud of the times when I “flamed” another, or was guilty of passing on the untruths from “fake news” outlets.

Culturally, we still have a bifurcated view of the election result. Some are elated. Some are very fearful. Some want to overturn the Constitutionally prescribed process. Prior to the election some were proclaiming the system was rigged to reach a different outcome. I had/have my own very strong opinions about the two main candidates and the tenor of the campaigns. To keep pouring combustible words into the national discussion will not be helpful in seeking to heal the wounds suffered and wounds anticipated in the future.

The Prophet Jeremiah could have urged those in exile in Babylon to be active insurrectionists. He could have encouraged the exiles to use every opportunity to be subversive. Instead, Jeremiah encouraged the exiles saying, But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. (Jeremiah 29:7 NRSV)

The election has established a president-elect who will officially take office on January 20, 2017. As a people, we remain divided on the outcome of the election and the projected changes we might face under the incoming administration. Whether each of us supported the eventual one who will become the President, we can still pray for the welfare of the place where God has placed us, knowing our own welfare is inextricably tied to the welfare of the nation and the world.

I am not encouraging that we roll-over and blindly support every proposed change. There are legitimate means of voicing our desires for the nation and the world. There are legitimate means of seeking redress of policies and programs which do not advance the general well-being for all. It is our responsibility as citizens of this nation and as citizens of the world to seek the welfare of all people, especially the disposed, the poor, the widow, the orphan, and the refugee. … (S)eek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.

So, ends my hiatus.