I updated a few things on my iPhone a couple of days ago, inadvertently turning on notifications for breaking news. Boy, what a time to have turned that on! I have already disabled it. The constant (or at least it felt constant yesterday) interruption of breaking news was not helpful. It literally interrupted my train of thought several times, which is why I turned such notifications off a long time ago and have done so again. I really don’t absorb any live news coverage from any source, but instead read articles or listen to podcasts, which I have found gives me a better understanding of issues. Live news coverage these days is so sensational I find little value in or use for it.  

But, the last few days, and yesterday in particular, have demonstrated the circus that is our national politics at the moment, which has led to a stream of breaking news. Yes, I’m about to reference the current hair-on-fire news out of Washington. Yet not with an intention some may be expecting. I’ll come back to that. For now, I want to stick with the circus theme. Maybe circuses are on my mind because we used a circus theme for our parish picnic two Sundays ago.  Or maybe, it’s just that the level of sensationalism, showmanship, and macabre entertainment we are witnessing leaves no other comparison so close at hand. It could also be that folks blow whistles in both, too.

Circuses are interesting. On one hand they are purveyors of trickery and sleight of hand. On the other, they showcase incredible and real talent through feats of daring and skill. And in some cases, we have trouble telling the difference between the two! Again, that seems like a similar set of descriptions about what is happening in the halls of power in our nation’s capitol these days. At a time when we are so divided along ideological and partisan lines, no one seems to be completely trustworthy. Falsehoods, hyperbole, and outright lies make it difficult to know what to believe.  

Don’t forget about the media industry and their influence either. We can’t blame “mainstream media” as many are wont to do, as though there is some source that is more trustworthy and eschews spin-doctoring and water-carrying outside of the mainstream.  All of the most highly regarded sources (on the measure of balance and factual reporting) are included in what we would have traditionally called “the mainstream”.  Outside the mainstream are the worst purveyors of unhelpful “news”. News-tainment has further confused us so that we have a hard time determining what it is we’re consuming: news, analysis, or opinion. The latter two, while interesting, or alternatively affirming, or maddening, depending on our views and the source, lead us astray from the truth far too easily.  

So here we sit with the headlines flashing into our lives on an increasingly frequent basis, struggling to weed out hyperbole, falsehoods, and lies, and then getting further tripped up by analysis and opinion. We don’t know what’s real and what’s cleverly disguised to wow us; unsure if we are seeing what we’re seeing, or falling prey to a sleight of hand once again.  Everything is a potential crisis and in each crisis we find further confirmation of our own biases as we criticize or cheer any given bit of breaking news. When and to what do we start to pay attention, to know when it’s serious? That’s the pickle we’re in, in a nutshell (circus elephants love those too). 

With the Speaker of the House announcing a formal impeachment inquiry regarding the behavior of the President yesterday, and all the breaking news since, things have just gone from worse to worse-r (they went from bad to worse a while ago). This was already going to be a knock-down, drag-out year of partisan politics that I already feared would make the 2016 election cycle seem like a childhood memory remembered with a sense of fondness that disguises the hard parts. Now? It’s going to take everything we have as a nation to hold it together. Regardless of the veracity of any bit of the news or any accusation underlying it, once the impeachment play is called, it is news in and of itself; it is historic, and it is serious business.  You can almost hear the oxygen being sucked out of so many conversations and processes we desperately need our elected officials to be engaged in. Instead, they are all suiting up for combat in the Thunderdome, although without Mel Gibson and Tina Turner it won’t be nearly as entertaining.  

But wait! Stop! My hair isn’t on fire. The sky is not falling. Now that I’ve said all of this, trying to capture the essence of the moment and how so many are feeling, let me offer something else; something a bit more hopeful and certainly more faithful and life-giving. The truth is, we will get through this; through the impeachment process (if it even goes all the way), and through this era of divisiveness. It’s happened before. We have always been a resilient people, able to come back from the depths of dark-night moments in our national and societal history. It hasn’t always happened easily or without pain, but we’ve done it before and will do it again, no matter what the next year and election cycle holds.  

How? By being faithful and doing what we do as followers of Jesus. First, pray. Pray for our President, pray for our Congress, pray for our Supreme Court Justices, and pray for our nation as a whole. Flood God’s inbox with prayers – not prayers that “our side” will win, but prayers for healing, wisdom, and discernment; prayers for truth and justice. Offer prayers that love would reign supreme and relationships would be strong and always strengthening. Which leads to the second thing: stay in relationship with one another. We don’t have to hate each other because our tribe is at war with another tribe. We can choose not to label and brand each other. Don’t let this escalation spill over into every crevice of our lives; to do so is bad for the soul.

My third recommendation is to stay as calm as we can and seek truth as much as possible.  Wait for an educated reporting of facts whenever possible, and go on a media diet, passing over the hyperbolic breaking news machine and the analysis and opinion that feed our anxiety.  Pay attention, to be sure. It is incumbent on citizens to stay informed, but don’t get lost in the news of the day and lose sight of the life and the people around us.  

Finally, it’s the easy/hard life of a Christian: walk the way of love. If love is both our starting place and our end, if it is the lens through which we see the world, God’s kingdom will be near, even, and especially in a time of turmoil. Easy right? 

Put down the popcorn, turn off the news, take a deep breath, and give thanks for the many blessings that are ours. God is good, all will be well, and nothing can change or spin those truths.

Tom+

O Lord our Governor, whose glory is in all the world: We commend this nation to your merciful care, that, being guided by thy Providence, we may dwell secure in your peace. Grant to the President of the United States, the Members of Congress, the Governor of this State, and to all in authority, wisdom and strength to know and to do your will.  Fill them with the love of truth and righteousness, and make them ever mindful of their calling to serve this people in your fear; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.     BCP, p. 820