^{Excerpts from a post-election reflection in “Letters from Europe,” distributed periodically to The Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe by The Rt. Rev. Mark D.W. Edington, Bishop in Charge}

Edited by Edward Lee

Followers of Christ are rightly concerned with the ways elections are held, and the ways in which their results shape the well-being of societies and their citizens. Advancing the cause of justice is always the proper work of the governments we create; affirming the equal dignity and equal worth of every person in society is the expectation placed on us by our baptismal covenant, one that we, in turn, work to realize in the public square.

So elections are never a matter of indifference to Christians. But at the same time, we are never either defined by nor reduced to a given political party or outcome. Until the Kingdom of God prevails on Earth, we will always be in the position of loving critic of, and active participants in, secular governments….

And we know, too, that when institutions fall, when the rule of law is degraded by corruption, and power is concentrated in the hands of an unaccountable few, the first to suffer are the most vulnerable in society — the poor, the outcast, the refugees, the despised and the dispossessed. And that, too, is a matter of fundamental Christian concern.

But we have been here before. We should not from this moment draw the lesson of resignation, or abdicate the duties of disciples. …

We must remember:

• No election can take away from us our call in baptism to join God’s mission, wherever we live and whatever our circumstance. 
• No election will ever render a government that fully satisfies God’s hope for all people, because governments are human creations, and humans are fallible. 
• The privilege — and the responsibility — of our calling as Christians is to show, at all times and in all ways, that “loving my neighbor as myself” is the guideline by which we make our choices as citizens and as servants of Christ.

Our task as Christians in the public square is to support with all our strength the building and functioning of institutions that do the work of justice, of mercy, of guarding the dignity and rights of all equally and without favor.

That work continues every day, even — especially — in the days after any election. May God guide us in the doing of that work in whatever our place or nation, and strengthen us to be courageous in mercy, consistent in love for others, and defiant in the face of injustice and hatred.