Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Got Hope?

Today is innaguration day. Barack Obama is our new President. I'm struggling between two feelings today. One is despair and one is Hope. I'm mostly on the side of Hope but fighting the temptaion to give into the other one.

On the one side stands the feeling that I have that Barack Obama becoming President is the last nail in our country's coffin. Never have we had a man with fewer morals than this guy. Never have we had the media make such a frenzy over our President. I fear for our nation and the masses of people who are blindly following this man. So many people have put there hope in this guy. Everywhere you look there are shirts, hats, and an electricity and excitement that feels misplaced. Yes this event is Historic but I don't think it is in a good way at all. The man is using the Bible used to swear in Abraham Lincoln! Noone eles has ever used it. I mean honestly the audacity of this man! Part of me feels like I should be in mourning for our country. In a way I feel like Israel who was sent into Babylonian exile for their unfaithfulness. We are about to reap what we have sown. This is much more subtle than the Baylonian exile because people are welcoming it. People have become blind and allowed the Media to create for them a God to worship. Barak Obama has become this nation's Golden Calf. I mean is he the next President or the winner of American Idol? I have to wonder.

But on the other hand I have a tremendous feeling of Hope. And not Barack Obama Hope but the supernatural virtue of Hope. Last week I took a four day class on St. Paul. It was a brutal four days of 8 hours each to cover all of St. Paul's writings. All I have to say is this man was incredible and I can't believe I did not have a devotion to him before. It is no coincidence that our Pope Benedict XVI has declared this the year of St. Paul. St. Paul was a man well known for his rhetoric and God knows that is about all we have to go on with Mr. Obama is his fancy words. St. Paul did some terrible atrocious things before he converted. He sanctioned the stoning of the first martyr Stephen along with many other things. But St. Stephen as he was being stoned prayed for Paul's conversion. And you know what God knocked St. Paul on his butt and brought conversion to his life. If St. Paul could convert there is no doubt in my mind that Obama can convert. We as Christians have an obligation to pray for Obama's conversion. If St. Monica's prayers converted Augustine why can't our prayers convert Obama?

But even if Obama doesn't convert there is still Hope. Why? Because we as Christians are not of this world. Our Hope is not in our country, our hope is not in our President. Our Hope is in Christ! We are mearly pilgrims on a journey here. We are Heaven bound and no President is going to change that. As St. Paul wrote, "For the world in its present form is passing away" (1 Corinthians 7:31). Again, we read in Isaiah, "Lo, I am about to create a new heavens and a new earth; The things of the past shall not be remembered or come to mind." (Isaiah 65:17) The things of this world are passing. We are not meant to hold on to them. So despite the Economy crumbling, the War in Iraq, babies dying, the death penalty, the redefinition of marriage, and all the other horrible things happening, Jesus Christ is King. He will come in judgment, and in the end the things of this world will not matter. The hope that is placed in Obama will be revealed for the shallow and empty thing that it is. "At the name of Jesus ever knee should bend, of those in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue confess that JESUS CHRIST IS LORD, to the glory of God the Father." (Phillipians 2:10-11)

Now don't get me wrong. That doesn't mean our job as Christians is done. The fight is merely beginning. There is much to do and we have to remain faithful in the midst of all the junk that is going on. But there is a Hope that we have that noone can take from us, and that is the Hope that Jesus Christ is the King and the victor . Let us press on in battle with our King under the mantle of Our Mother. St. Paul turned the world upside down and converted the Roman Empire through his work. Folks the Roman Empire was in just as bad of shape if not worse than we are today. It is time for a New Evangelization. Let us go out and be lights in this world. Let us under the intercession of St. Paul bring the message of real HOPE to our broken and fallen nation. For our Hope is in Christ, not Obama!

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Awesome Jose! Thanks for your insipring words on the true Hope -- Christ! I know we can bring about the conversion of Barak Obama through our prayer. Keep on following Christ and spreading the Kingdom!

Anonymous said...

"Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song."
-Pope John Paul II-

Unknown said...

We have the luxury of living in a free country. Sometimes it means watching our country make mistakes. That's how life is.

But I'm glad to have the religious freedom we do .... so while I certainly think there will be mistakes ahead, I think this is certainly a reminder to us ... we DO need to be praying for those who make the rules ... and perhaps we should have been doing more of that when there was someone we "supported" in office ....

Having the luxury of living in a free country, we gotta take the good with the less than desirable ....

Chin up, Jose.

Anonymous said...

Jose, the words you wrote here are so true! I agree that Obama has become like some "savior" for our country....how sad.

I love reading your posts and you put into words exactly how I feel right now. Thank you and keep praying!!

Kathleen said...

What are you trying to get Obama to convert into? A Catholic? Because he's already Christian (though probably not your narrow definition of the word) so I'm a little confused by your post.

Jose said...

I want Obama to convert to Christ. But mainly convert so he sees his stance on Abortion is wrong. I desire him to find the truth.

Either way I honestly do wish him well because I love this country too much to see him fail.

Anonymous said...

If you're going to write a looong post about him, maybe spell his name right? Seriously?

Jose said...

Seriously? How about you stop commenting anonymously and comment like a normal person.

Unknown said...

I'm taking a course on Augustine right now, and I concur--
let's be Obama's St. Monica!! :-)