Election Day

‘In this dark hour, I do not believe that any darkness will endure’ – Faramir of Gondor

I offer these poems to anyone who may be dreading the worst today. I pray that even as they acknowledge the possibility of darkness, they point you toward the light.

Autocracy’s Rise

The darkening skies descend.

The unsuspecting masses blink

As trembling prophets absorb

What they knew would come.

For them, the expected death

Of what they once held dear.

They brace, for loss, for ruin,

And the marching feet of doom.

They know, that past is prologue,

As the behemoth takes its place

At the vanguard of a chilling dread

That now hangs over all.

Yet this they know, deeply:

That all will not be lost.

For all cannot be taken.

There is still that which abides,

Which nothing can filch or harm,

Beyond the dragon’s reach.

There is faith,

The substance of hope.

And love beyond imagining.

The forest, filled with wild.

Music, to dance to, to fuel desire.

For eternity. For Life.

There is the present moment.

To savor, bless, and know.

And in that moment God,

Ever-present. Constant. True.

Pointing the way forward. On!

Presence. Protection. Peace.

Is this not what matters,

Most of all, when all else fails?

To know that in such days

The best cannot be broken?

That in the end the sadness

Comes untrue, and love wins?

Oh Blessed One who stills my soul!

Let me not forget these truths.

And when the sky is darkest,

Let me feel your smile,

That I may brave the tempest,

Shielded by thy perfect love.

For Election Day

I have no earthly ruler

No President to claim

I serve the one who is the King

The name above all names.

The empire is a monster

A snarling, fearful beast

Like Grendel or Polyphemus

On mortal flesh it feasts.

Perhaps once I thought otherwise

That it was true and brave

I know it now for what it is:

It reeks of death and grave.

The times they are so fearful

Dreadful, dank, and dark

The leopard beast is on the march

As ‘lambs’ now wear its mark.

And yet I have no need to fear

Though all I once knew fails

My life is in the hands of Christ

Whose Kingdom will prevail.

Under Christ’s Mercy,

Brent

An Open Letter to All the Peoples of Middle-Earth

Barad Dur, Mordor, TA 3017, Tuesday Morning

Greetings!

Can you believe it?  They’re doing it again.  Elrond is once again weaponizing the government of Middle-earth against me.  He’s assembled a Council in Rivendell and indicted me on false charges.  He’s even sent forth some sort of party – he calls it a ‘Fellowship,’ whatever that means – to try to take me down a second time.  These guys never quit.  No one in the history of Middle-earth has been as attacked as much as me.  And for what?  I’ll tell you.  For making the world more peaceful and prosperous than it ever was, and daring to try to do it again. 

Remember when I was last in charge?    Everyone had gifts.  So many gifts.  Rings of Power.  That’s right, I made them.  Celebrimbor was a hack.  Couldn’t have done it without me.  Everyone knows it.  You know it, I know it, the people of Middle-earth know it.  Everyone wanted my rings.  Dwarves, Men, even Elves couldn’t put them down!  There were no strings attached either.  Just good gifts that improved everyone’s lives.  Better than they ever were before.  If you don’t believe me ask the Witch King of Angmar.  Always speaks highly of me.  All the other Nazgul too.  They’d have died long ago it if weren’t for my gifts.  They never had it better than when I was in charge.  If I’d stayed in charge, everyone would be like them now.  Everyone would have rings.  Everyone would be happy.  Everyone would be so Nazgul, you just wouldn’t believe it. 

Manufacturing was at an all-time high too.  People couldn’t believe how high it was.  Full employment.  We had good jobs.  Quality jobs.  Not the kind of jobs they have now.  We had Orc jobs.  Hobbit jobs.  Elf jobs.  Dwarves were mining again.  All because of my gifts.  But then they came after me.  Galadriel, Elrond, Elendil, Isildur, and all the other Marxists, Fascists, and Communists.  Formed something called, ‘The Last Alliance.’  We were just having a peaceful protest in Mordor when they came charging in.  Total peace before they came along.  No war plans whatsoever.  All of Arda was at peace.  Galadriel was the worst.  Nasty woman.  Gollum thinks so.  Very nasty.  There was once a time when she was kind of into me.  Not that she had a chance.  Way too old.  Like 5000 or something.  She’s so old she doesn’t even know if she’s alive.  That’s why everything’s so screwed up.  They came in and wrecked it all.  But we’ll fix it.  We’ll make Middle-earth great again.  As soon as I get my ring back.  It’ll be great even before I put it on my finger.  You know it, I know it, all the Children of Iluvatar know it.  By the way, I’m a big believer in Iluvatar.  Big believer.  I love it when I go to church and eat my cracker.  His children love me.  They love me so much you can’t believe it.  Because I give them everything they want.  They never had it so good as when I was in charge.  And when I’m back in charge they’ll have it good again.  It’ll be so great they won’t ever have to vote again. 

I understand some of you are placing your trust in the Fellowship.  Well, let me tell you about them.  They want to take your jobs.  Take all your weapons: your swords, your axes, your daggers.  Did you know they want to stop the mining of Mithril?  That’s right, they want the dwarves to starve.  Not me.  I want dwarves to live.  Mine! Mine! Mine!  That’s what I say.  But not them.  They want to shut it all down.  And that’s not the worst of it.  They want Hobbits everywhere.  Never before in the history of Middle-earth have there been so many Hobbits pouring over the borders of the Shire.  Let me tell you, these aren’t good Hobbits.  They’re bad hombres.  Crime is way down in the Shire, you know why? Because they’re sending all their criminals to your towns.  And they’re taking your jobs.  All the jobs in Gondor.  All the jobs in Wilderland.  All the jobs in Rhun.  Harad.  Rhovanion.  All over.  You should see what’s happening in Bree.  They’re eating the pets.  Eating the cats.  Eating the dogs.  Poor Bill Ferney can’t even find his pony.  I’ll tell you where it is.  It’s in the belly of some fat Hobbit.  Barliman Butterbur can deny it all he wants.  He has an inn to run.  Wants people to still visit.  But we know it’s happening.  You know it.  I know it.  The people of Bree know it. 

And what’s up with Gandalf?  I’ve known him a long time.  Indirectly, not directly very much.  He was always Grey and he was only promoting that.  I didn’t know he was White until a number of months ago he happened to turn White.  And now he wants to be known as White.  So, I don’t know.  Is he Grey or White?  I respect either one, but he obviously doesn’t because he was Grey all the way then all of a sudden, he made a turn and he went, he became a White Wizard.  I already have a White Wizard.  Saruman.  Great guy.  He’s building me an army right now.  Way better than Gandalf.  He once captured Gandalf you know.  Held him on top of Orthanc at Isengard until some eagle rescued him.  Couldn’t even rescue himself.  Loser.  I prefer wizards who don’t get captured.

Which reminds me of a conversation I had some time back in the Second Age with Cirdan the Shipwright.  Don’t like him much, he was never nice to me, but he does know how to build boats.  So, I asked him, ‘what would happen if one of your boats sank, and you’re in the boat, and you have this tremendously powerful elf magic that powers the boat, and the elf magic is under water, and there’s a Balrog that’s approximately 10 yards over there?’  By the way, a lot of Balrog attacks lately, do you notice that?  Lot of Balrogs.  I watched some guys justifying it today, ‘Well, they weren’t really that angry, they bit off the young lady’s leg because of the fact that they were not hungry but they misunderstood who she was.’  These people are crazy.  He said, ‘there no problem with Balrogs, they just didn’t really understand a young woman swimming.’  No, really got decimated, and other people, too, a lot of Balrog attacks.  So, I said to Cirdan, ‘There’s a Balrog 10 yards away from the boat, 10 yards, or here.  Do I get zapped with elf magic if the boat is sinking, water gets in the elf magic, the boat is sinking?  Do I stay on top of the boat and get zapped, or do I jump over by the Balrog and not get zapped?’  Because I tell you, he didn’t know the answer.  He said, ‘You know, nobody’s ever asked me that question.’  I said, ‘I think it’s a good question.  I think there’s a lot of elf magic coming through that water.’  But you know what I’d do if there was a Balrog or you could get zapped with elf magic?  I’ll take elf magic every single time.  I’m not getting near the Balrog.  So, we’re going to end elf magic.  We’re going to end it for boats, we’re going to end it for wagons.’ 

I’m sure by now you can see that the answer to all of Middle Earth’s problems is myself.  No one has plans like I do.  Or concepts of plans.  My concepts are always the best.  Because, as you can tell, I am a very stable genius.  Smarter than anyone.  You know it.  I know it.  And soon all of Middle-earth will know it.  So, here’s what you can do: nothing.  Just sit back, drink your Covefe, and let me do as I will.  I’ll be doing it soon anyway.  You can’t stop me.  And then you’ll never have to do anything again. 

Your Soon to be (again) Dark Lord,

Sauron the Great

An Updated Christian ‘To Do’ List for Post-Election Life in America 2022

But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don’t be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at telling others the Good News, and fully carry out the ministry God has given you – 2 Timothy 4:5 NLT

Tomorrow is Election Day. Perhaps I should say, the start of election week, for we probably won’t know the full results for several days. If you have been paying attention, you may be feeling the stress of it all. We face the threat of political violence, and, depending on who wins, the possible death of democracy, which, for all its flaws, seems to be the best form of government this side of the Second Coming. I tend to agree with Winston Churchill, who said, ‘democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.’

My Mom, God rest her soul, used to say, half-jokingly, ‘always expect the worst, and you’ll never be disappointed.’ I have pretty much adopted that mantra as I head into the week. I fear that the results of this election will change things dramatically, and not for the better. It seems likely that dozens, if not hundreds, of election deniers, Christian nationalists, and white supremacists (not to mention their enablers) will win key offices at both the state and federal level. Should this happen, the perilous times we find ourselves in will become, well, more perilous.

Pondering such thoughts these past few days, I began to worry. But then I recalled a post I wrote just two years ago, just prior to the 2020 election. You can check that post here. Back then, I made two Christian ‘to do’ lists, one to employ in the event Trump won, the other if Biden won. Today, I just want to remind you all, and me, of those lists. So here they are, with slightly modified titles:

List One – Things to do if the Republicans win big this week

  1. Hope
  2. Pray
  3. Stand against racism and bigotry
  4. Speak up for immigrants and refugees
  5. Care for Creation
  6. Advocate for and serve the poor and vulnerable
  7. Speak truth
  8. Do justice
  9. Love God
  10. Love my family
  11. Love my neighbors
  12. Love my enemies
  13. Seek the Kingdom
  14. Anticipate the return of Jesus
  15. Point people to Jesus

Yes, should the Republicans win, it will be important, as in life and death important, to do all these things.  On to list two:

List Two – Things to do if the Democrats unexpectedly win big this week

  1. Hope
  2. Pray
  3. Stand against racism and bigotry
  4. Speak up for immigrants and refugees
  5. Care for Creation
  6. Advocate for and serve the poor and vulnerable
  7. Speak truth
  8. Do justice
  9. Love God
  10. Love my family
  11. Love my neighbors
  12. Love my enemies
  13. Seek the Kingdom
  14. Anticipate the return of Jesus
  15. Point people to Jesus

Get the picture?

The situation is no different than it was in 2020. No matter who wins this election, the mission of those who follow Jesus will not change.  We will still live in a world that is broken and in need of a Savior.  We will still need to live as the advance echoes of the world that is to come.  We will still need to stand at the crossroads of culture and show the world the peculiar way of God’s people.  True enough, some of the things on the list will perhaps be more or less challenging depending on who wins.  But the mission will not change at all. 

This gives me hope today, as it did in 2020.  No matter what happens tonight, even should the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, God remains our refuge and strength (Psalm 46:1-2).  Jesus remains our Lord and Savior.  The Kingdom remains the place of our citizenship.  And the mission is the same. 

This, as it did in 2020, gives me hope today. I hope if gives you hope too.

Whatever happens folks, be ready. We have work to do.

Under Christ’s Mercy,

Brent