Feast of Epiphany, Part I: The Winners

 I’ve been awake since 215 AM ET, unable to keep from checking the news, reading what others are already saying about the seditious act of rebellion instigated by the outgoing president, egged on by House and Senate Republicans who were threatening to contest the results of the Electoral College—a mere formality, attesting to the greatness of democracy in past elections—and put into action by clueless but faithful citizens turned traitors, inspired by Trump’s rambling address to the rally which included calling on them to advance on the Capitol, implying he would be by their side.

Tuesday afternoon, I drove into the city of Atlanta, GA.  On the third leg of my car Camino, I was eager to be once again in the “room where it happened.” The runoff race for the two Georgia senate seats would be a historic event. If the two Democratic contenders won, it would be the first time in 20 years Georgians has sent a Democrat to the Senate and the first time they had voted in a Black senator. Georgia is one of the original colonies, entering the Union in 1788 and they have taken part in every presidential election except for 1864; they had seceded from the Union, joining their ranks with the confederacy. Could it be that, finally, over 155 years after that seditious war, would they make history?

I went to bed on Tuesday night still unsure of how the race would go; it was awfully close. I awoke yesterday to the news that Rev. Dr. Raphael Warnock had claimed victory, and it was only a matter of time before Jon Ossoff joined him in the winner’s circle. Elated, I drove to Auburn Avenue, the historic center of African American life, social justice activism, and education from the 1920s through the

1970s. It is the home to Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Martin Luther King, Sr. was the third pastor of that grand church, founded in 1886. He served that church from 1931 to 1975, Martin Luther King, Jr. grew up there. In 1960, he became the co-pastor with his father, until his assassination in 1968.

And of course, now Rev. Dr. Raphael Warnock presides as the senior pastor.

I wanted to be in that sacred place where history and hope now join hands in the wake of the historic vote
where the Dreamer and this most recent iteration of the Dream Come True mingles in the very air.

As I walked around, admiring the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church where both Rev. Kings served and marveling at the newer building across the street where Rev. Warnock holds forth, tears sprung to my eyes. I was so moved by the dedication of the Georgians, by Stacey Abrams who single-handedly, I believe, flipped the state to progress, by the countless volunteers, including from my congregation in Colorado Springs, who wrote postcards, sent texts, and made phone calls to Georgian voters encouraging them to vote.

Ironically, while I was there, both a Japanese media company and Telemundo interviewed me on what my hopes were with this election result. I said that with a Democrat-controlled House, Senate, and Presidency, we can begin the work of repairing the breaches, of undoing the four years of madness that has been the Trump regime. I said we can rejoin the Paris Accord, regulate industries, and save our public lands. I said, “A ‘triple blue’ is not a win for the Democrats; it’s a win for us all. We want to give the best health care available to Republicans, we want to ensure equal rights for the Republicans. With Democrats in power, everyone wins, because it’s not about power to the party, it’s about truly living into a government of the people, by the people, for the people.”

I met two volunteers who had come from California and from Massachusetts to do canvassing and election day oversight. And I met a couple from Atlanta who had also wanted to be in the sacred space to celebrate this great day.

And I left after a couple of hours, happy, hopeful, grateful for how democracy works. It’s fitting, I thought, that today is January 6^th, the Feast of the Epiphany in the Christian tradition. Commemorating when the magi, traditionally three men of color finally found their way to the toddler Jesus, after a long and arduous journey, bringing gifts to this manifestation of Love being the path, rather than power.