A monsignor, a rabbi and a minister... offer words of hope

In case anyone hasn’t noticed, America stands as a bitterly divided country. The Left and Right, Democrats and Republicans, Liberals and Conservatives seemingly cannot find common ground on anything.

Pick an issue, and the partisan bickering begins immediately. Unfortunately, the only topic on which these amazingly divided camps seem to agree is in the area of despair.

Many on the Left, immediately after the presidential election in November, were cast into a dark malaise. Some were unable to get out of bed. Others wandered around in a daze, crying, looking for “safe spaces” of consolation. They protested.

While the reactions of those on the Right were never as dramatic, there also has been plenty of despair in recent years. Whenever traditionalists were confronted by the actions of the many divergent special interest groups on the Left, they shook their heads in disbelief. They cringed at the departure from America’s longstanding values. They were repulsed.

Middle ground in America has become the modern “No Man’s Land” between two entrenched enemies.

However, in both cases, the two very divergent groups uttered the same mantra, “There is no hope for America.” No hope. How could that be? Just eight years prior, Barack Obama was propelled to the White House on a slogan of “Hope and Change.” Obviously, the aspirations of “hope” do not abound today … and there was little “change” -- for the good -- in his tenure.

So, where do Americans currently look for hope?

That is an interesting question, as we enter the greatest week of hope in the Judeo-Christian world. It is the rare week when the holiest events in both religions – Passover and Easter – occur concurrently. Even rarer is the fact that, just six months ago, the holidays of Chanukah and Christmas fell at the same time.

The rarest of coincidences? Or is Someone trying to deliver a message.

According to a local triumvirate of experts in the spiritual world, there may be more truth in the second thesis, than in the first.

For a look at this Week of Hope, it seemed fitting to call on the Three (local) Wisemen – Monsignor Charles Sangermano of Holy Saviour Church in Norristown, Rabbi Shaya Deitsch of Chabad-Lubavitch in Fort Washington, and Pastor Ed Crenshaw of Victory Church in Audubon.

The question put to them was – in a country seemingly so devoid of hope – where should Americans be looking for an answer? Not surprisingly, their reactions were very similar.

Monsignor Sangermano pointed to a verse in the Bible – Psalms 146:3 – that warns, “Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. When his breath departs, he returns to the earth, on that very day his plans perish.”

The Monsignor went on to explain, “What God is saying is trust in Me, not in a leader who can rise and fall.”

Rabbi Deitsch took that theme a bit further when he referred to the main theme of Passover, celebration of the liberation of the Israelites

from slavery at the hands of the Egyptians. He explained that this was done through a series of 10 plagues that was delivered, by the hand of God, on the Egyptians.

“The first three plagues also affected the Jews,” explained Rabbi Deitsch. “But the next seven were directed solely on the Egyptians and signified the hope that God brings.

He continued to explain, “There are three main principles taught through the story of Passover. The first is that there is a God. The second is that God actively runs the world. We may not always understand his actions but he has a plan. The third is that God can do miraculous things and

that is the source of all hope.”

Pastor Ed Crenshaw, in his sermon of last Sunday, went right to America’s political climate. “How many of you are tired of accusations of fake news,” he asked. “You hear about it from both sides. I don’t believe either side. I’m just skeptical.

“That is an increasing scenario in America,” he continued. “We’re just skeptical people. We’re not going to believe everything. But we are created to believe something. We have to believe in something. We have to believe in somebody. We just have to make sure that whatever we are believing, and who we are believing in, are true. We have to believe

in truth. That’s what Jesus is going after. More than anything in your life, He is going after your belief.”

Pastor Ed then related his sermon to the story of Lazarus, the man who was raised from the dead by Christ. Talk about hope. That was the ultimate sign of hope.

Unfortunately, in America, a growing number of people have completely distanced themselves from any religious messages. Therefore, they probably have already distanced themselves from the messages from the monsignor, the rabbi or the minister. They are resistant to their logic.

They are probably already wondering if what

they are reading, so far, is a joke. “A monsignor, a rabbi and a minister walk into this usually non-religious column …”

For those who turn a deaf ear to the “men of the cloth” I offer the words of country music’s grand lady, Reba McEntire. She was one of the final and featured acts on the Academy of Country Music Awards show last Sunday.

She appeared in a powerful duet with Lauren Daigle, the contemporary Christian singersongwriter. They sang McEntire’s latest hit song, “Back to God.” The album is titled, fittingly, “Sing It Now: Songs of Faith and Hope.”

Reba offers the ultimate

words of hope in the closing lines of these very moving lyrics: Can’t go on like this And live like this We can’t love like this We can hope the best Make a wish The only answer is We give this world Back to God. Happy Easter. Joyous Passover.

Tony Leodora Columnist