Before You Go, Sit DownRev. Dr. Robin Meyers, First Congregational Church of Norman, UCC - November 1, 2026Scripture: Luke 10:1-9Two days before an election, in a country he says we love but are worried sick about, Robin begins with a prayer for the poll workers, the organizers, and even the people who bring the donuts. He asks for an uneventful day, and for the grace to lose graciously, because that is what makes democracy possible.Then he sets two founding documents side by side. One is the Preamble to the Constitution, which he memorized in Mrs. Bethel's fifth grade class and still loves, knowing full well who "we the people" left out in 1787. The other is the set of instructions Jesus gave the seventy he sent out two by two: carry no purse, no bag, no sandals. Eat what is set before you. Heal the sick. When you enter a house, say peace to this house, and if the door is slammed in your face, shake it off and go on to the next one.Robin tells us that Christ never claimed America, so we cannot reclaim it for him. He shares his family's goodbye, "Bye, I love you, be careful," and adds one more line for all of us: before you go, sit down. Because if you have eaten at someone's table, you can never be strangers again.It ends at a seven-course Choctaw and Cherokee dinner in a friend's home, which was really communion in disguise, and with an invitation to check our swords at the door. We'll melt them down into plowshares if you like.Rome lives by the sword. We live at the table.00:00 A Prayer for Election Day02:01 Scripture: Luke 10:1-903:56 We the People05:32 Lambs in the Midst of Wolves08:32 Senator Byrd's Dog-Eared Constitution10:52 Christ Never Claimed America12:24 Peace to This House14:18 Bye, I Love You, Be Careful16:10 Before You Go, Sit Down18:22 Shake It Off and Go On19:55 Pass the Bread and Pour the Wine21:42 Communion in Disguise22:50 No Swords at the Table