Chris Coons (D-Del.) came off the Senate floor on a busy Friday night to chat with me at The Cottage for a few minutes about faith in these tough days — in between votes and before another media responsibility (which he discusses briefly with his assistant - a quick, and very human, glimpse at the many demands on folks in political leadership!).

We started with Sen. Booker’s filibuster and how Sen. Coons asked theological questions and we wound up on the subject of what we — progressive people of faith — can do right now both to continue challenging and to support political leaders who genuinely care about Jesus’ command to love our neighbors as ourselves.

We had a few technical problems with video, but went ahead anyway. Just ignore the awkward camera….you’ll appreciate his passion, insights, and genuine kindness.

But all the clocks in the cityBegan to whirr and chime:‘O let not Time deceive you, You cannot conquer Time.

‘In the burrows of the Nightmare Where Justice naked is,Time watches from the shadow And coughs when you would kiss.

‘In headaches and in worry Vaguely life leaks away,And Time will have his fancy To-morrow or to-day.

‘Into many a green valley Drifts the appalling snow;Time breaks the threaded dances And the diver’s brilliant bow.

‘O plunge your hands in water, Plunge them in up to the wrist;Stare, stare in the basin And wonder what you’ve missed.

‘The glacier knocks in the cupboard, The desert sighs in the bed,And the crack in the tea-cup opens A lane to the land of the dead.

‘Where the beggars raffle the banknotes And the Giant is enchanting to Jack,And the Lily-white Boy is a Roarer, And Jill goes down on her back.

‘O look, look in the mirror, O look in your distress:Life remains a blessing Although you cannot bless.

‘O stand, stand at the window As the tears scald and start;You shall love your crooked neighbour With your crooked heart.’

— W.H. Auden, from “As I Walked Out One Evening.” Auden’s poem contrasts the ease of romantic love to the love of one’s neighbor and social injustice.

If you are a contributor, a chair of a committee or writing legislation, it is easy for you to think that you and you alone are the person who can solve problem x, y or z. Because I am chairman of the subcommittee that funds all foreign aid…the sense I occasionally have that if I fail, if this doesn’t happen, if literally millions of children starve as a result, it’s all my fault. So given how much I have tried to do and failed to do in the Senate, humility is easy. Forgiving, accepting that I am forgiven and feeling like it's OK to keep trying, that's the hard part, and there’s where faith comes in for me, personally.

— Senator Chris Coons (from a 2023 conversation with Jim Wallis)

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