This Sunday’s gospel focuses on questions surrounding the resurrection of the dead. Two years after many pundits questioned whether the Republican Party would survive their 2008 drubbing, the GOP came roaring back to life in midterm elections with major victories on both the federal and state levels. Democrats managed to retain a slim majority in the U.S. Senate and eked out victories in a few bellwether races.

Republicans captured control of the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday as a result of a nearly unprecedented 60-seat shift in power, and they expanded their voice in the Senate. They rode a wave of voter discontent as they dealt a setback to President Barack Obama only two years after his triumphal victory.

Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, the House Democratic leader, narrowly prevailed in his key race, and his party hung onto control of the Senate by winning hard-fought contests in California, Delaware, Connecticut, Colorado, and West Virginia. Republicans picked up at least six Democratic seats, including the Illinois seat formerly held by the president. Several “tea party” favorites won, including Marco Rubio of Florida and Rand Paul of Kentucky, two candidates who were initially shunned by the establishment.

“The American people’s voice was heard at the ballot box,” said Rep. John A. Boehner of Ohio, who is positioned to become the next Speaker of the House (and the first Catholic Speaker from his party). “We have real work to do, and this is not the time for celebration.”

The most expensive midterm election campaign in the nation’s history, fueled by a raft of contributions from outside interest groups and millions in anonymous donations to candidates, played out across a wide battleground that stretched from Alaska to Maine.

Republicans also took control of governors' mansions across the country Tuesday, flipping at least a half-dozen states that had been governed by Democrats. The new crop of Republican governors aims to flex political muscle in the 2012 presidential race.

“Attend to my outcry,” pleads the psalmist this Sunday, “incline your ear to me; hear my word.” The question now is, will the partisan political bickering of recent years give way to true bipartisanship or will we see more of the same in Washington, leading to further gridlock?

After acknowledging that election results amounted to a "shellacking,” President Obama on Wednesday sought to tread a careful line, suggesting he would cooperate with Republicans where it was possible and confront them when it was not. "No one party will be able to dictate where we go from here," he said, a clear warning to Republicans that he won't simply bow to their demands for a sharply conservative switch in economic policy.

With his comments Obama largely followed the lead of Republican leaders who said earlier in the day they were willing to work with Democrats--within limits. After a bitter campaign season, can a weary electorate, in the words of 2 Thessalonians, still have "good hopes"?

Source: Articles by Jeff Zeleny and Peter Baker for the New York Times, Julie Pace
and Scott Sonner for the Associated Press, Ronald Brownstein for NationalJournal.com, Stephanie Simon for the Wall Street Journal, and Marian Wang for Propublica.org