TO LOVE BOLDLY

I confess, my heart is troubled. The political posturing in our country has reached a new level of incivility and I fear for the nation we are becoming. White nationalism has been paraded on the public stage and given a new level of validation. The teachings of Jesus have been distorted and discarded in the unholy name of political power and expediency.

In times like this, we need to bring in the moral compass of Christ to the public square to reset political policies and discourse.

Jesus tells all who follow him:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:43-48 NRSV)

We who follow Jesus cannot opt out of the command to love, even those we consider our enemies.

Love doesn’t mock those with whom we disagree, nor does it demean, belittle, or bully, because love makes us aware that these things dehumanize others and fracture the human family.

Love doesn’t create borders or barriers that separate “us” from “them”.

Love demands us to go to the margins and begin to build structure and policies from that starting point.

Love always asks, “who is being harmed and what must we do to relieve the suffering”?

Love doesn’t fear those who are not familiar but delights in difference, knowing that these differences help us see the face of God more clearly.

Love puts us on a permanent quest for right relationships.

Love is the opposite of fear.

Love isn’t a naïve or weak orientation. It takes tremendous strength, courage, and humility to walk in the world grounded in love’s imperative.

If you find your heart breaking over the state of the world, may you drink from the reservoir of God’s grace so that you might find Love healing your heart and guiding your feet to challenge the world’s inequities and injustices.

If you are afraid because the comfort you are experiencing might be disrupted, may the Holy Spirit trouble placid waters and in the ripples created may Love help you discover that your welfare is intimately tied to the welfare others.

If you would rather turn away from the state of things, may Christ continue to be a disruptive presence who will tap you on the shoulder and say, “Come, follow me.” As you step into His footsteps, may Love grow in your heart and may it spill into the world, providing a transforming experience for all you encounter.

Love is the only way. May we live it boldly.

Thoughts On Power and Privilege Post-Charlottesville

Much has been written about white supremacy and white nationalism since this weekend’s deadly violence that erupted in Charlottesville, Virginia, and rightly so. We must condemn this evil that is seeking to fray the beautiful tapestry of American society. The hatred and racism that sustain these movements are literally life-threatening and must be confronted and dismantled.

But it is all too easy to point fingers and not do the hard work of personal soul searching, to be honest about the “every day racism” we whites participate in and benefit from. As a white woman, I have to confront my privilege, and the fact that my walk in the world is much easier because of my race than persons of color. Every day, I must confess my racism. Racism is so deeply embedded in our culture and entangles all of us in its web of inequity. I have to consciously reject it every day and the main way I do that is through the power of empathy, listening deeply to how those of color have a much different experience of the world than I do. I must understand that doors that open up automatically for me because of my whiteness open with difficulty—if at all—for persons of color. My race affords me places of safety not granted to those of other races.

I am not frightened of police officers. I don’t worry that by putting on a hoodie, I will be perceived as dangerous. I have never given my nieces and nephews “the talk” about how they should behave if ever stopped by a police officer. I have never been followed in a store by the owner because he or she automatically assumes that I am a suspect for shoplifting simply because of the color of my skin. I have never had to look very far—in books, movies, television, or church meetings—to see people who look like me. In white America, the color of my skin grants me power and privilege.

Racism isn’t an inconvenient social construct.  It is a deadly way to control others.

Racism permeates all corners of American society. Even the church is not immune from its cancerous presence. My own denomination’s history reveals a theology once held that supported the outrageous belief that owning another person and treating them less than human was in line with Christian values. Racism fueled segregation in the church through the creation of an all-black non-geographic jurisdiction in order to preserve (white) “unity”.

If we are to effectively oppose and defuse the movements of white supremacy and nationalism, the starting point must be with our own collusion with racism. Until we do this hard work, we will keep in place the social fuel that will allow these movements to flourish.

My white friends, we can no longer remain silent. We can no longer pretend we live in a post-racial society. We can no longer deny the privilege we possess. We can no longer believe that racism no longer exists.

With eyes wide open, may we dismantle the sin of racism, in our own lives and in the systems and institutions of which we are a part. May Love guide our work, focus our anger and fear, and lead us all into the promise of Beloved Community.