The Unifying Force of Love

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"You have heard how it was said, You will love your neighbour and hate your enemy.
But I say this to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you"

It’s an easy error, perhaps one that we all commit. It exists in the moment when we are called beyond the question of our “intentions” to fundamentally examine the ways in which we misunderstand and judge our neighbors. During a recent gathering with colleagues and friends who are committed to the cause of aiding migrants, a confrontational conversation ensued. How can our friends, those who care for us, experience life alongside us, support us, and share common values simultaneously hold seemingly opposite positions on an issue of faith and justice? It was both a moment of consolation and of desolation; first, desolation as an experience of misunderstanding, disillusionment, and judgment. Secondly, it moved towards a moment of consolation and better understanding.

How do we pray through these moments and experience them as invitations to discover the way that our friends, colleagues, family members, and neighbors are experiencing their faith? How can we resist the temptation of believing that we “know better” or have “arrived”? As we departed from the restaurant and discussed the heated conversation, we each realized that we had missed an opportunity. These moments of our loved ones witnessing to their faith and justice commitments in a different way than our own are invitations to go deeper, to discover, and to pray for the openness to understand one another's perspectives. In that moment of sharing and reflection after our encounter, we felt called to reconsider the way in which the conversation was received, how we had reacted, and how we had neglected to offer to engage the topic at another time when tensions could be lowered.

Today’s scripture certainly sets a high bar for how we may elect to proceed through these moments of misunderstanding. We are asked to pray for those who may have different ways of considering social causes that are vital to our conception of faith. Intimately, we are asked to be “exceptional”... to love as God loves.

This can be applied in a similar manner to moments of discord within our families. As we recount the ways that God’s love is portrayed in scripture as well as the way it has manifested in our lives, there is a comforting realization: We don’t need to pretend to be strong, forgive with false pretense, or ignore our differences. The call is to love and accept the presence of the Holy Spirit as a unifying force. It’s about listening when we disagree. It’s about praying not only for our relatives who have hurt us or a friend who misunderstands us, but for ourselves... for the inner peace and reassurance that we can and will better understand God’s heart when we consider the difference in perspective, the challenges, and the sincerely held convictions of those who also seek to share Christ’s presence in a fallen world.

This Lenten season, let’s pray to listen with intentionality, dig deeper and beyond the surface, and love each other authentically. In faith, we can hope that consolation and the manifestation of Christ’s presence will be the result.

Authors: Ellen Bruce (Computer Science) and Rich Perry (Director of Community Service)