A Message about Love for Good Friday

Love is at Hand

I hear it every day: the fear of people. We all have fear in our lives, but what I am speaking of is a shared-fear of the time in which we are living. There is genuine distress about the One in the White House, and the people that he surrounds himself with, listens to, and follows. We are witnessing contempt for the rule of law, which is what all people who serve in government swear to us they will uphold. There are fractures in the bones of our democracy.

Understandably, people are frightened.  

On this Good Friday, I reflect on the power of a state to kill an innocent person whose crime was loving people. I think about injustice, persecution, and betrayal. I think about fracture lines in the bones of a community- the bones being the rules we agree to follow in order to be in community. I think about disdain for the Law of Love.

The Law of Love is the completion, the fulfillment, of all law. Love is defined as Mercy, Kindness, Forgiveness, Justice, Compassion, and Humbleness- it is Goodness. The Law of Love holds us accountable when we do harm and also grants mercy for us trying to do better. The Law of Love is tender in providing for the vulnerable and fierce in protecting them. The Law of Love is spiritual practice done imperfectly by humans, with the hope that tomorrow it will be done a little better. The Law of Love is unity.

How do we reset the bones of the American community? What medicine do we apply to our broken-down nation?

We love each other.

We love each other by protecting the persecuted. We love each other by speaking up when we see injustice. We love each other by participating in the governance process and holding those in power accountable for their actions and inactions. We love each other by refusing to fight among ourselves about who is right and who is wrong.

We express our love for our country by showing up, helping out, and giving of ourselves to others, however we feel the call to do this. Each person has a discernment to do about what they have to give and how best to share it. The important thing is that we follow our hearts and give our love to each other.

These days are dark and scary. Norms that we all depend on and expect can no longer be assumed. But there is an opportunity for all of us to resist the darkness by being the light. Everyone has the light of love within. Share, share, share.