Love is an Orientation
The following post was written by Kevin Harris. Kevin
serves as the Administrative Assistant and Director of
Community Relations at The Marin Foundation.
‘They’ does not exist
A constructed ‘other’ to rally the troops
And God knows it works
Every movement needs a devil
Someone to project my own demons onto
Someone to blame
Lest I have to deal with the disorders in my own soul
See in myself what I hate in you
And realize that but by the grace of God
I am capable of every evil
If only I can turn you into one of ‘them’
Dehumanize you
Not the Imago Dei
Fearfully and wonderfully made
Broken, yet still a brother or sister
But the sum of your beliefs
A disembodied caricature
Ignorant
The problem
And grace is not reserved for ‘a problem’
But people like ‘us’
Then I can beat you
Even destroy you
Feeling justified in doing so
But when ‘they’ become real
An enemy nevertheless
Capable of evil
Yet still a child of God
A wounded person loved
And created for relationship with God
When I realize, as Desmond Tutu states
‘We are a part of a greater whole
That I am diminished when I diminish others
And my humanity is dependent upon the recognition of their humanity’
Then I am reminded of my mandate
To love
Tangibly
Not to brush aside actions
But to love and forgive
Regardless of whether justice prevails
I know
It sounds trite
And it is a bit cliché
Until someone hurts you
Betrays you
Comes after you and those you care about
Until the pain inside you turns into anger
Not that Jesus flipping tables over anger
But that anger that wants to see you hurt
To feel a fraction of the pain you have caused
That gives you a cold silent stare
Hoping it would sweep over you
Uttering contempt
Aiming for a vulnerable place
Reveling in your pain and misfortune
Until…
Until it hits you
Like a load of bricks falling on your chest
‘Do not let the sun go down on your anger’
They are a beloved child of God
Yes….that asshole
Beloved
You never thought redemption was painful
Until it slaps you in the face
Setting you free and simultaneously humbling you
Not because of you
But the One who is good
And you see that image in ‘them’
Only a reflection as in a mirror
Broken yet beautiful
Inflicting violence from incompleteness meant to be redeemed
And you’re reminded of the painful side of love
The violence of love
Love that requires forgiveness when your heart cries out for revenge
That subverts the entitled notions of the false self laying claim to justified hatred
Not the Jesus I invited into my heart to save me…..again & again & again
Like some cosmic belief-based ticket to cash in for eternal glory
But the Jesus that showed me ‘their’ worth and humanity
And called me to love when I do not want to love
Because he first loved (all of) us
The Jesus that died to bring peace to the enemies of God
Turning ‘us’ and ‘them’ into brothers and sisters
Deconstructing group boundaries
The Jesus that called me to come and die as well
Reminding me that suffering is at the heart of the cross
The way of God
And the way to God
Not to only be venerated but emulated
Then the cliché becomes real
Much love.
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