ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING
February 2, 2022
A few years back, I was attending a General Assembly of our denomination. On the agenda of the meeting was a prayerful discernment process in regard to issues around gay and lesbian people. As you can imagine, there was a great diversity of opinion and much discussion. And though there was no plan to make some dramatic statement, two groups (not associated with our denomination) showed up to protest our gathering. Their words were filled with hate and reverberated with violence. As we walked to lunch one afternoon with people spewing mean-spirited “stuff” at us, someone in my group asked, “Why would these people show up?” Before I had an answer, someone else in the group said, “Wherever love is being demonstrated, hate shows up.” In Luke 6, Jesus reminded his students “how years earlier the same viciousness was brought against the prophets who were choosing a path of love and justice.” I wish it weren’t the fact, but when people act with faith and grace, they are often met with the opposite.
When love is met with hate, O Lord, give me the faith to continue forward amidst the difficulty. Amen.
