From the Pastor’s Desk
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. – John 13:34
Inclusion… it’s a big buzz word these days. Inclusive spaces, inclusive living, Inclusive ministry,
I remember when Doug and I were preparing for the arrival of our first and only child. Our family was made through adoption and Isko was born in the Philippines, so we were trying our best to prepare a space of cultural inclusion.
We asked ourselves questions like; what would it feel like to have parents that didn’t look like you? What foods would this little 2-year-old like? What might it feel like to be spoken to in a language you didn’t understand? How might we convey love to this new little person in our lives?
I remember well-meaning people saying things like; “Don’t worry, your child is little and will adapt quickly,” and “In a few weeks, your child won’t even remember the Philippines.”
I believe these things were said to make us feel better. But it all seemed kind of short sighted to us – and we wondered how to be LOVE to our little Isko.
Today in the ELCA, we are working toward a more inclusive church - a church that looks like the family of God. A church that is love. This work can encompass all kinds of things that make us uncomfortable – things we don’t understand and things that because we don’t understand, bring fear as their counterpart.
Take for example, the work of understanding sexuality, gender identity and how people of color might feel when they walk into a church of mostly white people.
This is not work that says – you are right, or you are wrong, this is work that at its best says “YOU ARE LOVE.”
What would Love do?
Love, God’s self, was born in Jesus Christ over 2000 years ago to spread the message of the Kingdom of Heaven. Time and again, Jesus could be found sharing confounding messages of LOVE. When the Pharisees and scholars called Jesus a heretic and a blasphemer, when they criticized Jesus for living among and eating with those who were seen as “different”, Jesus met them with love so deep and so wide, even the highest of priests was left speechless.
Today, how might we practice Love?
When we approach the things we do not understand with an openness to learn, we practice love.
When we listen more than we talk, we practice love.
When we quell the angry and fearful words of people toward entire groups of people, we practice love.
The greater church has done things that over the decades has caused trauma to our siblings in Christ who identify as gay or transgender and to those who identify as people of color. Today we are challenged to be better. We are challenged to act more like Jesus and less like the leaders in the ancient world who in trying to be “good keepers of the law” missed the message of Love completely.
One of the things we are known for at Gethsemane is radical welcome! I hear it all the time from our visitors. And that is Love in action.
But practicing Love for the long haul goes past the welcome in the Narthex. Practicing Love for the long haul is grounded in relationships. Practicing Love for the long haul is grounded in our model, Jesus, and how he walked the earth is surprising inclusion and grace. Practicing Love takes practice.
Sending love and light in this season of Hope and Love,
Pastor Perrie
