Disarming faith...tough love

 

Let’s not forget the Christian demand of discipleship: “Love your enemies.” Central to the Gospel announcement of Jesus is the nonviolent love of those who would oppose us: sometimes physically and other times ideologically. At the center of discipleship is love–love for God and for neighbors. And lest we forget the criteria for a “neighbor,” Jesus makes that clear in the story of the Good Samaritan: a neighbor is the person we naturally hate. For a Jew in the first century to even acknowledge a Samaritan as anything but a despised traitor to the God of Israel was unthinkable! Yet that is exactly what Jesus called his hearers to–to equate enemies to the status of neighbor. Therefore, a neighbor is any and every person on the face of this earth that we like, dislike, or would even consider an enemy. We are called to love our enemy-neighbors.

Comments

[Erin Wilson]

It was so much easier to believe in/agree with passages like this before. In Canada. I have to confess that it's so much harder now. It was easy for me to be a pacifist in Canada. Not so easy in Kurdish Iraq. I struggle every day with the realities here. Struggle with my feelings about the peshmerga who protect us from being slaughtered. Struggle to defend the humans in IS without defending their actions.

And not for the first time, I see those scriptures in a fresh way. I see just how much Jesus was asking of us all. Just how challenging it was for those early followers.

I don't really have anything to contribute to your post. I just felt the need to tell someone how much I'm struggling with it.

Peace.

[ron cole]

Oh, you are so right Erin. After early in my life of spending 10 years in the Army, almost going to Vietnam and witnessing the whole aftermath of a needless war...and the cost on generation of young men. And then what is going on in the world today...Iraq, Syria, Afganistan and eastern Ukarain. It's a mess of broken humanity.

Do we just write of the seemingly impossible words of Jesus, this scandalous god-man. I think we know in our hearts, there is profound truth there. Maybe the wisdom, and the hard journey is moving as close as we can to that place. I think war, the I idea of just wars has become a default switch to affirm our theological thinking. Maybe if we really thought of more redemptive ways, stretching our human imagination to resolve our diffrences for the common unity of humanity would be a step in that direction. Our history definitely tells us war, and violence never end our human conflicts. Surely our existence, our future will depending on moving in the direction of non-violence. I think the hard words of Jesus...require a whole lot more imagination on our part.

[Erin Wilson]

It seems like violence comes at the point when it's too late to love, or to love well. Do you have thoughts on this? In places like Ferguson, it seems that there is still room for love/Love to make an impact. In places like Syria/Iraq...I'm not sure how.

I really appreciate your insight, Ron.

[ron cole]

Beautifully said, Erin. " When it's too late to love, or to love well." I think violence is a result of the lack of imagination, especially redemptive imagination. What happened in Ferguson was a complete breakdown in humanity. The violence, or death of a white person will not bring about any kind of justice for the black community. As much as we think the civil rights movement has changed the landscape of America, it hasn't. We are seeing a re-segregation in America, especially in communities like Ferguson. Marginalized, stereotyped, poverty and rampant unemployment, and a sense of powerlessness. Most white people have no connection or relationship with this reality. Justice, or a non-violent redemptive resolution can only come about in a middle ground of understanding. Yes, it will be extremely difficult...but, maybe that is the non-violent fight.

Iraq/ Syria is something much more insidious. It is fundamentalism, and fanaticism. This is what bothers me so much about "religion ", and one of the biggest reasons I left the church. When the premise of your religion is soley based on belief, you have drawn a permanent line which can not be moved and must be defended. We are seeing some change by progressives, but just to a point. Usually there is still that fundamental mark that can't be touched. So leadership has do again pursue the depths of human imagination to find something truly redemptive...something that embraces something abundantly human, not religious. Sure it is a great risk to move beyond belief...to something profound life giving, and engaging. But if the majority pursued this path, I think there would be hope. ISIS is radical, fanatical extreme religious faction...using extreme violence to strike fear in the soul of a religion. Can love change them, likely not...as you say to late to love. But, I think the Muslim community everywhere needs to tell of a different islamic religion of compassion with the loudest voice possible...change the tide. We need to fight them also to stop them. But, maybe to there will be a time of somekind of reconciliation. If it can happen in Rwanda...it can happen anywhere. Anyways, Erin sorry for rambling on...but, your " when it's too late to love, or to love well ", kindled some great conversation. Peace.

[Erin Wilson]

I really appreciate your thoughts, Ron. Please don't apologize.

For some reason, your comments brought to mind a lesson I had re: helping grieving people. There are zones of proximity around someone who has suffered a loss. If you are not in the closest circle, and it's inappropriate to spend time with the one grieving, you can still support those in the zone closer than you, to free them up to support the one grieving. I'm not sure if I'm explaining this well.

It seems that love might work the same way. I don't have the proximity (or knowledge, language, nerve, etc) to love those waging this war. But if I love those I know in this community, it frees + empowers them to love in a way that might reach the front lines.

Lots to think about here, Ron. I'm really very grateful.