Jesus told his disciples, A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have
loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you
are my disciples, if you love one another. (John 13:34-35)
As we continue looking at the Baptismal Covenant in the
Episcopal Book of Common Prayer as a way through Lent, we are asked a difficult
question. “Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your
neighbor as yourself?” How we respond is the way the world knows that we
are followers of the One who said “love one another.”
It is a hard question and a difficult command to live into. The
good news is that Jesus has paved the way. The Gospel this week states, “For
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes
in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the
Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be
saved through him.” (John 3:16-17)
God—Creator of all that is, LOVED the world—each and every
bit and person, so much that God became Human! God became Incarnate (in-flesh)
so that the world might be [reconciled to God] through him. That’s both shocking and
wonderful. How can the Originator of star dust and microbes and leviathans and
humans DESIRE relationship so much that Creator becomes Creature? Hundred of pages
of theology has been written about the hows and whys. But at the core is God
so loved the world!
The Baptismal Covenant says we are to ‘seek Christ in
all persons.’ Each of us loved by God. It should be easy to find Christ in and
Love everyone. However, the truth is not everyone presents as lovable. It’s
easy to love a baby or a sweet grandmother. It’s not so easy to love the grumpy
clerk or the person that disagrees with your core beliefs. It’s even more
difficult to love a school shooter or abuser.
As we saw last week, ‘love’ is not the soft, fuzzy
valentine heart feeling. It is action that bears all things, believes
all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (I Cor. 13:7) We chose to
love, even when it is nearly impossible to do so. We make the choice to say,
‘you are God’s beloved, even if you are not a nice person.’ We chose to allow
others their opinions and beliefs even if we cannot understand their point of
view.
It's a personal struggle, for me, to love and accept and see
each other as God’s equally loved child. (Often it’s hard to see myself as
loved or lovable, too.) That’s why the reminder in the Baptismal Covenant is so
important. “Seeking and serving Christ in All and loving neighbor as
self”—not easy, but vital to creating God’s Beloved Community where all
creation is accepted and valued and not harmed in any way. And that may require
some giving up of ‘my way.’ It will require conscious effort.
In what way can I seek Christ in someone I may
disagree with?
When can I choose love over division?
