Tag: #love your enemies

Love That Person? How?

Published by mhelbert on August 5, 2020

The struggles that we share today are real. There truly is a virus that is turning societies around the globe upside down. Climate change is not an illusion. California is still burning. Unfortunately, so is Portland.
I think that it’s safe to say that we could all use a break from these issues. Someone please stop the news cycle for just a couple days!
Every day we see and hear people shouting at each other. Some of these people wear uniforms that designate the wearer as some authority. Police, Border Patrol, and who knows who else stand across streets with face masks and batons just waiting for someone to be foolish enough to challenge their authority. Other people, with bandannas wrapped around their faces and signs in their hands defiantly dare those authorities to bring it on.
How can we defuse this? Is it even possible to change this destructive narrative and bring about some kind of end to it, let alone reconciliation?
Maybe.
But, it will require effort.
The good news is, that effort can begin on one side of the issue. It doesn’t require everyone involved to be on board. In fact, one side may remain utterly opposed to any movement toward a peaceful settlement.
I have written the past couple days about movements and people who have been instrumental in bringing about peace and reconciliation. They did it without compromising their goals or their principles. And, they changed their world.
I wrote about the Voices of Ghandi and Dr. King. Their commitment to nonviolent resistance was unwavering as they confronted the injustices of colonialism and segregation.
I mentioned Jesus and His love for those who used Him, rejected Him, and betrayed Him. That love truly did flip the world on its ear.
All three of these people embodied a love for their enemies that I don’t see anywhere today.
Yeah, some of the families of murdered African Americans offer forgiveness to those who snatched the life from their loved ones. But, there is no one, no Voice, calling out that love can actually happen. And, that love can actually change anything.
“Really?” you may ask.
“Show me.”
On May 25, 2020 in Minneapolis, Derek Chauvin, an officer with the Minneapolis Police Dept. pressed his knee on the neck of George Floyd for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. Long enough to snuff out the life of Mr. Floyd. Chauvin has remained, as far as I know, remorseful even after being charged with murder.
Because of this heinous, willful act of violence a movement began to swell that has become a tsunami that threatens to sweep away oppressive systems that infect cultures worldwide.
What will replace those, I wonder. If of violence, racism, and other oppressive systems which form the superstructure of cultures are removed, what will culture be built upon?
These are questions for philosophers and people way smarter than I am.
One thing is necessary, though, for any rebuilding.
Love.
Ok, how can I love someone like Mr. Chauvin? He has a violent past. He has abused his authority on multiple occasions. And, he has callously taken a life that was not his to take.
God knows that’s a hard question. Maybe God can love someone like that! But, I ain’t God!
I’ve written before about how conservative Evangelicals belie their hatred and bigotry in the way they view the “Other.” The current administration in Washington has built its entire worldview on “Othering” people. Mexicans, Muslims, and citizens in cities like Portland are portrayed as “Those People.” Sadly, people who live in the suburbs of the U.S. have recently been assured that the “Others” won’t bother them.
In the pieces that I’ve shared I wrote that considering others as something ‘less than’ or something to be avoided or ignored is contrary to everything that I believe. It is also a foundational point in the one Book that so many people who claim to follow. The Bible calls out anyone who refuses to care for widows, orphans, and the foreigner living among you.
While that is all completely true, is there something there that we can learn about people like that murderer in Minneapolis? How about those damned snowflakes on the left? Those Libtards that don’t know what the world’s really like. Oh, let’s talk about those racist bastards and their Confederate battle flags! A basket full of Deplorables for sure! What can we say about the 1%? All those greedy bastards do is take, take, take.
Do you see what I did there? C’mon, look closely!
That’s right!
I never mentioned anyone’s name. I lumped them into vague categories that allows me to see them all a something less than human.
How many acts of inhumanity have there been in history? How many of those were helped along by first dehumanizing their victims?
“Those Jews are a threat to our pure, Arian race!”
“Blacks aren’t intelligent enough to vote!”
“Those Natives are a nuisance and must be erased!”
Whenever ANYONE dehumanizes another, hatred and violence are not far away.
Mr. Chauvin and people like him are the result of their culture. Just like you and me. Only, for him the influences created a person who has a skewed view of humanity. His world created him. In this way we can see him as a victim of the foul systems that pervade our world. And, because we also are victims of these same systems, albeit in differing ways, we may be able to find a degree of empathy.
Must we forgive and forget what he did?
No. We must never forget. And, forgiveness is not mine to give. He didn’t murder my loved one.
But, we must be able to Love. Not some sappy Hollywood emotional crap. That’s not love.
Love, agape, a verb is how we must move forward. There must be space given where Love can influence and, perhaps, reconciliation can happen.
That will never be possible, though, as long as people use violence and hatred against one another. That’s why we NEED a VOICE that can be heard above the shouts and flash-bangs and the tear gas. That’s why we people need to put down their own personal vendettas and embrace the common good.
I’m suggesting a position that is hard. Damned hard!
But, Love is never the easy path to take.
Just ask Ghandi, Martin, and Jesus.

Love My Enemy? Well Then, Who IS My Enemy?

Published by mhelbert on August 4, 2020

While wondering about the lack of a Voice in today’s chaotic culture. A Voice that would lift up the call for Freedom; for Equality; for Life and that could help to unite and inspire people to reach for the Heavens of Hope.
I am straining my ears, attentive to the slightest vibrations of air that just might signal someone stepping into the role of Messenger of Hope. I try to position myself on the highest hill where the clear, cool air may reverberate across the landscape that a Voice has finally sounded that call to take up the arms of Love and Peace that we so desperately need to hear.
Then, I wonder…
What would that message actually be?
Would it be some of the “‘same ol’ same ol’” that promises changes to policies that discriminate against certain segments of our population? Can we truly hope that political change alone will cast the demons of Racism, Classism, or Gender out like a priest who sprinkles holy water out of an airplane? Are not the issues facing us today more daunting than implying that simple bandaid solutions wrought by well-meaning and benevolent people continue to offer?
As I study and meditate on people who actually did create a persona that inspired millions to respond positively to the glaring injustices of their time, I began to see something that I alluded to yesterday that powered the engines of change of which they stood at the helm.
Both Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mahatma Ghandi before him spoke of the need to follow the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth.
“Love your enemies and bless those that persecute you.”
How revolutionary those words were when they were first spoken!
First century Palestine was in the iron grip of Rome. Caesar and his armies imposed something called the “Pax Romana,” or the “Roman Peace. Caesar Augustus established himself as the Emperor in Rome after a bloody civil war with Marc Antony and his Egyptian ally, Cleopatra. The ensuing peace became the symbol of Roman strength and established her military as the primary tool for enforcing that peace. So, Jesus was well aware of who those following him considered the “Enemy”. It was Rome. When Jesus uttered those words in what we now call his “Sermon on the Mount” he touched a nerve within everyone who heard him. In fact, just before Jesus mentioned this about enemies, he told the people that if “anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles.” Every person who heard that would know that the ‘anyone’ that Jesus mentioned referred to Roman soldiers. An edict was on the books that stated any Roman soldier could require any other person to carry his pack for him up to one mile. Jesus pretty much told those listening that not only should they bear the burden of their sworn enemy the required distance, but they should shoulder it for double the distance! Holy crap! What in the world was Jesus trying to do?
The short answer was that Jesus desired that they, in fact, Love their Enemy.
Ok, ok…it was easy for Jesus to say this. But, did he actually ever do it himself?
Well, besides allowing his enemies to crucify him, yes, he did.
I mean, crucifixion was an extreme to be sure. And, Jesus did tell those who followed him that they would need to “take up their cross and follow Him.”
Plus, after Jesus’ arrest, everyone knew that crucifixion was coming. He had no choice in that matter. One could make the argument that Love wasn’t really a factor. Rome did to him whatever they wanted. Love or not.
But, did he practice what he preached while his life was still in his own hands?
I think so.
I was meditating on the passage of the Gospel according to John that recounts Jesus’ actions at what’s called “The Last Supper.” Countless writers and poets and artists have attempted to convey what Jesus did that night. The part of this story that I considered was the scene during the meal when Jesus got up, girded up his tunic, tied a towel around his waist and washed his disciples’ feet. This passage has been used ever since it was written as an illustration of Jesus’ humility. He even told them, “You call me ‘Teacher and Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.”
I thought long about this scene.
Who was there?
What were they all talking about around the table?
What were their thoughts?
Was this simply a ‘teachable moment’ for Jesus?
Or, was He making a statement about life itself?
I can’t speak to the last four of these questions with any certainty. No one can.
But, the first one is rather obvious.
The Twelve whom he had called to follow from day one.
So, let me set the stage for you.
Jesus washed the feet of:
1) Peter—who would in just a very few hours deny that he even knew Jesus.
2) Thomas—would not believe the testimony of the others that Jesus had been raised from the dead. He would forever be known as “Doubting Thomas.”
3) James and John—These two brothers tried to conspire with Jesus in order to have the places of honor in Jesus’ kingdom. They tried to use Jesus for their own gain.
4) Judas Iscariot—the text tells us that before Jesus began to wash his feet that “the devil had already prompted [him] to betray Jesus.
5) ALL of the disciples deserted Jesus when the Temple guards, led by Judas, appeared in the Garden of Gethsemane to arrest Jesus.
Are all of these men Jesus’ enemies?
No, hardly.
But, they are good examples of the kinds of people that we will encounter in our daily comings and goings. They are the kind of people who will assert their rights over everyone else’s. They won’t wear masks. They will aim their AR-15 at you for saying that Black Lives Matter. They will be the ones who like to say, “It’s the economy, stupid.” These are our neighbors who don military gear and pin a badge on their chest just before they use a baton on the ribs of a person who is exercising their right to assemble and protest.
And, they are the oligarchs who comprise that “One Percent” who seem to own the rest of us.
Jesus said, “Love these. Yes, they hurt people and despitefully use them. Yes, they are selfish and unloving. They are also afraid. They are also your neighbor. Oh, and never forget…God Loves Them, too.”
God Loves Them, too.
How easy it is to forget those few words.
That’s the “Why” we should consider loving our enemies.
Perhaps, tomorrow we can discuss the “How.”

Where Is The Voice?

Published by mhelbert on August 3, 2020

The late 1950s and early 1960s were a time in our nation’s history when turbulence and peace seemed to reside next to each other. Peace for those who embraced the Eisenhower days and celebrated the U.S. in its distinctions from all other nations. Primarily, the Russian communists. It was in 1954 that the words “one nation under God” were added to the pledge of allegiance. The slogan “In God We Trust” became emblazoned on the very currency that we tendered to one another for all of our goods and services. In fear and trembling at the prospect of the communists, the U.S. charted a path that has ultimately led us to the place that we now fear that the Constitution may be abrogated by a lawless authoritarian.
And yet, most of us simply complain to our spouse or coworkers about our rights and privileges being suspended in the midst of a global pandemic.
Where are the voices of warning for what may be a crisis of democracy?
Today some of our cities are nightly alight with fire. We are able to view the violence perpetrated by both law enforcement officers and protesters alike. People are attacked viciously by teargas wielding people in full combat gear who seem to be guided by the slogan “Give no quarter!”
Those on the other side use weapons like laser pointers to blind the others. They break whatever is breakable and throw teargas canisters back to their owners.
Where are the voices who cry out, “Enough!”
In that troubled time during our history when African Americans did, in fact, cry out “Enough,” there was also the cry of “Freedom!”
That word rang through our nation like a clarion call to action. Nearly 400 years of oppression and abuse had finally run its course. “Freedom” was the call that demanded a response from the powers that had for far too long held the sword of power over the necks of the powerless. There was a Voice who shouted from the halls of power and in the streets of our cities. That Voice cried out in the wilderness where the deaf ears of the white structures that held up the paper walls of segregation. But, it was heard plainly by those oppressed and downtrodden.
There was something else very different in that Voice that shouted, “I have a dream!” And, this is a difference that I do not hear during these days of unrest that reveals all to clearly that the wounds of 400 years of abuse and oppression have not healed. They were merely ‘scabbed’ over. The continued murder of innocent black people at the hands of militarized law enforcement has effectively scratch the scab off and allowed the wound to reopen.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was a man singularly suited to his day. He was a highly educated man with searching mind and heart. His vision viewed things far afield that others of his day could not see. That little spot on the horizon that Martin saw, that he dreamt of, was a time when all of humankind would be equal. It was a place where segregation and Jim Crow were artifacts left to the dust of history, blown away by the Wind of the Spirit of Peace.
And, especially, where Love reigned in Freedom.
Martin’s love for his enemy was ever present in the words that he used to motivate others. Without love, agape love, he realized that his Dream could only come as a nightmare. Without love, agape love, those who considered him their enemy would always consider him that.
Without love, agape love, there was no hope for the future other than the dust and ashes left behind by the raging wars fired by hatred.
He realized that the only way to achieve that lofty Dream was to travel the same path as another person who had upended history.
In the middle of the 20th century a small, brown man in a loin cloth watched the Sun finally set on the British Empire. Mohandas K. Ghandi, a man educated in Britain, realized that there was no way that force could possibly uproot and throw the weeds of that great empire on the compost pile where it belonged. His gaze was as far reaching as Martin’s. He saw his people finally rid of the segregation and unfair taxation imposed on them. How could this dream of his be realized? He was only one person against an empire.
He found an answer to this perplexing problem by, himself, looking to One Who had come before.
“Love your enemies,” Jesus taught.
“Bless those who curse you.”
Jesus’ words were carried forward by others, like the apostle Paul. “Love is the fulfillment of all of the Law.”
“But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
With these words singing in his ears, Ghandi led a people to their promised land where freedom finally reigned.
Martin learned from the Mahatma. He studied Ghandi and meditated on his words while contemplating the words of Jesus. In both, Martin found wisdom and peace. More importantly, he saw a solution.
In what he termed “Non-violent direct action,” Martin taught a generation to stay their hands. He required those who followed him to recognize that they were not going to go quietly into their night. There was nothing passive about his resistance. Violence was never to be used on any perceived ‘enemy.’ Like Ghandi before him, he told his followers that there would be bloodshed. But, it must always be our own. Never theirs. These brave women and men knew going in that dogs and batons were likely. The late John Lewis attested to this after his skull was fractured on that Bloody Sunday. Martin assured those who looked to him for strength and leadership that they would be handcuffed and thrown into dirty, roach infested jail cells.
There was nothing ‘passive’ about any of this.
Martin’s mantra, “Love those who despise you and treat you badly,” while difficult to adhere to, ultimately won the battles of his day.
So, I write this today and I wonder, Where is that Voice?
Who will sound the trumpet and call people together in order to Love our enemy and, thereby, not only defeat the systems, the Powers and Principalities who allow evil and hatred to flow unhindered into our lives, but also lead our enemies into bonds of love and friendship?
It’s been said that Hatred begets more Hatred. That is all too true. The more people fight and carry weapons and shout at their enemies while the spittle runs down their chins, the more that insatiable appetite of Hate will devour friend and foe alike.
As Jesus, Ghandi, and Martin for our inspiration and guides, let that Voice sound loudly and clearly throughout our cities and across the countryside,
“Freedom!”

Love Your Enemies, Or Love God?

Published by mhelbert on June 20, 2019

It should really be a no-brainer. In fact, it seems that if you love God you will necessarily love your enemy.

Right?

For anyone whose home isn’t in some cave deep in the jungle that statement would ring true. But, for those of us who live and breathe in the U.S. things are a bit more nuanced, to say the least.

I spend a lot of time reading blogs, essays, and news reports from various sources. (Admittedly, Fox News is not one of them.) These pieces cover subjects from climate change to koalas with VD.

There is one topic that seems to garner a bit more than its fair share of coverage. That is, White Evangelicalism.

What is this, you ask?

White Evangelicalism is the broad umbrella that folks use to cover White conservatives who share some kind of Evangelical faith in God. These are the folks who voted overwhelmingly for Donald “Pussy Grabber” Trump. Some polls show that a good 83% of these people who profess to follow Jesus of Nazareth voted for him.

White Evangelicals are largely conservative politically and socially. Now, there’s nothing wrong with that. I respect their right to make those choices and will go to the mat with anyone who would try to take that right away. However, many of these people go well beyond simply supporting conservative causes. These others actively work to deny the rights of others to express themselves in a like fashion.

People like Steven Anderson, pastor of Faithful Word Baptist Church. Pastor Anderson is vocally anti LGBT. His hatred for LGBT people has gotten him banned from several countries in Africa and Europe.

There’s Robert Jeffress of First Baptist in Dallas. He is a noted supporter of Mr. Trump and other hard-line, nationalist conservatives. In his mind it seems that there are only two groups of people, White Evangelicals and Everyone Else. Everyone Else is, well, you get it. He and others whom historian John Fea refers to as Court Evangelicals have an agenda that seems to desire an American theocracy with White Evangelicals at the helm. No other solution to what they see are the ills that plague this nation is possible. For them it is a zero sum game where any gain by Everyone Else is necessarily a loss for White Evangelicals. Period. End of story. This causes Pastor Jeffress and others like him, say, Franklin Graham, Jim Dobson, Jerry Falwell, Jr., and others to view Everyone Else as enemies to be vanquished.

So what? Who really cares what a bunch of crotchety old white guys think, anyway?

Well, me for one.

Yeah, I consider myself part of Everyone Else. But, that’s not why what these people think or say. The thing that bothers me is that they spew their hatred for Everyone Else in the name of Jesus. And, I’m sorry, that doesn’t cut it. These people don’t get a free pass to hate others in the name of a Person who hated no one.

So, a few days ago as I was praying I had to confess to God that I felt that these people were enemies of the Gospel. That also made them my enemies. This was hard for me to say. After all, I lay claim to faith in God through Christ. Just like many of those White Evangelicals do. Shouldn’t I consider them my sisters and brothers? After all, not all siblings get along real well. But, they’re still siblings none the less.

Well, maybe. I supposed sisters can grow up in a way that will alienated them from their sisters and brothers. They could technically become ‘enemies.’

But, what I feel is different. It’s like these people are illegitimate children. Bastards born of a different lineage all together. How was I to deal with this? Should I attack them like they attack Everyone Else? No, that doesn’t sound right. Should I embrace them and engage with them with the love of Christ? That sounds like enabling. I don’t think that’ll work either. What then?

So, I prayed.

A couple of days before this I led a Bible study at the church I attend. One of the texts we looked at was Psalm 8. In that Psalm is this line: ” Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have founded a bulwark because of your foes, to silence the enemy and the avenger,” NRSV. I don’t like that translation so much. Looking at the original language I think a better translation would be, “Out of the mouths of children and sucklings You have established a stronghold that will silence Your foe and avenger.” It seems that the praise of those who are the weakest and most vulnerable is capable of silencing the loud clamor of those who stand opposed to God.

I realized that I don’t need to take White Evangelicalism to task. I really don’t even need to deal with them at all. My first obligation is to praise God and live in a manner that reveals God’s heart for EVERYONE, (White Evangelicals included). By doing that and encouraging others to do likewise, the voices of the Enemy will be silenced.

Should we love our enemies? Yeah. But, that doesn’t mean that we must engage with them on their terms. Our first responsibility is to love and engage with God. Anything more is just noise.

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