FROM THE PASTOR’S HEART
OP / ED BY DR. ROBERT KENNEDY
In a historic vote in Congress on October 3, 2023, the Speaker of the House was ousted from office. The 216-to-210 vote marked the first time in history that the House removed its leader, with eight Republicans voting with 208 Democrats to remove Mr. McCarthy.
Anyone who had been watching the direction of the Congress since the beginning of the year was not surprised since a lot of mistrust had been building up. Very likely, conditions became untenable because of McCarty’s vacillating character and style of leadership or because of the culture within the Republican party. But more because of what is being done nationwide to spread hate instead of love.
And now, there is a reaping of what has been sown. Yes, the Former Speaker of the House has paid a price for the seeds of hatred that have been sown and which he has helped to water.
So, if at no other time, the encouragement needs to be given, it is now that we need to find a way to spread love amid hate. The author of Hebrews says, “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works…” (Hebrews 10:24).
I heard it said, “Good deeds can be done without genuine love – it could be done out of selfish interest or ulterior motives. But genuine love does good deeds.” We read this in the Bible,“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8 NIV).
God demonstrated his love for the world by sending Jesus to save the world. Jesus also demonstrated his love for the world through his sacrificial death on the cross. Following the model, we are to show that we love others by our kind acts towards them. “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.” (1 John 4:20-21 NIV).
Professor Leo Buscaglia, who taught a course called “Love” at the University of California, used to insist that “Love is a learned phenomenon.” In his book Love, Buscaglia lays out the following premises:
One cannot give what he does not possess. To give love, you must possess love.
One cannot teach what he does not understand. To teach love, you must comprehend love.
One cannot know what he does not study. To study love, you must live in love.
One cannot appreciate what he does not recognize. To recognize love, you must be receptive to love.
One cannot doubt that which he wishes to trust. To trust love, you must be convinced of love.
One cannot admit what he does not yield to. To yield to love, you must be vulnerable to love.
One cannot live what he does not dedicate himself to be. To dedicate yourself to love, you must be forever growing in love.
We must constantly remind ourselves that no one is born loving; we must learn to love.We see it in children that at their earliest, they grasp at everything, and if they are not taught to spread love, they will grow up doing the meanest things. They have to be reminded often to be kind. However, how much love we show them is how much they will have to give.
As adults, we need to encourage ourselves to love too. When we meet mean people, our humanity often tells us to respond in kind, but we need to pause and say there are better ways to live than being mean.
We should remember that loving deeds are transforming our souls. In fact, we do not only transform ourselves but often the lives of others. So, by loving works, we cause those around us to experience the presence of the Kingdom of God. Jesus said, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16 NIV).
The bottom line of this reflection is that we all need to encourage one another to love because, without love, there is no hope for our world. Life without love is a bankrupt life, regardless of the abundance of money or possessions. One has nothing if one does not have love.
I remember the first lines and chorus of the song that I used to sing a few years ago, written by John Mohr and John Mays, which says:
Je t’aime
Te amo
Ya ti-bya lyu blyu
Ani o hev ot cha
I love you
The sounds are all as different
As the lands from which they came
And though the words are all unique
Our hearts are still the same
Love in any language
Straight from the heart
Pulls us all together
Never apart
And once we learn to speak it
All the world will hear
Love in any language
Fluently spoken here
Yes, we need to encourage love and loving actions to transform our souls, families, communities, and world.
