Choosing
Grace
“Love is
the crowning grace of humanity, the holiest right of the soul, the
golden link which binds us to duty and truth, the redeeming principle
that chiefly reconciles the heart to life, and is prophetic of
eternal good.”
Petrarch
There's a lot of
free-floating anger right now. A lot of name-calling, and blaming and
hate-filled rhetoric. It's heart breaking to see, soul crushing to
hear. Yet, last night I was part of a gathering that included
Christians and Jews, Muslim and Baha'i, black and white and brown,
gay and straight, young and old. One hundred and twenty-some souls
gathered in the basement of a Baptist church in a part of town that
was once predominantly white, and now is predominantly black. People
sat together, ate together, and learned about an organization called
Faith in Action, that works through faith communities to address
social injustice in a peaceful way. There was no hate in the room.
There was no name-calling or blaming. There was grace.
We have a choice as to
whether we live in hate, or we live in love. We can extend our hand
to one who is different in color, religion, nationality, or sexuality
in love or in fear and hatred. We can work toward peace in our
communities, or we can work toward anarchy. We can insist that our
way is the only right way, or we can learn to listen and understand.
We can be part of God's grace, right here, right now, or we can be
angry and belligerent. I choose love. I choose grace. You can, too.
In the Spirit,
Jane
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