Love…a Divine Partnership

The Holy One calls humans into divine partnership all the time.

Invitations to enter into sacred reciprocity with the creator of the universe  happen all the time.  The Holy One calls us. Pages of scripture are filled with invitations.  Esther, the woman at the well, Samuel, Isaiah, Mary the mother of Jesus, Moses, Mary sitting at Jesus feet listening to him teach, and even Martha in a roundabout way.

I like to think I would be like James, John, Simon called Peter and Andrew.  I like to think I would have dropped everything and followed Jesus immediately but if truth be told I am more like Jonah.  I am the one who says “Who me?  Surely you can’t want me to ….”  And if you add in being sent to people who are challenging, even impossible to like much less love, that makes my wholehearted “Yes” even harder.

Sometimes the Holy One calls us to tasks that are hard, even seemingly impossible.

The antidote to hate is Love with a capital ‘L’. What if Divine Presence calls us to love people who hate anyone who is different from them?  Will we hear the call through all the noise of unrest in our society?  Can people filled with hate even understand the love of our creator?  Do we write them off before we even begin?  Do we tuck our heads under the covers and pretend we didn’t hear the call to love, the call to enter a conversation, the call to bring peace, love, compassion, and hope to a hurting world…even those who harm others… even the Christian Nationalist down the street?

The love of the Holy One is without boundaries.  Divine love extends to everyone.  Humans are the ones that impose boundaries on the love of God.  Jonah was angry when the people of Nineveh turned their hearts toward God.  He didn’t want them to receive a second chance.  Our Creator is all about second chances, even and perhaps, especially for those who harm, hate, and create chaos for others.

Jesus’s call to follow is inclusive of all people.  He shows us how to love everyone, especially those on the margins.  Loving those on the margins comes easy for me.  But what about our enemy?  Jesus invites us to love our enemies.  That is a very hard invitation.  That is where Love becomes Dangerous.