A World of Peace and Possibility

Grainy but cool - right? Haha!

“Imagine living in a world where there is no domination, where females and males are not alike or even always equal, but where a vision of mutuality is the ethos shaping our interaction. Imagine living in a world where we can all be who we are, a world of peace and possibility.” Bell Hooks

Can we imagine it? Can we dream it? Can we begin to enact it?

What if we saw the Kingdom of God as a place of mutuality? What if mutuality truly shaped ALL our interactions here and now? What if we really believed that the Kingdom of God IS here, and it is our responsibility to work toward it every day?

When I was in seminary we talked about this mutual mentoring idea. As a professor at the time – I was intrigued. Because if I was/am truly a life-long learner – mutual mentoring should not in any way threaten me. I could learn from my students, who had experiences, wisdom, understanding that I did not have. And they could learn from me, an older person with different experiences, wisdom and understanding than they had. Right?! Was there a need for hierarchy? Was there a world in which this ehtos of mutuality could shape our interactions of professor/students?

There is this story in the Bible where “almost domination” took place. The woman who was caught in adultery (we do not know where the man was…hmmm that is a problem isn’t it…?) is brought to the center of this circle of men, citizens, religious leaders who were just obeying Mosaic Law – mandating stoning, while Jewish law forbade executions. What was Jesus supposed to do? He, in fact, was a Jew sooo… Didn’t he need to “show” the ones trying to trick him the “only” way to think, believe, and understand? Didn’t he need to ‘control’ the situation? The Jesus way was/is not loud and controlling. We don't always know what he was writing in the dirt beneath their feet, but slowly everyone dropped the rocks and stones and walked away. Was Jesus facing them with the things in their own lives that needed taken care of before attacking the rest of the world concerning things they knew nothing of?

We find ourselves in this place where people are trying to assert their authority in areas they do not understand nor do they wish to understand. There are people making judgments and then making laws and inserting ‘domination’ instead of “living in a world where we can all be who we are, a world of peace and possibility.” No. Instead, there is no curiosity as to “why” people might be gender non-conforming, gender neutral, trans, or non-binary, etc… There is no scientific study being done, nor is there proximity to a community of people that daily experience a reality that is completely different from those judging them. We have adopted a “right belief over right relationship” mentality without even critically exegeting our own “right beliefs,” what many might call absolute truth, where they come from, and how they are causing harm. And why?

Do we just want power? Do we want control over another’s life? Or is it that we want to “ban” or make extinct (as if this is possible) a possibility that could affect or IS AFFECTING our families and friends – making it illegal to talk about who we really are so as not to be uncomfortable? Or challenged? Are we living and acting out of FEAR and ignorance concerning something we do not understand all the while exacerbating the fear in, marginalization of, and threat to individuals who should be treated with respect?

Why am I even talking about this? Why am I passionate about honoring each person as Imago Dei (the very Image of God)?

First, I believe strongly that ‘peace and possibility,’ love and respect should ALWAYS take precedence over control, domination, and/or force.

Next, I believe that to follow Jesus – there is no force to be had. It is free will to follow or to not. Why would we impose rules, laws, regulations, and/or impossible expectations on those who are who they are?

I also believe that a world of ‘peace and possibility’ costs us something…our fear, and our need for hierarchy, control, and domination.

If we need to control the lives of others – instead of celebrating peace and possibility in each and every human being – we need to look inward. We might just think we are the only people in the world with answers, wisdom, and knowledge. Goodness! That is a problem!

When our need to have ‘right belief’ trumps our ‘right relationships’ – that is a huge error.

God loves each and every person – God loves humanity. Why can’t we?

Jesus showed us how. Jesus told us how...you know...Love God, Love your neighbor as you love yourself.

Let’s give every single human being civil rights, dignity, and hope to believe that they are created on purpose, and they are God’s Beloved. Let’s advocate for people to be who they are without our ‘expert’ opinions on their existence.

In Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditation/Center for Action and Contemplation today he spoke of Saint Teresa of Calcutta: A Mother to Many. (Yes, I know there are many opinions about Mother Teresa as well...please stay with me.) He reminisces on his time spent with Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity at the motherhouse in Calcutta – a year after her death.

This is his quote: “Through that experience, I finally met a “conservative” yet fully contemporary form of religious life that I could trust. The sisters were not rigid, rather, they were simply devoted women..they were willing to live without security, with very few answers to their questions of mind and heart, and amid almost total disorder. All in union – hour by hour – with God. They lived that amazing and rare combination of utter groundedness and constant risk-taking that always characterizes the true gospel.  The sisters don’t waste time fixing, controlling, or even needing to understand what was wrong with other people. Instead, they put all of their time and energy into letting God change THEM. From that transformed place, they serve and carry the pain of the world, which they are convinced is the pain of God. This is the synthesis on a communal level that I am always seeking. I have encountered it in many individuals, but hardly ever in public and social form…Like Therese of Lisieux, her vocation in the church was to be love. She knew that her primary message had to be her LIFE ITSELF.”

Why do I continue to speak about this?

Because people are being hurt, people are being attacked, people are being marginalized, people are still being othered, and people, human beings, are being asked to NOT EXIST. THIS IS NOT OK! And while I believe that my “life itself” needs to be the primary message – yes, I also believe what Thomas Merton (1915-1968) talked about and lived. “Amidst the societal disruptions of the 1960’s, it was not enough for him to simply pray. He also devoted himself to action – writing, teaching, and collaborating with others – though he never lost his deep yearning for solitude and contemplation.” There has to be action.

To err on the side of LOVE...

Some might even add that “I” am trying to control or shame others into understanding how I understand. I think the only way I can explain my passion and advocacy is my proximity to hurting people. When I believe others are being damaged by actions, words, and degrading laws and outrageous claims about their humanity – that is when I say, this is not the Jesus way I know – and I must advocate for those who have no voice. Jesus was an advocate for humanity. Jesus was a true course correction to those who were so used to living by the "Law" that they had forgotten the "Spirit of the Law" - can you guess what the Spirit of the Law does? The Spirit brings love, compassion, and the Kingdom of God into the picture. That changes everything!

I found a quote by Brian Zahnd this week. “We all make errors in our theology; you and me both. So my recommendation is to err on the side of love. Why? Because…God is not doctrine. God is not denomination. God is not war. God is not law. God is not hate. God s not hell…God is Love.”

^^^THIS^^^YES!!!!

YES. YES. YES.

To my LGBTQIA friends and loved ones – you are LOVED BY GOD! To my trans friends who are just trying to live and thrive – please hold onto the love of God that wills you to LIVE and LOVE and BE LOVED. To my friends who have been taught to hurt, dehumanize and diminish those who see and live life differently than you – please see Jesus in each person.

Let’s drop to the ground the rocks and stones that would harm and threaten another's existence, the words and laws that would be thrown at someone else, and work on our own stuff. You know, why try to criticize the speck in someone else's eye when there is a log in our own. Instead, could we offer kindness, grace, and mercy when we speak of others and their unique way of being? Could we believe that each can work out their own peace with God while we support their right to be, live, healthcare and civil rights?  And as my friend Dena always says could we just “LOVE GOD, and LOVE PEOPLE?!”

Domination be damned! No person needs to CONTROL another. LOVE and LOVE ALONE will make a difference in EVERY situation....well Love, Compassion, Empathy, Introspection, respect, kindness, mutuality, etc....

LOVE creates peace and possibility…let's create an ethos of mutuality.