When I was a young parent I didn't think twice about spanking my children. I did not do it indiscriminately. I was somewhat rational in meting out such a punishment. I would clearly lay out the guidelines. If you do this, then this will happen; if you do this again, then this will happen and then final warning, if you did it a third time, spanking. I'd invariably cry right along with my child saying that it hurt me as much as it did you and that "I warned you". It really is somewhat of a ridiculous scenario when I think back on it.
I asked my daughter who works in an ER if she recalled when I stopped spanking them, as infrequent as it was. She did not. Reminding her of some of the horrific scenes of child abuse she sees in her ER and on the news, I explained that I wondered what line was crossed, what made a person snap to go from restrained spanking to the myriad forms of torture and child abuse that a so called loving parent dishes out? I became afraid of that line because I could not conceive of a parent ever doing such a thing to their child. I was no longer willing to risk coming close to that line, blurred by rage or even some 'rational' argument of justification.
Today's passage from John speaks of Cain as evil. Certainly so. Blinded by differences, jealousy, hate and some internal justification, Cain slew his brother. I can't help but think of the state of affairs in the world today. People are so filled with 'rational' rage over their opponents point of view. People really hate other people. It does not help that the highest officials of the land perpetuate such hate mongering with fear and proclamations that haters are 'decent people'. People are becoming radicalized merely from the point of dislike of the other. This is not how God wants any of us to act.
The terrorist acts perpetrated on Muslims, Christians, Jews and still others, is the saddest state of affairs and an indictment of organized religions and a self righteousness born of willful ignorance and hate. It is the same hate that Cain exhibited in the murder of his brother.
We are called to love. How can we go from hate and misunderstanding, from willful ignorance and immovable positions to pure and simple love? If we truly want to be the follower of any faith, and especially Christianity, we must love. That is the number one tenet of the faith, the basis of our belief. 'For God so loved the world.....'
Here is an idea. Let us abandon all rules and rubrics. Forget or put aside completely all the things we think are most important - even those ideas and opinion we hold against any other person or group of people, and simply love them to tears. Let us all love. I suppose that might only work if it is bilateral or multilateral. Certainly, if we continue the way we are, we will hasten our own demise. So, no matter what let us decide to love - even unilaterally. Love purely. Love completely. Love without restraint. Love without judgment. Love without limits. Love as God loves each and every one of us.
For more love and less 'rational' divisiveness, we pray.
1 John 3:11-18
For this is the message you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. We must not be like Cain who was from the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. Do not be astonished, brothers and sisters, that the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life because we love one another. Whoever does not love abides in death. All who hate a brother or sister are murderers, and you know that murderers do not have eternal life abiding in them. We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?
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