Sunday Reflection: Starting from a place of belovedness

Today's reflection is brought to you by

Mark 12:29-31.

O Christ,

it's so simple.

All we need to do 

is to love you 

with all that we are

and to love each other

as we love ourselves.

Why do we 

make things so complicated?

Help us to know

our belovedness,

and to love

as you love.

+Amen.

* * * * * * *

One of the things that drives me a little crazy about the faith tradition I grew up with is its insistence on Original Sin. Yes, we are sinners, and yes, we need to frequently ask forgiveness of each other and of God, and yes, I love the sacrament of reconciliation, but it seems to me that if we were better at believing that we are beloved children of God, our deep sense of belovedness would make us into more loving, less sinful people to begin with. So, you might say that I have very little patience for all the sin and redemption language that comes through so loudly in so many Christian denominations, including my own.

My life experiences to this point make it impossible for me to believe that Jesus died for my sins. I think Jesus came to show me how to live with sin and failure by living his own life of goodness and love as the Way for me to follow. But his Way was a threat to the sin economy of the faith leaders of his day, not to mention their temple coffers, and his loving kindness made them look foolish, so they made sure he was crucified. Jesus wasn't about sin, he was about love.

I suspect that's part of the reason why I feel so at home at The Community of Emmanuel, where I spend most of my Sunday mornings with Inner City Pastoral Ministry. Sin language isn't helpful there, where people are already quite broken. It's like kicking us when we're already down. So the old prayer that you find in the rosary after the Glory be is the last thing I would pray there. You know, the one that goes, "O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell..."

The Jesus I know would probably prefer to hear us pray with less emphasis on the negative aspects of sin, and more on the power of love:

Oh my Jesus,

my brother, my friend,

child of the Living God, 

as I am,

let your love shine through us

and help us to care for each other

and all your creation.

+Amen.

That's my prayer, and I'm sticking to it.