What is Emerging?

It seems that at any Loretto gathering since the U.S. election on Nov. 7, the conversation would turn to the hard question of how can we love those whose words and actions are so against what we believe?

Richard Rohr’s meditation on Jan. 20 was “The Difficult Work of Loving Others.” He reminds us of Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:44, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Rohr describes how loving our enemies is a practice of accepting our own shadow side. Those we find hard to love carry the parts we don’t like within ourselves. If we can face our own shadow and truly love ourselves, then we see the other with new eyes and can love them.

Rohr continued challenging us with further suggestions of what we need to do in order to love our enemies. The first is to develop the capacity to forgive. That means that the evil actions are no longer the barriers to how we relate to this other human being. The second thing is that we must recognize that the evil actions of a person never express all that they are. Most likely there is some good in the worst of us. When we look beneath the surface, we can see within another a measure of goodness. Then we realize their hate comes out of fear, ignorance, prejudice, pride, etc. And we know God is present within their being.

No one said this is easy. Yet, Jesus calls us to it. Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:48 to “be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Rohr suggests that a more accurate understanding of the word translated as “perfect” is “whole.” Be “all inclusive and all merciful” as our God is.

And let us remember that Love has the power to defeat hate and fear and anger. So let us move forward, never losing hope, resisting with nonviolent actions as the Spirit of Jesus leads us.