Maybe Hugh Was Right

I’m going to start this post with a very sizeable disclaimer:

There are times when I totally suck at this. ‘This’ being the whole Great Commandment thing. Loving God. Loving Neighbor. Loving Self. Yeah, not my strong suit. At least, not all of the time. I’m somewhat notorious for giving people a hard time. Poking fun at people– usually a good-natured thing, although not always taken that way. Taking things a bit too far. Hurting people that I really care about. So, for that, I offer my humblest apologies.

Disclaimer– check.

But there are moments when it hits you. I mean, really hits you. And I don’t want to sound all ‘Woodstocky’ on you, but there are times when you just realize that 1 Corinthians is right on. The greatest of all things is love.

I guess I started thinking about this when I was doing some reading on this whole ‘health care’ debate that’s out there. Trying to stay informed so I can at least pretend I know what I am talking about should the need arise. No– I’m not going to get into a debate about health care and what we should/should not do. There are too many questions out there right now for me to offer some incredibly off-base editorial on why Obama rocks or why he’s the worst thing since Nickelback.

What I will say, though, is that I appreciate the fact that people have realized the “status quo” is broken, that things need to change, and that work is being done to insure that the poor will be taken care of… at least, that’s my hope. Whether that comes to fruition and when that happens this side of the Rapture remains to be seen. But, I digress.

Nevertheless, I would like to think a movement of this sort is, at its core, rooted in love. Yeah… let’s be real. Some people are in on this for personal agendas, trying to climb the corporate/political ladder so they can have a rotunda in the Capitol named after them or have SNL do a sketch about the way they talk or hold a pen. So, maybe I’m being a tad naive.

But, what if it were true? What if we actually did things like this because, in our heart of hearts, we believed that we are created equal and that we’re supposed to love one another and not give a gosh-darn about what people say or think because the Great Commandment needs looking after?

I would like to think that’s what happening in D.C. these days. Sometimes I think otherwise when I see all of the griping and politicking and riff raff. But, I hope these so-called ‘important people’ really do believe in something outside of themselves.. and that that belief is what’s fueling this call for ‘reform.’

And I would also like to think that these ‘love-driven’ movements are happening in other places. I think I’ve seen it. When I was invited into someone’s home for dinner. When I see new students come in and feel accepted at WF. When I hear of a parent’s will to switch places with a suffering child. When I see people wishing friends happy birthday on Facebook. When someone walks into ‘sacred space’ because they know that, there, they will be accepted.

Then, I am made abudantly aware that one film (and birthday boy Hugh Grant… didn’t know that til just now… which is kind of weird) has it right on… Love, actually, is all around.

~ by presbytide on September 10, 2009.