The memories come back for me, of four little girls killed in the bombing of a church, September 15, 1963, in Birmingham Alabama. I was a little girl, and yet I have a wisp of a memory. Years later I would watch the documentary https://www.amazon.com/4-Little-Girls-Spike-Lee/dp/B00KG2RCS0 and begin to get the facts straight in my own mind. These acts of burning traditionally black churches are designed I suppose to be an attack on the black community, and yet they seem to me nothing so noble, rather, they are simply acts of hatred.And, so we hear on the news today about new attacks on historic black churches in Louisiana. And we hear a bit about the alleged perpetrator of these attacks. Apparently he was part of some obscure hate group. I do not care. Don’t tell me about this man. He is acting from his own hatred, in an attack on people he has no relationship with, who have attracted his bile simply because they exist. No. There is no rationale for any of this – hatred is the opposite of the life our Lord God has called us to. We are called to love. We are called to care for each other.
I am preparing for Holy Week, and the scene in the upper room will always be, for me, the antithesis to these hate filled moments. 33Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ 34I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. 35By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
If I could make one lasting impression on the world, it would be this – Jesus called us to love. Period. Love the ones you are with, my friends, and the ones you don’t know, and the ones you don’t know at all, or don’t understand. It is the only way for humanity to survive, to flourish, to care. Love is the answer.
If you’re looking for a place to encounter that moment in the upper room with the disciples, join us at Holy Cross for Maundy Thursday worship, 7pm, Thursday, April 18th. we are located at 1998 Lansing Ave Ne, Salem, Oregon, 97301. Call the office if you want more information.
God bless you – Pastor Patricia Hughes