We Must Insist on a Lens of Love With Which We Engage Each Other
Dear siblings in Christ,
So many of us have watched with concern, heartbreak, and horror the escalation of violence in Minnesota these past few weeks. Many of us have family, friends, and colleagues who live and work in Minneapolis, St. Paul, and greater Minnesota. They, along with the ELCA Bishops, MN, Council of Churches, and other faith leaders have worked diligently to lift up voices of love, justice, care, and concern during this fraught time, yet even this message has become controversial as evil has woven through our communities.
The hope of our calling is to be one body with many gifts (Ephesians 4:13). Diversity of skills, perspectives, dreams, hopes, griefs, and opinions is to be celebrated. But the aim of evil is to divide and isolate. Evil seeks to tell us lies about our fellow human beings, it seeks to exclude and denigrate, to convince us that diversity is something to be feared rather than valued.
And while social media has the power to connect us beyond the miles, bear witness, and find community in amazing ways, the algorithms inherent in these platforms can quickly lead us into echo chambers that create false narratives and even false profiles, which cause us to forget our own humanity as we sit behind screens and type things we would never say to our cherished friends, colleagues, or family members; or subscribe to narratives that affirm our human sinfulness rather than seek to understand, learn, change, and grow in knowledge, faith, and love.
Our gifts and callings were created to be wonderfully diverse and to build up the body of Christ! We are invited to rejoice in the gifts and callings of one another so that in the power of the Holy Spirit we will fulfill our baptismal calling. We must see each other as siblings, beloved by God. We must insist on a lens of love with which we engage each other in conversation and action.
What does a lens of love look like?
It looks like calling a colleague for a conversation rather than arguing on Facebook.
It looks like asking questions instead of jumping to conclusions and listening to understand rather than to respond.
A lens of love seeks to care for the poor, the widow, the orphan, and the stranger.
A lens of love looks like contacting your elected officials to protect the most vulnerable in our society.
A lens of love means bearing witness to unjust action and holding leaders accountable
A lens of love seeks to bring a diversity of voices and perspectives to the conversation.
A lens of love looks like praying with your feet by marching in solidarity with your neighbors near and far.
A lens of love looks like praying as you bake cookies for a neighbor or prepare a casserole to bring over for dinner.
A lens of love celebrates unity in our diversity
A lens of love embodies forgiveness and grace.
We are one body and one Spirit called to embody God’s hope to this heartbreakingly beautiful world in need of this posture of love. May we walk together in this love, striving to see Christ in one another.
Your sister in Christ,
Bishop Melissa L. Stoller