For those who follow Christ we must hear the daily cry from the world's exploited, abused, and hungry. The news has to become a container for our prayers believing change can come, that transformation of people's lives can result in "doing no harm" to the other. To ignore such cries leaves us out of the "work of the world" that Christ's call includes.
Such challenging times requires us to keep our spiritual wells filled so that we may also take action. Do we speak directly to injustice and hatred that is expressed in our presence? Do we ask the kinds of penetrating questions that reveal the motives of our deeds? Do we pray for all those throughout the world who are working for peace and justice and seldom receive news coverage? "Doing no harm" is not a passive affair...it requires us to be alert and active. The covenant group can help us to discern what it may mean for us to take action, and engage others in how to best combat the oppression in the world.
But where is the source of strength for such efforts? Martin Luther King who actively engaged the forces of darkness and hatred around him, wrote this:
"Now there is a final reason I think that Jesus says, "Love your enemies." It is this: that love has within it a redemptive power. And there is a power there that eventually transforms individuals. That's why Jesus says, "Love your enemies." Because if you hate your enemies, you have no way to redeem and to transform your enemies. But if you love your enemies, you will discover that at the very root of love is the power of redemption."At the Root of Love, Martin Luther King, Jr.
Learning to love in ways that love becomes a redemptive force in our own lives, and the lives of others is the great call to those who would follow the teachings of Jesus Christ.
