A message from your Conference Minister

HATE, AND THE POWER OF LOVE

We were deep in conversation about our churches at a recent meeting of the Church and Ministry Team when one older member of the Church Committee, who had said almost nothing that morning asked, “What are our churches doing about the cross burning in Belleville?!” The conversation paused, heads turned in his direction. He waited a space in the silence then asked again, “Why aren’t the churches protesting this hateful action?” His questions hung in the air. Finally someone mumbled that they thought there was someone in one of the Belleville churches who had called for a meeting to speak to the event.

The atrocity that Lou referenced, the burning of a cross, is a “hate crime,” one of the more familiar expressions of hatred in our society. Cross burning is an integral part of the underbelly of American history, clearly recognized as an act of extreme racism, and the mob-minded sanctioning of terrorism. Furthermore, the act desecrates the symbol dear to most Christians. Still it continues in our midst.

Turns out the incident in Belleville last year was perpetrated by some youth. The community chose to leave it at that, perhaps wisely. But Lou’s questions linger in the listening heart. What are the churches in the Illinois South Conference doing in response to acts and words that generate fear, distrust, and hatred?

Rather than occasional incidents, aggressive racist activity occurs daily in our midst, and according to reports from the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC http://www.splcenter.org/) hate crimes are on the rise, having increased over 7% in the last year. The statistics, tracked through police and FBI records, indicate that many of those targeted by hateful activities are perceived to be immigrants, particularly Latinos/as and Muslims. The SPLC projects that incidents will increase as the immigration “wars” heat up heading into 2008 elections next fall.

Hatred is a learned response, learned in our homes, schools and churches. Hate walks with fear, and takes form in aggression. Hate has the energy to capture one’s soul and to separate you not only from yourself and others, but also from God. Fear and hate are the tools of evil. To paraphrase from South Pacific,

“You've got to be taught to hate and fear,
You've got to be taught from year to year,
It's got to be drummed in your dear little ear,
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught to be afraid,
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a different shade,
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught before it's too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate,
You've got to be carefully taught.’

The toolkits used by those who manufacture hatred include: falsehood, stealth, dis-information, bullying, aggression, abuse, violence, persecution. They seem overwhelmingly powerful.

What can churches and church members do in the face of such destructive behavior? We can begin by remembering the most challenging message of Jesus’ ministry: Love, and above all else, love your enemies. Loving enemies is counter-intuitive. It makes no sense. It feels very unsafe. But Jesus’ life and ministry demonstrate the unstoppable power of Love. In truth, the power to love your enemy literally eradicates the enemy, for love insists on welcome and relationship. No enemy can withstand Love’s insistence.

Love also insists on action. Love is not passive. Love speaks hard truths to the principalities of this world. Love won’t back down or be silenced, even in the face of fear. This is how we, in the United Church of Christ, are emboldened to stand firm in the face of hate, to name it aloud and insist that the world learn a better way. Love embodied by us is the ultimate message and mission of the Prince of Peace.