I have been praying on that all week about love and I think those prayers might be best summed in the victory speech by the young Senator elect from Texas (Texas? Right?) James Talarico. Talarico, the grandson of a Baptist preacher, the son of a single mother who left his abusive father with virtually nothing, who taught in public schools before going to seminary and running for office said this:
“a barefoot rabbi gave us two commandments, love God and love neighbor, because there is no love of God without love of neighbor.
“Every single person bears the image of the sacred. Every single person is holy, not just my neighbor who looks like me, not just my neighbor who prays like me, not just my neighbor who votes like me. I am called to love all of my neighbors the way I love myself.
“Love can turn a student into a scholar. Love can turn a closet into a nursery. Love can turn an enemy into a friend. Love can turn a campaign into a movement. Love can heal what’s broken in America. We can’t defeat the politics of division with more division. We can’t win that game. We have to change the game…..In my experience, when you extend an open hand rather than a closed fist, you’ll be surprised by who takes that hand.
He said “Hate is predictable. Hate is boring. Hate can’t lower our energy bills. Hate can’t teach a child to read. Hate can’t build a future. But what hate can’t do, love can.” So what will say yes to? The same thing our Universalist fore bearers said yes to, they said yes to love and so shall we.
With Grace and Grit, John
