Love Thy Neighbor

Love Thy Neighbor

“We are all rooted together in the ground of consciousness, God’s gift to all of us, and our joining is absolute. When the Islamic mullah prays with a true, quiet heart, I believe the souls of the Iowa farmer and the Welsh miner are touched. When the gong sounds in the Japanese monastery and the monks enter the timeless silence of Zazen, their quiet nourishes the Brazilian native and the Manhattan executive. When Jews and Christians pray with true willingness, the Hindu scientist and the Russian policeman are enriched.”—Gerald G. May, Will and Spirit (HarperOne, 1982), pp. 319–320.

 Many authors remind us of our connection to nature and the world around us. Others remind us of our relationship with the poor, the weak, the sick, and the lonely. Gerald May reminds us of our connection to other religions—how the Spirit moves along so many different paths we do not understand. Too deep for words. 

There is more to this than simply recognizing God at work in so many varied ways. May also tells us that this Spirit intimately connects us. What we do to further the Spirit, to connect with God in our own day and in our own way, makes a difference across the globe, even in some distant rainforest. 

Again, this relationship is a profound mystery beyond our knowing. Sometimes, when I read this passage from May, I sit and almost feel the Iowa farmer working his black dirt, a reminder of our four years spent in Iowa City training. Then I try to cross the Atlantic to England. I can connect with the shepherd, his dogs, and the sheep striding through green pastures because we have made several trips to England and Scotland. 

Given our current political situation, I am finding it increasingly difficult to connect with the people in Russia. I have never been there, but I have always wanted to visit St. Petersburg to see Rembrandt’s Return of the Prodigal Son at the Hermitage Museum. Next time I watch a newscast from Russia, I will look at it and try to imagine the people there rather than the leaders. I think this could make a difference. Perhaps they are doing the same for us.

I am also reminded of Arkansas’ Interfaith Friendship Camp, where children from different religions come to play and learn about each other’s traditions.

Saint Mark’s also hosts an interfaith service, “Love Thy Neighbor,” in September, connecting us to the music and dancing of many faith traditions. Afterward, we share a meal together.

Joanna. https://www.joannaseibert.com/

Love Never Dies Again

Love Never Dies Again

“But soon we shall die, and all memory of those five will have left the earth, and we ourselves shall be loved for a while and then forgotten. But the love will have been enough; all those impulses of love return to the love that made them. Even memory is not necessary for love. There is a land of the living and a land of the dead, and the bridge is love, the only survival, the only meaning.”—Thornton Wilder, The Bridge of San Luis Rey (HarperCollins, 1927), p. 107.

In his Foreword to The Bridge of San Luis Rey, Russell Banks reminds us that at the memorial service in New York for British victims of the attack on the World Trade Center, British Prime Minister Tony Blair read the closing sentences of Thornton Wilder’s novel. Of course, we hope that those we love will always feel our love throughout eternity. But we also want to tell them about loved ones, such as our parents, siblings, and grandparents, who they may not have known.

Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians, and Wilder, in this novel, both tell us that the best love we have never dies. This is a mystery, but I know in my heart that it is true.

February 12th was my mother’s 104th birthday. We did not always appreciate each other, yet I still feel her love today. My parents died before I was ordained a deacon and before any of our grandchildren were born. Though my parents are not physically here, their love still surrounds us.

All the people in the picture from my parents’ wedding at my grandparents’ home on Third Street are now dead, yet I am so often lifted up by their presence in prayer and love. I feel the love from that home. That dining room table is now in our dining room. There are days when I feel a love whose only source may be the God of love. Sometimes I sense love from specific individuals who have died. 

I think of the group of women with whom I have been reading books once a week for more years than I can count. After a recommendation from one of our members, Lisa Brandom, we read Wilder’s The Bridge of San Luis Rey as part of our literary journey. I feel the love of each of these women every time we meet. One friend reminded us that she would keep coming, even if we only read the phone book. 

I now know I will feel their love in my heart for years to come, even after we can no longer see each other.

Love is all we have to offer in this life that will endure. Love is all we will carry with us into the life of the resurrection. Love is the bridge between our earthly home and our life in the resurrection.

Joanna   https://www.joannaseibert.com/

Love Never Dies

Love Never Dies

“Love never dies.”—1 Corinthians 13:8.

I have heard this passage from 1 Corinthians about love many times, but when I heard it recently, directly from our friend Paul and our preacher Michael McCain, I could not hold back the tears. I have told grieving people that their love for and from their loved ones remains and never dies.

I don’t understand it. It is a mystery. I look at pictures of my loved ones who have died, including my brother and my grandparents, and I can feel their love as I send it to them.

Frederick Buechner and Henri Nouwen tell us that our bodies die, but our mutual love somehow returns to God and is preserved for all eternity.

If you are a mystic, you have no difficulty understanding this. However, this may be a challenging concept for those who primarily rely on rational thinking.

Why did this passage move me that Sunday? As I grow older, I am often overwhelmed by how I will miss friends and family when death separates us. Yet I suddenly know in my heart that our love for each other endures. 

Our love for them is ongoing, as is their love for us. We will never be without their love. I believe that, in some mysterious way, this love never dies and is carried into eternity to transform us, others, and the universe.

Today, I give thanks and share with you the love of friends who have died: my younger brother, Jimmy, my parents and grandparents, and the many friends who died last year.

Joanna   https://www.joannaseibert.com/