Jesus stopped. And
healed. And loved. Not causes, but
people.
Madeleine
L’Engle
“I love mankind, it’s people I can’t stand!”
Linus
(Peanuts)
_______________________________
I think Jesus disdained causes
He didn’t line up with any group
Not the Sadducees, or Pharisees
Not the Zealots or the Essenes
Not the collaborative movement which went along with Rome
(it’s the money stupid)
Or the movement that wanted to eradicate all the Romans
Jesus didn’t have much time for movements
because he only had eyes
for people
People who happened to be Sadducees, Pharisees, Zealots
and Essenes
Noble and common
Rich and poor
Powerful and powerless
Healthy and ill
Confident and confused
Faithful and faithless
Righteous and holy messes
And when he saw people
Who were hurting, questioning
Lost
Despairing
(whether they knew it or not)
Jesus stopped. And
healed. And loved.
He did what he could to make people safe
Accepted and welcome
He did what he could to bless
To guide
To transform
He did not just work to help them become who and what
They were created to be
Children of God
But he worked to make sure they were fed, clothed, and
house
To make sure their thirst was quenched
Be it spiritual or physical
And when he went on his way
He left people who were changed
(or if not changed, sad and thoughtful)
Yes, I know, there are places for movements
And causes
But sometimes our allegiance to causes can leave us blind
to people
We can be so into stopping abortion
We lose sight of mothers and fathers, and children
already born
And we can become cruel and destructive
We can be so into gun rights
The environment
Animal Rights
(pick your cause)
That we fail to see people
We fail to see their fear, their pain, their anger
And we an end up discarding them
Diminishing and marginalizing them
Hurting them
Without compunction
After all, “the cause!”
I don’t know sometimes how to balance it out
I don’t know how to see the people who are wrapped up
In beliefs, attitudes and actions
That violate love
It is difficult to stop and truly see them
It is difficult to love them
It is difficult to treat them with love
But Jesus did
He stopped and talked with kindness to the rich young man
The tax collector
The Roman soldier
The members of the Sanhedrin
The lepers
The afflicted
The poor
All
How do we do it, Jesus?
How do we see those who cross our paths
How do we see them as your beloved children
As our brothers and sisters
How do we not let our causes
Our divisions
Our own sense of right and wrong
Good and evil
Get in the way of love?
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