Let's embody love, compassion for all
The soloist sang a plaintive song of longing and hope on the first Sunday of the season of Advent.
Listed on the screen where the name of the composer or song-writer would usually be seen was the word “Spiritual.” No one recorded the name behind the song because it wasn’t “worthy” of being remembered. Its author was considered less than human by the dominant culture and authorities.
When I asked the children in our church about the song, the mood turned somber. One child said, “The slaves sang the song so they could get through the times when they had nothing left but God.”
And so it is time that religious leaders of a variety of faith traditions affirm the divine image in every human being — no exceptions. And we must embody this affirmation, beginning with our own actions and leading out into the community.
Having lived in Whitefish for almost 14 years and witnessed several iterations of white supremacist vitriol, I wonder: what is it that attracts these values to our valley?
And so it is time to speak out against the latest and any future attempts to contaminate us with these hateful proposals.
Take a look on the websites of the various media outlets in our valley. Anti-semitic and racist hatred is rampant.
When people make “sophisticated” hate-filled comments that urge ethnic-cleansing, advocate forced sterilizations of minorities, and disparage the right of all to participate in our democracy, we must present a bold repudiation of these values.
We resist those who believe all people are created unequal, and we reject those who hope to establish a white nationalist state for “their” people.
My father just celebrated his 94th birthday, and then Veterans Day. He served in the Army of the Occupation in Germany beginning in 1945.
My father’s witness to the horrors of the effects of attempts to create a “European White State” causes me to refuse to remain silent. When people come to our community espousing hateful values like those of the Nazis, we must resist.
What are the “weapons” of our resistance?
As a Christian leader, I intend to counter this poisonous invasion with information, love, and an alternative vision.
What do I use as my model?
Jesus’ proclamation of the kingdom of God, in which all are loved, valued, fed, healed, and transformed into God’s dream for us and all of creation.
Jesus embodied the revolutionary idea that love casts out fear. He knew that no one that professed to love God could fail to strive to love their neighbors — not just people who looked, sounded, and lived like themselves — but all neighbors.
As events in our community have unfolded, the latest trend of letter-writers, commenters, and editorial writers is to demonize the group Love Lives Here. Accused of resorting to “pitchforks and torches” to assert their values of love and diversity,
I wonder if any of them have bothered to attend the hearings or read the mission statements of Love Lives Here and their supporters. To my knowledge, those of us who resist white supremacist values have never tried to restrict free speech even when it is offensive to us.
And yes, one of our members did offer to invite those who promote white supremacist values to sit down at dinner and discuss our differences in love.
Let’s engage ourselves in finding ways of embodying love and compassion for all — no matter our religious affiliation or none.
— Rev. Deborah B. Schmidt, Whitefish