Ebony and ivory live together in perfect harmony
Side by side on my piano keyboard
Oh Lord, why don’t we?
The Paul McCartney song plays endlessly in my head as I read reports of the henious crime in Charleston. A crime that is in all probability a racial one. People take various sides in discussions about this. I’m proud of my blogger friends who wrote strong posts against racism.
(I urge you to read Sharon Greenthal’s post ‘What can one white woman do to change the world?’)
Then a few days later, happy news also out of the US. The Supreme Court rules that same-sex marriage is a right nationwide. Colourful display pictures spread on Facebook to celebrate pride. And then I see questions and judgements flying around. “Does your rainbow DP mean you support gays?” “Obama is leading the US into sin.”
I share a picture from another blogger friend that very effectively says that Jesus never condemned gays (or anyone else). But I see one of her connections reacting to this with: ‘Perhaps Jesus didn’t say it, but His Father did!’ (What??)
I’m happy to read and share a note from the Jesuit priest, Fr Martin James:
The Catholic church must do a much better job of teaching what the Catechism says: that we should treat our LGBT brothers and sisters with “respect, sensitivity and compassion.” But God wants more. God wants us to love. And not a twisted, crabbed, narrow tolerance, which often comes in the guise of condemnations, instructions and admonitions that try to masquerade as love, but actual love.
Love means: getting to know LGBT men and women, spending time with them, listening to them, being challenged by them, hoping the best for them, and wanting them to be a part of your lives, every bit as much as straight friends are part of your lives.
Love first. Everything else later. In fact, everything else is meaningless without love.
Somewhere down the line, we’ve forgotten that religion was created to take us closer to God. A God who is all about connecting. A God who created us all equal.
“Spirituality is recognizing and celebrating that we are all inextricably connected to each other by a power greater than all of us, and that our connection to that power and to one another is grounded in love and compassion. Practicing spirituality brings a sense of perspective, meaning and purpose to our lives.”
― Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are
What will it take for us to remember that we are all connected? Nothing else makes sense!
Today I’m linking into Write or Die Wednesdays hosted by Mia of The Chronicles of Chaos and Vashelle of Shelly’s Cabaret a bi-monthly creative writing prompt.
Some of the stuff I’ve seen on social media over the past few days has made me shake my head in sadness at all the hatred and intolerance out there. Thank you for the reminder that love is what’s most important above all else.
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Thanks for this wonderful post. I love what you wrote and also what Fr. Martin James wrote. Hatred gets us nowhere. I’m shocked by the hatred on the Internet regarding the Supreme Court ruling. There have been these types of struggles before and there will continue to be. That’s how change happens. Someday I hope we look back on this in a time when gay marriage is accepted like any other.
Amy recently posted..Stick Your Neck Out From the Wolf Pack
Wonderful post Corinne
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Who are we to pass judgment on who should love whom? Isn’t love a natural instinct? Yes, religion has been created to connect and it has been created by people!
Thanks for such beautiful quotes and thoughts Corinne.
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The sooner that ‘people’ get that we are all one. One mass of consciousness, connected whether you like it or not. The human container is just that – it is beautiful and unique and in it we can share the gift of love.
Imagine going back to whence we came, never having that physical human love connection?
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I agree. Love is love. People need to realize that we are more similar than we are different.
We are a young country and even a young species. We are still learning. Look back as recent as the 50s & 60’s. What Rosa Parks did was revolutionary! The majority of people do not think twice about integration today (we still have a ways to go… but it is much better than it was!)
How about medicine? Modern medicine is not using leeches to cure diseases like they were in the past 9although I have heard that ‘new age’ medicine is using them again!)
We are still learning and given time people will hopefully understand.
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I agree. Times change, public opinion changes, people learn and grow. I, too, hope that this is another historic decision that will in the future become the norm and people will become more understanding and accepting. Equal rights for all, why is that such a terrible concept to some, I wonder? We are evolving and changing, hopefully learning some good lessons and becoming kinder, more compassionate, better as a result.
Amy recently posted..Stick Your Neck Out From the Wolf Pack
Corinne, I’m so glad you joined us for the Write or Die Wednesdays link up. I love what you said about compassion and tolerance, it’s so true. We are all human – with hopes, dreams, loves, fears. I’m glad our country made this step forward and hope that acceptance and kindness will eventually be the norm! xo
Mia recently posted..Write or Die Wednesdays: Love is a Haunting Melody
Maybe my thinking is simplistic, but I think a lot of folks look to the Old Testament to support their ingrained and sorry thinking. To me, that’s a historical and valuable learning tool but Jesus and those who teach love like His are the ones to follow. I like to remind people that if you read the entire Bible, and not just certain passages, tattoos were forbidden. They were used by other nations for acts unsanctioned for the Israelites and therefor condemned. I say, live and let live.
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So many great responses to this post! I wish I had time to personally comment on all of them. I’m here reading and going, “Yes! Yes! Yes!” It is refreshing to read blog entries and comments like these. Accepting, compassionate. There is hope!
Amy recently posted..Stick Your Neck Out From the Wolf Pack
That spiritual perspective is so important. Thank you for helping spread it. It’s the only way to live. It changes everything.
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Lovely message Corrine. Connecting with every single soul is the essence of our existence and we very little care about it. I love your last verse in the post that talks about religion and connectivity
You are right! We are all connected. It is devastating to see what happened in Charleston. Talking about it and educating the ignorant are the best ways to combat these issues. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts.
I loved that post from Fr. James! As a Catholic, I was proud to say there was finally a voice that stood up and said what a lot of us feel. It is so easy to hold fast to old ways but lose sight of the real message which is one of love. It’s simple. The golden rule is to love your neighbor as you love yourself and do unto others as you would have done to you. It’s quite simple really. Just hard for some people to handle apparently.
Corinne, when I think about the tragedy in Charleston which we all agree was terrible and should never have happened, I still have hope when I hear how people are responding to the tragedy and coming together to oppose senseless violence and racism. Maybe new conversations will take place, maybe people will open their eyes, maybe more people will be active supporting peace, not hate and separateness.
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Yes, Courtney. We can hope that this terrible incident can lead to meaningful conversations.
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What happened is heinous and I wonder why they are still living with such primitive thoughts. I guess more people have died due to racist attacks than terror attacks.
I love what Fr Martin James said. I’m a practicing Catholic, but there is a lot about Catholic doctrine that I struggle with at times. I have faith that with the current Pope, as well as priests that have the courage to speak up on such matters, Catholicism can become a progressive religion that applies all of its ancient but positive attributes to modern society. Does that make sense?
Anyway, this is a lovely post. I love everything you had to say –and agree whole heartedly! Thanks for joining us!