Love Manifested

“Love is free. Free is love. Love is living. Living Love. Love is needing to be loved.” — John Lennon

Author’s Note: I will be leaving on a week long vacation after today and I’m not bringing a computer. Hopefully the world will not end while I am gone.

Yesterday, we talked a little about how religious people should vote. I didn’t actually identify who they should vote for really. I’ve always hated when people at church did that. Occasionally, they would give us pamphlets with pro life candidates and assert that it was our Christian duty to vote for these folks. I promised myself I would never do that. So far I’ve kept that promise, but it gets harder and harder each day.

As Christians, Jesus gave us two great commandments. The first one was to love God with all of our heart, strength, and soul. The second was to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. It really was that simple. It’s always that simple. So, if our politics is to mirror our religion then our politics should be a manifestation of that love.

So, the main question from here is what love looks like. Admittedly, it can look like a lot of different things to different people. That’s why we have different political parties in the first place. Even if we just use our own children, some people believe in a tougher love than others. Some give their children anything they would ever want or need while others make their children earn what they want. Both could be seen as manifestations of love.

The Texas GOP released it’s official platform the other day. To those unadulterated to politics, the platform would be akin to the creed we say at mass. It is a statement of beliefs. The Democrats haven’t released theirs’s yet. So, we are left with the one to go over in our space here.

Jesus was kind. Jesus was loving. In fact, most people would assert that Jesus was the manifestation of love itself in the human form. He ate with the outcasts of the society. He forgave sinners. He preached about forgiveness. He made things simple while also making them complex. It would seem that the same would be true of our government.

When you love someone you take care of them. You feed them when they are hungry. You clothe them when they are cold. You heal them when they are sick. You welcome them when they are strangers. You forgive them when they have done you wrong. You provide them shelter from the cold. You see them when they feel lost and alone. You do all of these things to all God’s people because whatever you have done to the least of these you have done unto me. It’s almost like I’ve read that somewhere before.

The Texas GOP made a number of statements in their platform. I’m not going to tell you not to vote for them. After all, people must collectively decide for themselves what love looks like for them. I would just ask that everyone read that platform and answer one basic question. Is that love? Is that how we are called to love? Is it love at all?