On the Minister's Mind

with Rev. Laine Morgan

Last week I moved to a new city, a new neighborhood, a new home.  As we were unloading things, going in and out of the garage and house, several folks introduced themselves and welcomed us to the neighborhood.  Most had dogs with them, so we also met several new friends for our little Maisy to greet on our daily walks.  All the kids must have been in school.

Of course, I am curious about these new people.  I wonder which ones will become friends, and which ones we will eventually avoid for our peace of mind.  I wonder who our neighbors will be long-term, and who may already be in the process of moving away.  I wonder which ones will shy away from our gayness, and which ones will openly embrace us.  Who will we feel naturally drawn to?

Spiritually, my intention is to sow seeds of love with every person I meet.  At this point I don’t know anything about any of these new neighbors.  I don’t know how they live.  I don’t know how they vote.  I don’t know how noisy they are.  I don’t know their habits and tendencies.  But, before I know any of the human level stuff, I do know they are souls on their own journey of evolution.  I also know my job is to love them, even after I meet their human qualities.

When I was thinking about all of this, I ran across this passage by a fellow Presbyterian pastor, and it spoke to me -

"We are not made to hold half of our neighbors in contempt. Spiritually, we are not wired to feel hatred and mistrust toward each other. It is toxic to our souls. Beneath that anger is terrible loss. We want to be in relationship with each other. We were created for relationship. I don't mean that God created us and hoped that we would enjoy each other's company. I mean that God made us such that we are not whole and healthy unless we are bounded and bonded in human relationship, and we feel a part of the human family. We need to recognize the sacred worth of another even when we disagree." - Ian Cummins, Presbyterian minister

Every one of the people I encounter on the sidewalks around me have sacred worth.  I am sure we will disagree about some things in the future, but I intend to create meaningful relationships, as God intended, as my soul craves. 

Won’t you be my neighbor?