November 6thA Courage to Love
“But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!” Christ, Matthew 5:43
“… are all summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Romans 13:9
Over the last few weeks, I have been reflecting on the coming celebration of 500 years of Anabaptism and our weekend gathering theme of Courage to Love and how that impacts us today. The verses above keep coming back to me as the basis of the Anabaptist Peace tradition. We are to love those around us.
It feels like it takes much more courage today to choose love over disregard, ignorance or even hate. As I write this the world is full of conflicts; in Ukraine, the middle East and, in particular focus this week, on the American election. In each, religion plays a role and is used by both sides to defend or excuse actions. In none of these does the New Testament version of love your enemies come through. There are no thoughts of love, only of being in the right and only in the eyes of those that agree with you.
How we respond to conflict as Anabaptists should stand in stark contrast to this. The verse from Matthew is part of the larger Sermon on the Mount which gives many examples of how to respond to conflict – turn the other cheek, reconcile with others, keep your word and perform acts of charity. These have become fundamental practices in the Anabaptist tradition.
As we reflect on 500 years of Anabaptism in 2025 I’m looking forward to discovering what it means to have the Courage to Love. How do we continue to apply the Sermon on the Mount in today's diverse interconnected world? What does this look like in a polarized world where are neighbours are diverse and across the globe and our enemies are anyone who disagrees? In many ways we already have some responses in MCA. Our Bridge Building ministry connects Christians and Muslims to have dialogue, we have working groups for climate action and Indigenous reconciliation. We have churches across multiple cultures, even reaching beyond Alberta with streaming. Where we go from here is in God’s hands and through God's love anything is possible.