News from the Interim Co-Executive PresbytersLove
“A friend loves at all times” Proverbs 17:17 “And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:39 Love covers so much within our worlds. Some of us love vegetables, some love chocolate. Some love to read, some love to exercise. Some love hot weather, some love cold weather. We all have difference preferences in our lives, we all love in different ways. That is how God created us, equal and in his image. So, how do we serve God with energy, intelligence, imagination and LOVE? As we explore serving God with love, we must realize that this might be the most difficult charge in our ordination vows. It’s easy to be energetic, we can work on being intelligent, we can imagine when it is needed, however, love is a feeling, an emotion, something that cannot be learned from books, or self-care or dreaming. Love involves the heart. Love is also complicated. There is loving others as friends, loving at all times. There also is loving our neighbors, others, as we love ourselves. I want to delve into both ideas of love. First, as Church Leaders, we are called to love one another, as friends. This can be a challenge in the church, for there are times we have to wonder where love is within the church. Humanity can be stubborn, unapologetic, sarcastic, and at times down right hateful. Often, when there are church disagreements or situations, we see the worst in humanity erupt. Often, we do not get to see love of friends in such situations. We are called to minister in a world of pain, suffering, hurt, a world of corruption, bribes, bullying, a world of war, starvation, genocide, to love all as Christ has loved us. This requires us to develop patience, kindness, and empathy. It requires us to abide in faith and hope, with the greatest being love. This requires us to be the friend in all situations. It requires us to set ourselves aside, to separate ourselves from what we want, to what does God want. As leaders, the questions we should always ask ourselves, and others in conversations, are:
Secondly, we are to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. There is a difference here. Loving neighbors as friends requires all that is written above and a lot of prayer. Loving ourselves comes from practicing loving action toward another in any situation. Loving ourselves and loving others is action for building community, enacting neighborhood, and mutual respect. Loving ourselves must be within our hearts and in our actions that embody love with others. Loving ourselves must be illustrated in how we live and how we treat others. Loving our neighbors as we love ourselves is demonstrated in how we treat the least of these as Jesus teaches. As church leaders, we are to excel on the side of grace in all situations. This does not mean we are a doormat, to be treated with disrespect or with evil intent. As church leaders, we are called to stand firm in the Gospel, assured that with God’s strength and love, we can love all people, even those “stubborn saints” which might require hard conversations, which occur in love. The Gospel is the armor that wraps us in love. “Follow God’s example, therefore as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Ephesians 5:1-3 Peace, Olivia and Hoover |
JUNE 2025
Rev. Dr. Hoover & Rev. Olivia Haney
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