Love.

I have been United Methodist since I was born. Growing up, my dad was a United Methodist Pastor. I was only about 10 days old the first time I went to annual conference. I spent 5 summers working at a United Methodist camp in college and after. And for more than 10 years I have worked at United Methodist churches. There is probably not another institution that is more entrenched in who I am.

This weekend, United Methodists gathered in St. Louis for a special General Conference to debate the future of the church, specifically with regard to recognizing ordination and marriage of people who identify as LGBTQ+.

As I watch from afar, I pray. So often we get caught up in being legalistic and what are the "rules." It's hard because we are a people who need structure. We like clear lines between right and wrong - and to think we know what those are. But life is not that clear cut. And so I pray for humility to know not one of us has all the answers. I pray for love that recognizes the humanity and the imago Dei (image of God) in each other and is willing to work and sacrifice so others see it too. And I pray for a church focused on following Jesus.

Because the Jesus I know challenges us to move beyond the "rules." When the institution wanted to exclude people, Jesus ate at their homes, touched them, saw them, healed them, allowed them to anoint him with oil, etc. Over and over again we see Jesus loving people. In fact, those he had the harshest words for were the ones who tried to keep others out.

Further, when asked the two greatest commandments, Jesus says

“‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40)

I have taught these verses so many times. In my 10+ years of youth ministry, this is one of the two lessons I most wanted the youth to hear from me (the second being that NOTHING can separate them from the love of God). And the part I keep coming back to is the end - "On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." Everything else comes back to this. Everything comes back to love. Which means whenever we are trying to decided the right thing, we must ask ourselves: "How do I love God and love people (including ourselves) in this situation?"

And I don't mean love as a happy, feel good emotion. I mean love as a choice, often a quite difficult one. I mean love as an action that requires something of us. In Luke 10, when asked how to inherit eternal life, Jesus refers the lawyer back to these laws (which are originally found in the Hebrew scriptures that we call the Old Testament). And then Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37), a story of what love in action means. The Samaritan doesn't just pray for the man or feel good things toward him; he puts love into action, sacrificing of himself in the process.

I acknowledge that I don't have this down. I am a work in progress. But I work to move in the direction of loving more fully. Because every person is a beloved child of God. Period. And so I choose love.

One final note: I am so grateful for my current United Methodist church and the fact that when we say "All are welcome," we mean it. It's not easy. We sometimes rub each other the wrong way, yet we still welcome. And people feel it when they come to our church; we hear it over and over again from visitors of all walks of life. I am so thankful to be part of (and raise my daughter in) this community  that shows the possibility of what the church can be when we love each other and do the hard work required to continue in community despite our differences. And I know that no matter what the results of the General Conference, we will continue to live love. And it renews my hope.