What Is God’s Love? At our Mother’s Day service, one of our members asked, “What’s the difference between God’s love and a mother’s love?” Now that it’s Father’s Day, we could ask the same thing about the love of a father. Yet how do we answer that question if we don’t know what God’s love is? The God described in the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures is a complex one. We’ll call this God “he,” since we’re talking about fathers. This God is full of both mercy and wrath. He forgives the sinner, then goes and wipes out entire cities of sinners, their cultures, and even most of the human race.…
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Human Rights and Peace
A Sunday of Peace According to a Presbyterian colleague of mine, the theme for this second Sunday of Advent is peace. By this, we might mean the absence of war or conflict. But a deeper exploration of peace would include a companionable silence, a comfortable camaraderie, a feeling of safety, a happy stillness in one’s heart. Peace is equanimity, tranquility, a sense of well-being. In Christian terms, peace is that absolute trust and rightness that comes from an abiding relationship with God. According to the Gospel of Luke, Zechariah, eight days after his son John the Baptist was born, prophesied about Jesus. He said, “By the tender mercy of God,…
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Mercy and Grace
Revisiting Forgiveness Last week we talked about forgiveness. During our Sharing Circle, someone commented that we often forgive not for the one who harmed us, but rather to set ourselves free of hatred and resentment. This week, we look at an idea akin to forgiveness: mercy. Unlike forgiveness, which we can offer without the other person ever knowing, when we grant mercy, such as by pardoning the wrongs of a criminal, the one who has done those wrongs must realize it. Then, within that realization, if she is open and receptive to it, she might find the blessing of grace. In this way, forgiveness, mercy, and grace are connected. Yet…
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Recovery and Restorative Justice
Recovery and Justice In this column, I had planned to unpack what justice means in a life of recovery. In his blog, “Selected Papers of William L. White,” White writes: “Recovery is many things, but it is at its best a platform for justice. Recovery without justice is a strained and haunted recovery.”1 White is referring to our need to make amends for the harm we have done to others and ourselves during our addiction. When we pile harm upon harm in our quest for oblivion or our craving for comfort, we accumulate what White calls “debt” that we must face in our recovery. The process of facing our debts,…
