This Week from Mitch

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I like many of you have watched with extreme sadness the horrifying events unfold in Israel. The taking of hostages, public executions, and indiscriminate violence can only be described as evil. With no long-term strategy being immediately clear for Hamas or Israel at this point, I fear the violence and suffering over the next few days will only increase. It is all at once tragic, mind-numbing, and sickening. It is also the repeat of a cycle of violence and bloodshed that, unless there is a dramatic shift in public policy and amendment of many hearts, will continue for decades and decades to come. This final sad truth is heartbreaking for me.

As Christians, we recently celebrated the Feast Day of St. Francis, a day when we prayed that God would make us instruments of peace and planters of love. For me, being instruments of peace and planters of love begins and ends with our baptismal covenant. In our baptismal covenant, we make a promise to see God's handiwork in all people, respecting the dignity of every human being. In our covenant, we promise to renounce evil and every sin that separates us and all others from the love of God as we work toward justice and peace on the earth.

In light of my baptismal covenant, I renounce the violence that I am seeing and join with clergy of all denominations and faiths in Columbia in a call to pray for peace. I want to invite you to do the same. In addition, it is not enough simply to renounce violence and cruelty. Our baptismal covenant informs us that we must also answer the call to be instruments of peace by actively showing love for one another. I will join in and support relief work. I will endeavor to love my neighbor as myself. I am under no illusion that this will help in Gaza, rather, I simply believe that if I can love and inspire someone else to do the same, systems can change and cycles of violence can end. Violence begets violence, but love begets love, and peace begets peace.

St. Francis asks us to be instruments of peace. Pray for peace in the holy land. Please also as a simple act of faith find a way to be an instrument of peace for someone this week. While the ripple effects of that love might be small, our faith tells us that God is present even in the smallest acts of love and in this there is hope.

I hope for a better tomorrow. I promise to work towards that hope. Join me.

In Christ,

Mitch