{"id":4275,"date":"2015-03-05T22:10:48","date_gmt":"2015-03-05T22:10:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=4275"},"modified":"2015-03-06T20:35:22","modified_gmt":"2015-03-06T20:35:22","slug":"and-theyll-know-we-are-christians-by-our-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/and-theyll-know-we-are-christians-by-our-love\/","title":{"rendered":"And They’ll Know We are Christians By Our Love"},"content":{"rendered":"

We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord,<\/em><\/p>\n

We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord,<\/em><\/p>\n

And we pray that all unity may one day be restored.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Refrain<\/em><\/p>\n

And they\u2019ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love,<\/em><\/p>\n

Yes, they\u2019ll know we are Christians by our love.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand,<\/em><\/p>\n

We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand,<\/em><\/p>\n

And together we\u2019ll spread the news that God is in our land.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

We will work with each other, we will work side by side,<\/em><\/p>\n

We will work with each other, we will work side by side,<\/em><\/p>\n

And we\u2019ll guard each one\u2019s dignity and save each one\u2019s pride.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Though this hymn is over 30 years old, it seems as though it could have been written for this week\u2019s readings \u2013 <\/em>Andrew Marin\u2019s Love is an Orientation: Elevating the Conversation with the Gay Community <\/em>and Adrian Thatcher\u2019s God, Sex, and Gender: An Introduction. <\/em>Peter Scholtes wrote the hymn \u201cThey’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love\u201d while he was a parish priest at St. Brendan\u2019s on the south side of Chicago in the 1960s. At the time, he was leading a youth choir out of the church basement and was looking for an appropriate song for a series of ecumenical, interracial events. When he couldn\u2019t find such a song, he wrote the now-famous hymn in a single day. I love what it says: we\u2019ll be recognized as Christians \u2013 true disciples of Christ \u2013 not by our rhetoric or our politics or even the soundness of our theology, but by our love.<\/p>\n

The two books this week embodied this hymn. Adrian Thatcher in God, Sex & Gender <\/em>attempted to address three things: how to read the Bible in relation to sex and gender; how to read biblical passages purporting to condemn homosexuality; and how to read biblical passages which demean women as unequal to men. Being a five year old stuck in a thirty-five year old\u2019s body, I blushed more than once reading this book. Andrew Marin and I connected much more through his plain-speak in Love is an Orientation<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Marin\u2019s story resonated with my own experiences, especially in college. I stuck with the conservative, evangelical InterVarsity and Campus Crusade crowds, and while I never publically spoke out against the LGBT community, I did carry judgmental and disapproving thoughts and opinions. And then it happened. One of my closest friends, someone I had known since third grade, told me over text message, \u201cSo\u2026I\u2019m gay.\u201d I will never forget that moment. I was shocked, but I wasn\u2019t. Knowing him as well as I did, I questioned from time to time if he was struggling with his identity and sexuality. But his blurted out words, \u201cSo\u2026I\u2019m gay,\u201d seemed pensive, yet dashed with relief. He was so nervous to tell me, but so thankful to finally live in the open. And then we went deeper. The hurt he expressed in his following messages cut straight to my heart. His parents shut him out, with only his brother listening to his cries for desperation. Despite living in a liberal community of Boston, he still felt like an outcast, struggling to connect. When I read Marin\u2019s words, \u201cMy heart yearned for authentic Christianity \u2013 one where people from both communities lived together in a shared belief in Christ admidst the struggle,\u201d my heart remembered these deep conversations and struggles with my friend. My friend was raised Christian, devout in his faith, and now the doors were closed to his faith family.<\/p>\n

Fast-forward five years later, and my friend had met a man. They had been in a monogamous relationship for three years, and when Massachusetts passed legislation, they were among the first to get married. This was a watershed event in my life. I attended the wedding apprehensively, but wanting to support the friend I had known for nearly my whole life. Aware that his parents may or may not attend, he needed the love and support of family. The wedding was beautiful. The guests were massively supportive and kind. As it should have been, this was a true celebration of two people who loved and cared deeply for one another. Honestly, I don\u2019t think I had experience that much love and adoration in one room in any of the other weddings I have attended or officiated. The community of support was incredible. It was a shock. My heart was anxious with questions of everything I had ever believed. Perhaps this is why Marin\u2019s book spoke to me so heavily.<\/p>\n

Now I am left with more questions than answers, more eye-squinting stares of wonder than decisive nods of the head. Taking a page from Deve\u2019s book, these questions came to mind:<\/p>\n