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Across the Pastor’s Desk by Mary Fiel

I have a confession to make — I’m having a hard time right now following Jesus’ call to love my neighbors. Just in case my actual neighbors are reading this, I don’t mean you specifically; I mean neighbors as Jesus refers to them: every single created being.

But more than anything I’m having a hard time loving my enemies, which Jesus also calls for. I’m guessing I’m not alone in this confession. There has been so much continued chaos and devastation around the world, and especially within our own country, that I am really struggling to stay positive and not return hatred with hatred.

Our natural inclination is to fight fire with fire — to retaliate and cut just as deep. But as the saying goes, two wrongs don’t make a right, so I’ve been trying to find new ways to address my anxiety and frustration about everything happening.

Romans 12:21 reminds us, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition)

It is very easy to stew on evil and allow it to affect our days like a dark cloud hanging over our heads. But if we only focus on the bad, we never allow the opportunity for good to break in and change our perspective.

So especially during this Lenten season, I’ve been attempting to lean further into the “peace of God which surpasses all understanding” that Paul talks about in Philippians 4. So much of what is happening in our world we have no control over. But what we do have control over is how we respond to what we encounter and learn.

By leaning into God’s peace, we allow him to work on our hearts and help us find ways to overcome the evil we see with good.

Thomas à Kempis has shared, “First keep peace within yourself, then you can also bring peace to others.”

We would all do best to allow time for God’s peace to enter into the worry, fear and possible hatred we may be experiencing in our current times.

Nothing will change if we continue to feed into the negative thoughts and actions around us. We need to confess our sin of not thinking about or treating our neighbor as a fellow child of God, and repent for those thoughts and actions.

Pray and meditate on how we can best be compelled to share God’s love with those in our sphere of influence, and hopefully that love will continue to spread far and wide.

Then we will certainly be loving our neighbors and enemies well.

Mary Fiel is a pastor at First Lutheran Church in Albert Lea.