Director of Lifespan Faith Formation 2.11.26

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“A culture of domination is anti-love. It requires violence to sustain itself. To choose love is to go against the prevailing values of the culture.” – bell hooks

With it being Valentine’s week, many may feel disenchanted by a holiday like this, as capitalism normalizes and puts pressure on the giving of gifts whose origins are exploitative and unsustainable (specifically, I am thinking of standard packages of chocolate and disposable or kitschy items.) I have been conditioned in this way, too, by family and culture, and as an adult I have been gradually dropping old habits and building new patterns around consumer-based pressure around holidays. I trust that many of us reading this hold traditions of deeper meaning, rooted in values and intentionality, if not abandoning the holiday altogether, as well.

I am thinking this week of how important it is in this time to collectively align our values with our choices, and how we can gently encourage and exemplify this for others, too. We can keep returning to the question of, “Who am I called to be?” posed by our UU friend Meleah Houseknecht. (See her great article here or at the QR code found on the image attached: https://uusj.net/wp1/report-from-minneapolis-how-unitarian-universalism-beats-authoritarianism)

I thought that this quote that Meleah shared was worth highlighting here, too:

“In speaking of love at this point, we are not referring to some sentimental or affectionate emotion… we speak of a love which is expressed in the Greek word agape… Agape is not a weak, passive love. It is love in action. Agape is love seeking to preserve and create community. It is insistence on community even when one seeks to break it. Agape is a willingness to sacrifice in the interest of mutuality.” – Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in his 1960 article “Pilgrimage to Nonviolence”

As we are being faced with much active terror, corruption, and pain, make us courageous and help us to choose what we know is right for the collective good. Guide us in a direction of counter-cultural love and agape, remembering, tuning into, and gathering strength from the wisdom of those who traveled this path before us. Help us to know that whatever lies ahead, each next step, rooted in our values, is worth taking. Let us begin again with grace.

 

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