Does this hymn refrain sound familiar? “And they’ll know we are Christians by our love.”
I thought it’d be great to sing it during Sunday worship as we explore the prickly word “Christian.” Then, coincidentally (or not), a community member emailed to share thoughts (unprompted) on this exact hymn and how so many people show love who are not Christian.
Yes. Of course. That’s absolutely true.
And just because we are Christian doesn’t mean we are automatically full of love and show it.
Hence why “Christian” is a prickly word. A lot has been ‘done in the name of’ Christianity to the negative and to the positive (think crusades and community dinners). And there are so many directions we could go with this. I wonder how many of us are too shy (or ashamed) to declare we are Christian? And, what do we do about that when the stories we hear each week tell us how to look out for and love those in most need? Why wouldn’t we want to be public and passionate about that?
When folks ask and I tell them I’m a minister with the United Church (I don’t even say Christian) I usually end up in a lovely, long conversation about faith and meaning, the state of the world, and the nature of God. Only rarely does someone say to me “oh, well it’s because of religion that we have all the world problems we do.”
This word is nuanced and full of history – to the negative and the positive. Let’s see what happens when we try to unpack it a little bit.
See you Sunday!
Julie.