Bonds of affection: How do we love when we disagree?
What does it take to hold people together despite disagreements and differences? It seems a very basic question, but it is hard to answer.
This past summer witnessed various church bodies wrestling with weighty and divisive issues. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) voted at its General Assembly to permit Presbyterian clergy to perform same-sex weddings in states where this is legal. In another contested move, the PCUSA decided to divest from certain corporations whose business with Israel was seen to be supportive of the occupation of Palestinian territories. The Church of England voted to ordain women as bishops over the outcry of those still hoping for reconciliation with Rome. A United Methodist Church committee reinstated a Methodist minister who had been defrocked for performing the wedding of his gay son. Each of these decisions challenged the ties that bind people together in these churches.
Given these realities, how do we make sense of Jesus’ words in John 13:34–35 in which he makes love for one another the key mark of the church? “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” What kind of love can be nurtured and sustained honestly in the midst of such disagreement?
