Faith, for me, is attached to the world I live in, what I do there, how I stay open to it, how I wrestle with it, make mistakes in it, and uncover mystery in it. My faith is also deeply tied to how I stand or fail to stand with vulnerable people. To my eyes, my faith is more challenge than comfort; more question than answer.
At the heart of the challenge of my faith is the command to “love your neighbor.” It’s the basic message, right? I’ve been listening to this message all my life. It’s in my bones. But I wrestle with it every day. Because I don’t always know how to love my neighbor, and I often fail.
Being a parent brings a whole lot of the challenge to the surface for me. I love my kids fiercely and with awe. But there is so much gray area. How do I love them when they misbehave or fight? What kind of love do they need when they are hurting? How do I love them when they won’t for the love of God clean up anything or listen to anything I say? How do I show them to love strangers, to value those who are vulnerable? How do I show them how to fail and move forward? And then, to flip perspectives, how can I learn from their love and their open curiosity about the world?
I go to Church because I like the challenge it presents to me. Nowhere else in American society do I hear the message to love my neighbor (and my enemies), to invite strangers in, to visit prisoners, to give away everything to this love.
Am I up for this challenge?
I can only keep showing up to try.
Reflection written by Jessica Murphy Moo
Jessica is the editor of Portland Magazine & Associate Director of Storytelling at the University of Portland. To read the latest edition of Portland Magazine, please click the link in the story below.
