The Politics of Love

This weekend I was listening to the song Blood Bank by one of my favorite artists, Bon Iver, and thought, "Wow, I have to write a blog about that!" The part of the song the inspired me is the first verse that reads:

Well I met you at the blood bank
We were looking at the bags
Wondering if any of the colors
Matched any of the names we knew on the tags


You said see look it that's yours
Stacked on top with your brothers
See how they resemble one another?
Even in their plastic little covers


And I said I know it well

Do we all know it well? And if we do, do we understand its implications? I am not sure, but I am willing to share the thoughts that were stirred up in me by these provoking lyrics.

First of all, let’s not get hung up on the weirdness of two people meeting at a blood bank. I see it as a story telling tool used by the artist to get him in a position to talk about a profound observation. So, this blog is not about how to pick up girls, or guys, while also supporting your local blood bank. It is about the often disputed, yet always true, fact that at our most basic level of existence we are all the same.

As the couple looks at the bags of blood stacked on top of each other at the blood bank, they realize that only by reading the names would they be able to distinguish their difference. Through their plastic covers, they look so alike, that any difference in race, ethnicity, sex, religion, political stance, sexual orientation, or any other label that we place on one another, is completely indistinguishable. The same blood flows through our veins, and is one of the cornerstones of our existence. At our most basic level of existence, we are all the same.

So, what does this mean for people of faith? Some of its meaning is common sense things that we all like to talk about, but often times have trouble with the follow-through. Some of its meaning is controversial, even though we know in our hearts it is what God commands of us, our pride, stubbornness or being fooled by false teachings gets in the way. Some of its meaning is a call to action, and those who are willing to answer the call will be blessed by the promises of God.

Even if you believe in the theory of evolution, the common denominator is that all humans are descendants of the original human. It is just common sense that it had to start somewhere. For most believers, we understand that we are all descendants from Adam and Eve of Genesis. We can get hung up on their names, or how they were created, or who was fooled by the Satan possessed serpent, but those things are not relevant in our understanding that we come from the same mold. The understanding of good and evil, and the existence of free will, leads us all down different paths, but we all start with the same blank slate. We all start with the blood of our parents, grandparents, great grandparents, all the way back to the original man and women.

If this seems logical, then why is it so much easier to find the differences between each other than it is to find common ground? Why does hatred and violence seem like the right answer rather than love, compassion and understanding? We see this contrast of understanding and actions in all areas of our life. Whether it is having love for family members who you have no idea how you could be related to, having an open mind to someone whose understanding of their faith might be a little different than yours, or having love for someone who has a completely different set of values than you, it is so hard for us to remember that at our most basic level of existence we are all the same.

There are a lot of directions I wanted to go with how this idea relates to the Church, but based on the happenings of the last few days I feel there is one thing I must address, and the rest can be in another blog. It seems that we have completely lost sight of what it means to love one another the way God loves us in this country. There are hundreds of verses about love, but as I was researching for this post, a section from 1 Peter 3:8-12 really struck me:

Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. For,


"Whoever would love life
and see good days
must keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from deceitful speech.
He must turn from evil and do good;
he must seek peace and pursue it.
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
and his ears are attentive to their prayer,
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."

The last couple of days, as I have read the news and seen the comments of people on Facebook, I have been appalled at the anger and hatred that has infiltrated our society. The most disheartening aspect, for me, is that the majority of this hatred is coming from individuals who would claim to be Christians. This isn't the beginning of this horrible separation of the Church and the love that God commands us to share with the world; it is only the most recent chapter. Throughout history Christians have been known to spur on hatred. In studying the Holocaust while in Poland, we were taught how the Catholic church preached anti-Semitism from the alter, and in the 21st century we have churches hell-bent on ruining the lives of homosexuals at whatever the cost to their families and communities. Now, we have politicians, whose books are sold in the Family Christian Book Store, posting maps with gun sights on the home states of politicians who voted for the health care reform bill, while others are making death threats, busting in windows and endangering the families of individuals because they disagree with their politics.

When did we give up harmony for discord? When did we decide not only to repay evil with evil, but be the people creating the space for evil to take hold? When did we forget that underneath our plastic little covers we are all the same? We are all loved by God and called to share that same love with each other. If the Church does not set this example, then who will? If no one sets this example, what’s next?

Please love one another! Jesus did not shed his blood to teach us a lesson of hate. Jesus died to show us what true love is, and He calls us to love one another as He loved us. It isn’t too late to decide to love.