I grew up in the golden age of Saturday morning cartoons. The concept of ‘screen time’ hadn’t been invented yet, and I was allowed to watch them for as long as they were on. I am still a die-hard Looney Tunes fan. One of my favorite storylines features Sam, the sheepdog, and Ralph, the coyote. For those of you who haven’t seen it: we see Sam and Ralph walking to work, lunchpails in hand. They greet each other, punch in at a time clock, and then spend the morning pursuing opposing goals. Ralph tries to capture sheep, and Sam repeatedly thwarts him. Then, the noon bell rings, and Sam and Ralph eat lunch side by side. After lunch, they resume their antics until it’s time to clock out. They bid each other goodnight and walk home.
The comedy of the Sam and Ralph skit comes from their diametrically opposing goals. As a community of faith, we are fortunate to begin all discussions and conflict resolution with a common goal of sharing God’s love with everyone. Yes, we all have very different life experiences that often give us opposing ideas on how to achieve our mission, but we are grounded in the bedrock of being beloved siblings in Christ. One of the best experiences I have at Lord of Life is being part of the couples’ Bible study. We joke that we eat dinner, laugh together, and sometimes even talk about the Bible. In reality, I feel that the friendships formed through eating and talking together give us the strength and confidence to really wrestle with the big questions of faith. We don’t always agree, but I always come away with something challenging to think about. I am grateful for everyone’s candor and respect, and I value every friendship I have made there.
I thought back to Sam and Ralph as unlikely models of Christian behavior as I reflected on Pastor Lowell’s recent sermons. In these interesting times, we are all out in the world just trying to get by, confronting evil, and looking for a bit of hope. What a difference it makes in our day, or even in our life, when someone else takes the time to acknowledge us, sit side by side with us for a while, or wish us well before going on their way. What difference would it make in the world if we shared the gentle, patient, kind fruits of the Spirit with those we view as an enemy: An elected official? A reporter? A millionaire? A person experiencing homelessness? A scientist? An NRA member? A Greenpeace member? A protestor? An ICE agent?
No matter who you are or what you believe or don’t believe, I wish you love, joy, peace, forbearance, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. I want to sit with you and hear your story. I hope it challenges me to live like Jesus.
Your sibling in Christ,
Cara Hasselbeck