December 2018 Monthly Letter
Dear ORM Reconcilers,
My wife shared an article with me that was sent to her by a friend, titled “A Body of Many Parts: On Diversity and Unity – In Courage,” by Alia Joy. The article has a lot to do with reconciliation and I’d like to share some parts of it with you because I believe it is well written. The beginning of the article states, “Our skin color, our race, our ethnicity, our language, our history matters to God.”
“We often fail to see that diversity often means disparity, a large gap between how one is seen and how one is treated. But diversity was God’s initiative, His creative manifesto to paint humanity with vibrancy, color, and timbre. To make each freckle and speck of color in the iris. To coil hair in wiry locks, or lay them smooth like strawberry grain, to soak our skins in a thousand colors and draw them over the bodies of his men and women. The created ones who hold infinite value and the cost of the cross in their souls.”
Alia goes on to use the metaphor of a priest reading and performing a wedding. The Pastor, when officiating at a wedding, shows that marriage is a spiritual union, representing Christ and the Church. These are the hands or the Sacrament of Matrimony. These four hands are our shield against the toil of the world. These four hands are God’s plan for renewing His church. These hands can reach out to the lonely and discouraged, bringing hope to the destitute in mind and body, healing the abused and hurting children of the world, and teaching your friends the wonder of married love.
Jesus Christ is our Bride Groom. He loves us so much that He died for us. He took away our sins, and the sins of all who will accept His Great Sacrifice. One of my favorite passages in the Bible, and maybe yours as well, is John 3:15: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life!” John went on to say, “God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world but to save the world through Him!”
I love passages such as this because they show that we have salvation and we don’t have to say to ourselves, “Hope I’ll make it into the Kingdom,” or wonder if we’re spiritual enough or qualified enough. My answer is: nobody is qualified. If we have to be qualified, nobody would make it. So don’t worry, just keep on loving God and your fellowman.
This Christmas, let us be reminded of what a great and awesome gift we’ve been given – Jesus!
Let me end this letter by thanking you for your kind support in helping to keep this ministry going through your prayers and financial support. We couldn’t do it without you.
Blessings to you all. And thanks be to God and the Diversity He’s given us.
