29 Oct 2015
If there are two words which simply don’t go together they’re:
“God” and “hates.” God doesn’t hate;
sinners and hypocrites hate. And every
time we hear that “God hates” this group or “God hates” these people or “God hates”
whatever, we have to realize that we’re hearing a lie. God does not hate. And we see that amply illustrated in
Scripture.
St Paul makes the joyful realization that, “If God is for us,
who can be against us? It is God who
acquits us. Who will condemn? . . . I am
convinced,” he says, that nothing “will
be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” In other words, God is entirely, completely for us.
God doesn’t hate anybody, any more than a true parent could hate his or
her child.
And yet, there is
one thing that causes a breach in the relationship with our loving and faithful
God, and that is our own lack of faith, hope, and love for him. But when we’re unfaithful or unloving to our
God, he doesn’t hate us—instead, he weeps
for us. Jesus wept over Jerusalem
because the people chose death and hatred over life and love. God weeps
for our sins; he doesn’t hate us.
And so, whoever preaches to others that “God hates” is
preaching a false gospel. It isn’t God
who hates, but they themselves who hate.
Now, there are many people who’ve been touched by this false gospel. They reject the idea that “God hates,” as
they should reject it. But do they ever hear the true gospel, the real “good news” that God loves unconditionally? Do they encounter that unconditional love in
us?
As the Church tries to evangelize and re-evangelize, how
important it is that the true gospel is preached. The gospel is a potent message; if it’s preached well, it has the power to raise up
human life toward divine and human ecstasy; but if it’s preached poorly or falsely, it has the power to devastate
lives and tear the community apart.
As we go to “glorify the Lord by our lives,” may we preach
the good news well. May we love unconditionally
as does our God. May we find joy in the good
news that nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ
Jesus our Lord. And may we spread that
good news to those who need to hear it.
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