WN: I wrote this in the context of M2/W2 ministry. Ironically, the Board and one contractor displayed profound enmity towards me just as I was moving towards retirement from M2/W2. The enmity began October 2013 that led to a contractor’s filing a “WorkSafeBC” complaint against me December 2013. It was rejected by WorkSafeBC, but there was no apology from the contractor or from the Board who took/endorsed this specious (to the perpetrators), unjust action and prevarication. The damage was done.
So I had to learn all over again to put into practice enemy love. Interestingly: God is the essence of enemy love. The dominant interpretation however in Western Christianity of God’s response to enemies is: God is retributive. If God is so profoundly misunderstood in intention and action, we humans in our broken attempts to practise enemy love are subject to misunderstanding all the more! This is apart from our own failures of intention and action – even when we think we’re getting it right! Sigh! God have mercy…
An excerpt:
Our entire ministry in criminal justice is summed up in three words: Love your enemies. Our website (M2/W2) describes the one-to-one prison visitation (M2/W2), the work with high risk sex offenders (CoSA), and our Thrift Store (Hidden Treasures) as unique expressions of enemy love. All is done under the rubric of Restorative Justice, on which page by that name you will find lots to think about. It too turns on an ultimate vision of enemy love. There are some things in life that one sees, and once seen, one may never look back legitimately, though wilfully one may always violate that seen… In the 1960’s, I saw this image circulated at our church:…
Please click on: Enemy Love as Core Gospel
