Sometimes I get overwhelmed. It happens when I check the news, when I read the mean-spirited comments below an article, when I overhear the unresolvable tensions and attacks going back and forth between people I know and love. And without realizing it, I lose my hope. I get this pit in my stomach. And then I sort of spiral from there. I become irritated, even angry. I emotionally begin to detach from others or find people to blame. I pull away. I retreat.
Which just compounds the feelings. The detachment turns into loneliness. The worry becomes anxiety. The lack of hope erodes into despair.
The way to combat these negative emotions is not by ignoring them, but instead opening ourselves up to what we truly need. And scripture is very clear about this. What we need is love. Not love as the world gives, but instead, a love that overcomes the world. A love that pushes out the fear and darkness and despair. A love that brings life to our hearts and minds and spirits.
Jesus says it so plainly. “In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart, I have overcome the world.”
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
So often we are trying to come up with hope and positivity on our own, but it is never enough. It always falls short. There is simply too much that is wrong with this world. And our self-sufficient hope ultimately succumbs. But there is another kind of love. This kind of love isn’t overcome by adversity. It is a love whose source is not dependent on our own limited reserves. It is a love that must simply be received from the one who has done the overcoming.
But receiving this love is only half of the equation. Like an inhale without an exhale. First, we breathe in love from God and then we breathe out love for others. This full cycle is critical. It is how we renew our hearts and minds. First, we receive and then we give. This is how we bring the spiritual life into our bloodstream. And in following God’s command to love others, the world around us changes.
Paul says, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
Which is the very opposite of detachment, or blaming others, or stewing in our fear or contempt. It gets us off the couch and looking for others in need. Others who are overwhelmed and need someone to come alongside them. To love them with the overcoming love we’ve been given.
This receiving and giving of love is what we practice on Sunday mornings when we come to church. We open our hearts to God and receive his love. And we pour love into each other. Especially the ones that come in limping. We allow this love to cast out our fears. We practice love by serving each other. And then we leave filled with the hope and light and peace that the world is craving. We bring love to our neighbors. We serve the least. And we remind our world that the strife and violence and confusion we see will not ultimately prevail. And as we do, we push back against the evil. We overcome it. Not with our own strength, but with the goodness of the one who has overcome.
Today let us hold in our hearts the suffering of the people in Ukraine. Let us not lose heart. Let us not give in to fear. But instead, may we overcome evil with good. May we be lights of God’s hope for this world.