Han go paki come (When you reach out a hand, good things come back to you.)

(When you reach out a hand, good things come back to you.)
Service to others is one of the hallmarks of several great world religions. As people of faith, same gender loving people share with other people of faith the belief that goodness can overcome evil and so we are compelled to do all the good we can to all the people we can just as long as we can. In other words, same gender loving people are committed to lives in which service to others is an important aspect of living for God.

Life always involves giving and receiving. In the gospels, Jesus taught that it was more blessed to give than to receive. Reaching out a hand to offer kindness, love and support is important in all of our lives. Our belief and in fact our hope that good will come out of evil is often challenged by so many acts of evil that seem to be directed at same gender loving people. Many people in our society and even same gender loving people cannot deal with issues of same gender love. Diversity is scoffed at and abuse heaped on persons who are different and too often same gender loving people are the victims of prejudice, bias and hatred and it is difficult to navigate a path of loving service to all of human kind when we live in the midst of a hostile society.

When it comes to hatred and practising wickedness, it is easier to give than to receive. In the world in which we live, hatred, malice, abuse and injustice seem to be a fact of life. We must meet evil with the creative challenge of goodness. It is easy to try to get even with others and render evil for evil. Yet, we can choose to live life on a higher ground. We can choose to be different and not render evil for evil. We must give goodness and do not expect that goodness will be returned to us. Giving ennobles the giver, so yes the Jamaican parable is right when you reach out a hand, good things come back to you (han go paki come).

When evil is handed out we need to deny ourselves and not repay evil for evil. We need to go beyond what the world expects us to be as we pursue a life that is inhabited and energized by the Holy Spirit always remaining open to the sustaining grace of God.
Further, we must be prepared to be overruled by the will of God, to love in the midst of hate.

PRAY
Let us pray for the inner strength to give goodness instead of evil, love instead of hate, engage in acts of peace instead of war, forgiveness instead of hurt, and justice instead of injustice.
Written by MEC