Burning with Love

Those words were actually a quote of Father Edicio de la Torre. He was a Philippine priest who spent nine years in prison during the Ferdinand Marcos regime because of his tireless ministry for human rights, justice, and peace.

That was a frightening and brutal time in the Philippines. Marcos declared martial law in 1972 and ruled as a dictator until 1986, when a nonviolent “People Power Revolution” ousted him. According to Amnesty International, there were 3,200 victims of extrajudicial killings, 77,000 political detainees, and 3,500 torture victims during that period. Hundreds of others simply “disappeared”. De la Torre once said that one of the worst things Marcos did was make fear virally contagious among the Filipino people. Perhaps that’s why he painted those words about ‘burning with love’ onto a small terracotta dish while still incarcerated, an act of unwavering protest and an unbroken spirit, a stubborn declaration of love’s power over that fear.

I’m thinking of that priest’s words now, as I contemplate the year just begun. This world seems such a fragile place, so unbearably broken. Just days ago in the United States, one of our own citizens barreled his truck through New Year’s Eve crowds in New Orleans, killing 14. We’re on the precipice of a new administration in the White House that leaves some feeling deeply anxious and full of dread and others eager for the kind of change and rhetoric it promises. Conflicts, wars, and unrest continue unabated in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, and Haiti (to name a few), and governments are collapsing from Germany to South Korea and beyond.

Fear is pervasive. The world is, for many, a cold place with little possibility or reasonable hope. Yet here we are at the close of the Christmas season, when we recalled again a love so extraordinary that it compelled God to become one of us in the flesh. The Epiphany star now rises, inviting us to come see the wondrous gift of God and offer our own gifts in faithful response.

As I ponder the journey ahead, the gift I choose to bear is one of fierce and undaunted love. A love that insists peace is indeed possible. A love that brings a deeply listening heart to hurting people and places and dares to spark bits of joy. A love that refuses to be extinguished by the hate or ugliness of others. A love that shows up in small acts of kindness and bold acts of daring.

A love that burns so fiercely it wards off the shuddering cold that surrounds us.

The Reverend Shari Prestemon began her service with the national ministries of the United Church of Christ in January 2024. As the Acting Associate General Minister & Co-Executive for Global Ministries she has the privilege of supporting several teams: Global Ministries, Global H.O.P.E., Public Policy & Advocacy Team (Washington, D.C.), our staff liaison at the United Nations, and our Gender & Sexuality Justice Team. She previously served as a local church pastor in Illinois and Wisconsin, the Executive Director at Back Bay Mission in Biloxi, Mississippi, and the Minnesota Conference Minister. Her call to ministry grew, in part, from early Global Ministries experiences, especially service as a Peace & Justice Intern in Dumaguete City, the Philippines.