Invoking the Hallmark Rule (11/06/2023)

My husband hates movies that don’t end well. So, you can imagine his delight when he discovered the Hallmark Channel. In a two-hour span, life breaks out around a cast of ordinary people, misunderstandings arise, but within the last 7 minutes, it all comes together, relationships are mended, and it usually ends up with a kiss. I’ve tried for 54 years to explain to him that’s not how life always works, but he’s convinced that if we’d all just invoke the Hallmark Rule in our lives, we could have peace, harmony, even love.

Last evening, we watched a new Hallmark movie. It’s “countdown to Christmas.” Actually, it’s been “countdown to Christmas” since October. Are you detecting a theme – Hallmark believes in the power of the LORD’s love for us to tenderize hearts, so they are open to loving kindness and peace. As I was watching last night’s installment in the long line of “happy ending movies,” I wondered to myself if maybe my husband isn’t onto something. What if we all were bound to Hallmark Rule, if when misunderstanding arose, we were given 2 hours to work it out amicably, lovingly? Game changer! Or should I say life changer?

Then I realized that Hallmark didn’t invent the rule. Oh, they imposed the time limit on it, but the LORD gave us the rules. Remember? We are to love the LORD with our whole being and we are to love one another as we love ourselves. At the end of every day, it is love that is to be front and center. It is up to us to do the work in faith, with hope for a just and loving resolution, fueled by the love of the LORD operating within us and connecting us with others, even those with whom we disagree.

What would our world look like if we were all about building relationships rather than labeling others, libeling others? What would our world of nations and various ethnicities look like if we could understand that each adds to our richness and the loss of any makes us poorer? What would our world look like if love was the currency of diplomacy rather than power?

What would our neighborhoods and parish communities look like if every member was cherished regardless of the way they decorate for Christmas? What could we accomplish if we considered every member and every person’s gift as valuable to our world as any other regardless of prestige or lack of it? What could we achieve in our LORD’s name if we focused on our common origins, created by the same LORD, saved by the same Jesus Christ because all of us are sinners, called to love well?

Maybe Hallmark is onto something. Maybe my husband has it right. Maybe we should be seeking to work it out, together, for that happy ending. You know, I’m ready to try.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.