· God’s
limitless love for us, best expressed by the Incarnation
· Our love for God, expressed by our obedience to His commandments
· The manifestation of this loving relationship in how we love each other
——————————-
And so, let’s look first at God’s love for you,
His love for me…
“…everyone
who acknowledges me before others the Son of Man will acknowledge before the
angels of God” [Lk
12:8].
Are
you moved and filled with hope when you hear these wonderful words of Jesus? Could
we hope for much more than to be acknowledged before the angels? What Good News
this is – God’s promise of salvation and His call to evangelization.
And yet, sadly, I encounter so many people who,
because of their sins, almost despair of achieving salvation. Among their
mistakes, of course, is the idea that they, or indeed anyone, can achieve salvation.
We can’t…not on our own. Salvation, like every other good thing, is a gift from
God.
A few years ago, in his homily during Mass at
St. Martha’s House, the Vatican guesthouse where he lives, Pope Francis said:
“One of the hardest things for all of us Christians to
understand, is the gratuity of Jesus Christ’s salvation.”
In
other words, because God’s love is so far beyond any human love we could ever
experience, we find it hard to understand it, much less accept it. How can God
love me in my sinfulness? I always seem to be falling instead of rising, always
disappointing myself, always disappointing God.
Yes, we are called to obedience, to do as God
has commanded us as a response to His gratuitous love. And yet because we are
sinful, imperfect creatures, we often fail to live out our faith. We find
ourselves, then, in the midst of a battle, but an internal, self-made, and
unproductive battle.
The pope continued by suggesting how much
better it would be if we would only focus on God’s great commandment:
“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart,
with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your
neighbor as yourself” [Lk 10:27].
This
is the commandment that saves. This is the love that truly reflects God’s
gratuitous love for us. How did St. Peter put it?
“Above all, let your love for one another be intense,
because love covers a multitude of sins” [1 Pt 4:8].
Do
you and I believe the Lord saves us freely, that we have done nothing to merit
salvation? I hope so, because it’s the truth, the Good News we’re called to take
to others. This is the remarkable love, God’s love, we’re called to share with
the world. And it’s through this sharing of God’s love that we can acknowledge
Jesus Christ before others. Never forget what St. Paul wrote to Timothy:
“God our savior… wills everyone to be saved and to come to
knowledge of the truth” [1 Tim 2:3-4].
Don’t
place limits on God’s limitless love, but put aside your judgment of others,
and instead do God’s work in the world by helping others “come to knowledge
of the truth” which is Jesus Christ...
For He, and only He, is “the Way and
the Truth and the Life” [Jn 14:6].
——————————-
Okay, we know that God
loves us. But what does He expect of us?
Let’s turn first to the
Letter to the Romans, the longest of St. Paul’s letters. In many
respects it’s also the most important of his letters in that it touches on all
the major themes of the Gospel. It’s really a treatise on the Good News of
Jesus Christ.
"Paul, a slave
of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of
God...to all the beloved of God in Rome...called to belong to Jesus
Christ...called to be holy [Rom 1:1,6,7].
Romans begins with Paul
describing himself as “a slave of Christ Jesus” [Rom 1:1]. Some folks find this
a bit odd. After all, as baptized Christians, are we not adopted children of
the Father? Doesn’t the Church teach that we’re sisters and brothers of Christ?
And doesn’t Jesus call His disciples His friends?
Which, then, are we? Brother, sister, friend,
or slave? Well, the only correct answer is “all of the above.”
Here is another wonderful paradox of our
Christian faith. Yes, Paul is right: in a sense, we are slaves – servants
called to do the will of God. But because we are also God’s children, and
because Jesus calls us to be His friends, God doesn’t demand slavish obedience,
an obedience of submission. He instead allows us to choose. We obey our God out
of freedom, a freedom arising from our close relationship with Jesus. In a
sense we are slaves living in freedom. I told you it was a paradox.
As Jesus’ friends, as His brothers and sisters,
we want to do as He asks. We respond obediently just as a slave would, but we
do so because we recognize God’s great love for us. In faith we know we are
loved by the Father who brought us into being. We are loved by the Son who gave
His life for our redemption. We are loved by the Spirit who guides us, inspires
us, and leads us on our journey of faith. And in faith we return that love by
trusting that God will call us to do only that which is good. In faith we
accept that God knows best what’s good for us.
When I was a little guy, my parents bought me
my first bicycle as a birthday gift. I could hardly wait to ride it, and so I
got up early that next morning, climbed on that little bike and tried to ride
it. A valiant attempt, but I immediately fell over onto the driveway and skinned a
knee and elbow. I was horrified and embarrassed. I had failed to ride this
wonderful thing for which I had waited so long.
My dad, who had witnessed this from the kitchen
window, came outside and said: “Look, if you want to learn to ride your new
bike, you’ll have to let me teach you. Will you do that?”
I had to think about it. I hated to admit I
couldn’t do it on my own, but I really wanted to ride that bike. I wanted the
freedom it offered, the ability to go wherever I wanted in our little town. And
so, I buried my pride and turned myself over to my dad’s instruction.
An hour later I was pedaling up and down our
street, about as happy as a six-year-old could possibly be. My father, too, was
smiling, happy I had placed my trust in him and learned an important lesson.
That day I learned I couldn’t do everything
myself, that first I had to learn and grow, to accept help. Paul teaches the
Romans much the same thing by focusing on God’s call to each of us.
In Paul’s words, he was “called to be an
Apostle” [Rom 1:1] and was writing to those “called to belong to Jesus Christ”
[Rom 1:6], to those “called to be holy” [Rom 1:7].
That’s our calling: “to belong to Jesus Christ”
and “to be holy.” And Paul’s Letter to the Romans goes on to explain this call.
Jesus, then, calls us to follow Him, to deny
ourselves, to take up our own cross, for only by doing so can we be His
disciples. But that’s just the beginning, for we’re also called to “make
disciples of all nations” [Mt 28:19].
Sounds like a tall
order, doesn’t it? And so, how do we do it?
Not by relying on our human strengths, not by
thinking we can do it all ourselves, not by trying to fix things, or solve
problems, or convince others to be just like you or just like me. Too often we
try to force others, to argue them into discipleship. Believe me, it doesn’t
work. I know because I’ve tried.
You see, making disciples is God’s work. Let
God work through you, especially through your weaknesses. Most often it means
simply being there when another is in need. It means seeing Jesus Christ in
your spouse, in your children and grandchildren, in everyone you meet…and
letting them see Jesus Christ in you.
Jesus calls us to love the unloved, to feed
those who hunger and thirst for God’s presence in their lives. And He calls us
to be that presence, to be God’s quiet, loving presence.
We are the called, brothers and sisters. This
is our identity as Christians. This is the meaning of our lives. Let’s all try
to live a life worthy of our calling.
Our loving relationship with God, then, must
also extend to others.
———————-
Jesus was always teaching, wasn’t He? And like
any good teacher, He was always being questioned.
Even as a youth, as a twelve-year-old in the
Temple, Jesus answered the questions of the wise. Luke tells us that “all
who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers” [Lk
2:47]. Isn’t that remarkable? They, the Temple’s wise ones, were questioning
Him!
And the questions
continued right up to that final barrage Jesus received from Pilate, as He
stood before him facing death. Even Pilate, the Roman Patrician who no doubt
considered the Jews little more than rabble – even Pilate sought answers from
this Jesus, this teacher whom he would soon judge under man's law.
“Are you the King of the Jews?” [Jn 18:33]
“Where are you from?” [Jn 19:9]
“Do you not you know that I have…power
to crucify you?” [Jn
19:10]
And, of course, that other question, sneered by
Pilate, that first-century relativist:
“What
is truth?” [Jn
18:38]
Pilate should have asked, “Who is
truth?”, because he was in the presence of “the Way, the Truth, and the
Life.”
Almost everyone Jesus met asked Him questions.
It’s as if, somehow, they all knew, if only subconsciously, who He really was.
Those He encountered seemed to sense He was far more than just a teacher. What
did the centurion say as he looked up at the crucified Jesus?
“Truly this was the Son of God” [Mt 27:54].
And
then there was the scholar who approached Jesus and asked:
"Teacher,
what must I do to inherit eternal life?" [Lk 10:25]
The scholar, of course, was testing Jesus. He knew
the answer to his question because it was right there in the Word of God. And
so, Jesus tests the tester with a question of His own:
“What
is written in the Law? [Lk 10:26]
As expected, the scholar went directly to
Scripture and provided the correct answer:
“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all
your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your
mind, and your neighbor as yourself” [Lk 10:27].
But
it’s not necessary to be a scholar to know God and what He expects of us.
Indeed, just moments before Jesus had prayed to the Father:
“I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for
although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have
revealed them to the childlike.” [Lk 10:21]
But
not being very childlike, the scholar, hoping more to justify himself than to
learn, asks Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” In His answer Jesus
offers us a gift, the Parable of the Good Samaritan, a parable both
scholar and childlike can understand:
“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho...” [Lk 10:30]
But
what exactly did the Samaritan do? After all, he was a Samaritan, despised by
the Jews, thought to be outside the Law. And yet, he obeys that Law, doesn’t he?
Well, at the very least, he listened to his well-formed conscience and acted
righteously. And this set him on the path to eternal life. Remember that
original question:
“Teacher,
what must I do to inherit eternal life?” [Lk 10:25]
This is what Jesus' answer
is all about. Three encountered the wounded man on the road, but only one of
the three did anything to help. How did Jesus put it? “Many are called
but few are chosen” [Mt 22:14]
And so today, let’s reflect on our own lives.
Who are the wounded you and I encounter? The physically wounded? Or mentally
wounded? Or spiritually wounded? Do we even recognize them in the busyness of
our lives? Or perhaps we see them, but turn away, preferring not to be bothered.
Anyway, someone else will take care of them.
Is this how we hope to inherit eternal life? As
Christians we should know better. To inherit eternal life, we must come to know
God in faith, to know Him as the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
This knowing of God is really a knowledge of
love. As John reminds us: to know the Truth that is God is to know God, who
"is Love" [1 Jn. 4:16]. It always comes back to Love, doesn’t it? To
love the Lord your God with all your being, and to love your neighbor as
yourself.
How did Mother Teresa
put it? "If you judge people, you have no time to love
them." Yes, indeed, we spend so much time judging others, and so
little time loving them.
St. James reminded us
all of this when he wrote that "mercy triumphs over
judgment" [Jas 2:13].
We should all thank God
for that.
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