Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, NY
Br. Bernard Delcourt, OHC
Easter 5 C - May 15, 2022
Our three readings today give us a sweeping view of God’s plan for us all. Mutual inclusion in God’s all-embracing love.
It starts with God loving us warts and all.
We respond to God in love. We deliberately become instruments of God’s love.
It evolves to our including everyone in God and in our God-inspired love.
Simple? No matter, for the love of Jesus, let’s do it anyway.
*****
In Acts, Peter learns to be as inclusive as the Holy Spirit.
He says:
The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us.
And he adds:
And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning
This passage of Acts expands the message of many of Jesus’ parables. The Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son come to mind. In order to love our neighbor as God enjoins us to, we have to include everyone, not only the members of our club.
And this love enfleshes the love of God for all of creation. God does not love selectively some parts of the creation. God loves all of it and redeems all of it. No exclusion.
We don’t get to choose whom God loves. As Christians we commit to love those God loves. Everyone.
*****
In our reading from Revelation, we hear:
See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them as their God;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;
God does not dwell solely with Israel whom he chose to carry God’s message. God dwells face-to-face, elbow to elbow with all of God’s people.
Mourning and crying and pain will no longer apply to anyone, no matter their origin, their identity or their righteousness. Yes, God’s mercy will embrace all of us. No one is excluded, no matter how unrighteous they may seem to us or even to themselves.
Not even the people we feel entitled to ignore, exclude or despise in our current lives are beyond God’s mercy.
*****
Br. Randy once told us of a priest friend of his that came up with a very good illustration of hell. His friend said hell is what happens when folk get to the pearly gates, look in to see who is there, and say, “Oh, I’m sorry, we’re not in communion with them.”
Are we willing to enjoy the full inclusiveness of God’s love? Or would we rather be deprived of God’s presence than to share God’s love with people we turn up our nose at.
*****
And in the gospel according to John, Jesus says:
I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.
Remember, this comes after Jesus washed the apostles feet at the last supper. And after Judas departed having received from Jesus’ hand the piece of bread he dipped in the dish.
What is new in the commandment is how Jesus’ life, death and resurrection models for us what love is and who is included in that love.
A commandment to love had appeared before in the history of Israel. In Leviticus 19:18 it says:
You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
Can you hear the differences? The scope and intent of what was in seed in Leviticus has blossomed in Jesus’ commandment to those who want to follow Him.
This is from the man who said: “Love your enemies.” That is quite a leap from loving a member of my tribe whom I would prefer to bear a grudge against. Jesus loved Judas even as he knew he was betraying him.
*****
God’s love enfolds us, no matter what we are and what we do. God’s love enfolds everyone and everything. We are invited to be inspired and take our cue from God’s love. That is a daunting task, but it is the task we have set ourselves in choosing to follow Jesus. He says:
By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.
So this week, I invite you to deliberately identify one or more persons whom you ignore, despise or neglect. Do not be fooled that there are no such persons in your life. It’s just that it’s more comfortable for us to be in denial about that.
Can you train your heart’s eye to see that person as a beloved child of God? Can you feel God’s love for that person?
And can you yourself treat that person in a way that will make them feel acknowledged, liked or cared for? Can you ask God to help you make the leap into loving that child of God?
And by the way, thank you very much for loving all the people you like and care about in your life. Let’s keep it up and widen our scope!
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment