These reflections are a result of more than 40 years of ministry as a Roman Catholic priest. Most of these years I spent in the Diocese of Charlotte which covers Western North Carolina. Now I am retired, and live in Medellín, Colombia where I continue to serve as a priest in the Archdiocese of Medellín.
Thus says the LORD:
"You shall not molest or oppress an alien,
for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt.
You shall not wrong any widow or orphan.
If ever you wrong them and they cry out to me,
I will surely hear their cry.
My wrath will flare up, and I will kill you with the sword;
then your own wives will be widows, and your children orphans.”
(Ex 22:22-23)
A scholar of the law tested him by asking,
"Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?"
He said to him,
"You shall love the Lord, your God.
This is the greatest and the first commandment.
The second is like it:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
(Mt 22:35-39)
I grew up in the Baptist church in the Bible Belt. Scripture was always quoted. In fact, we even had Bible sword drills . . . so that we could practice looking up Bible passages as fast as possible. But I can tell you that this particular passage from Exodus was NEVER quoted, NEVER cited, and was NEVER part of our Bible sword drills. “Love God” is perfectly fine . . . the problem always is the “love neighbor” part. Of course, Jesus was asked the trick question: Which is the greatest commandment? What we generally forget is that “Love neighbor” is the same as “Love God.”
And he gave some as Apostles, others as prophets,
others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers,
to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry,
for building up the Body of Christ,
until we all attain to the unity of faith
and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood
to the extent of the full stature of Christ,
so that we may no longer be infants . . . .
(Eph 4:11-14)
We are expected to grow in Christ, to be equipped for the work of ministry, to build up the Body of Christ. But we can’t do this if those who are appointed as pastors and teachers in the church try to keep us as infants.
Bear with one another through love,
striving to preserve the unity of the spirit
through the bond of peace;
one Body and one Spirit,
as you were also called to the one hope of your call;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
one God and Father of all,
who is over all and through all and in all.
(Eph 4:2-6)
The loss of civility in political life is reflected in the loss of civility in church life. Perhaps, that’s why the Scriptures remind us of the things that really matter: bearing with one another through love. Because there is something that unites us more than nationality, or patriotism, or party loyalty, as the Letter to the Ephesians reminds us: one Lord, one faith, one baptism.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I consider all things so much rubbish
that I may gain Christ and be found in him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. (Phil 3:8-9)
Now to him (God) who is able to accomplish far more than all we ask or imagine,
by the power at work within us,
to him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus
to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Eph 3:20-21)
God is always accomplishing more than we can ask or imagine. I’ll never forget the joy of receiving my mom into the church in December 1988 and then in January 1989, we made a pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi, just the two of us. She met John Paul II twice: first at the audience in the Vatican; and then a week later at the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls on the feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul.
The Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. (Eph 3:6)
R. You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation. (Is 12:3)
How is it that we can draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation? Because God has called us all, Jews and Gentiles alike. We are all invited to drink freely of salvation in Christ Jesus. For those who want a “smaller, purer church,” well, they are bound to be a bit disappointed. But indeed, the question about the Gentiles was an issue in the early church that threatened to destroy the church itself. Perhaps, when the scriptures talk about Jews and Gentiles, and the issues of circumcision and food laws, we can feel a bit lost. But for anyone who has ever walked into a Tridentine Mass by accident can attest, the divisions between the “saved” and the “damned” are real and very ugly in this church of ours. Of course, there are people who want to go back to the “old ways” and live in the past, thinking that the security of rules and regulations of the past will save them from this terribly confusing modern world in which we find ourselves. But going back to the "way things used to be" is a fiction, there’s no time machine that will take us back to some perfect past. No matter how appealing, we can’t live in the past. We are called to be missionary disciples in this very divided and infected world. And the question comes again to the church, “What will we do with the Gentiles?” Perhaps, we all need to be reminded that charity invites us to accept the “Gentiles” as “coheirs, members of the same body, and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” We are called not to the waters of Marah, the waters of bitterness (Exodus 15:22-27). We are called to draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation which is Christ Jesus.
The picture today is of the baptistery of the Cathedral of Cuernavaca, Morelos, México.
