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.
Brothers and sisters:
Be kind to one another, compassionate,
forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ.
Be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love,
as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us
as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma .
. . . . Live as children of light.
(Eph 4:32-5:8
Receive the Light of Christ! We can all use a bit more kindness, a bit more compassion, and a lot more forgiveness.
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.
