Hear the challenge to love deeply

The mission of the Christian is associated with Love. The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary challenge the depth to which we practice love. Diane Jorgensen urges us to strip our love of sentimentality, obligation, reciprocity and doing the minimum. Our religiosity may confine our love to personal preferences, legalism or convenience. Friar Jude Winkler discusses the struggle which Paul had with the Gnostic heresy which emphasizes special personal knowledge over love. He cites Maximilian Kolbe as the author of the assertion that we need to love the Nazis as the only power to conquer their evil. How hard it is to hear the Christian message of love to conquer evil as we prepare to bring military might against evil forces, of our time, in Iraq and Syria. The psalmist reminds us that we need to seek the guidance of God through community effort. The Gospel from Luke is the core of Jesus teaching on loving our enemies. As we return to the problem in Corinth, the role of taking care of everyone in the community rather than focusing on ourselves and viewing our actions from our own sense of morality and in our arrogance with our special understanding.