Walking as He walked

The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary include the beginning of Psalm 96 where the psalmist exhorts us to declare the glory of the Lord among the nations and tell of His marvelous works among all peoples. The passage from the first letter of John warns that we may fall into great hypocrisy if we proclaim to be followers of the Way of Jesus and we do not love our brothers and sisters. Much of the difficulty we do have with the commandment of love is our attempts to clarify and rationalize just who are our brothers and sisters. The presentation of the child Jesus in the Temple, according to the custom of the religious Law is an opportunity for us to hear the prophesy of Simeon that the One who is being presented and the One who lives today in the Body of Christ is the light for Jew and Gentile (all peoples) and that life guided by this light will create tension and cause many to rise to the invitation to live in the light and many to reject through rationalization the commandment which is both ancient and new to be love to our brothers and sisters. The declaration of the glory of God through action of inclusion, mercy and forgiveness will pierce hearts and divide souls.