Keeping my brother and sister

Mercy and meaning are two concepts brought to mind through reflection on the texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today. The passage from the Letter to the Ephesians is described by Friar Jude Winkler as belonging to the “household instructions” found in a few Christian sacred texts. The follower of Christ lives in the world which is organized according to human cultural norms. The Law of Love operates with the social organization to bring hope, peace and compassion to existing social frameworks. Many socially conscious theologians have advocated for large scale changes to social norms to bring about a preferential option for the poor and the marginalized. The apparent satisfaction of the Church leaders in the first century to work within cultural practices which supported slavery and ownership of women and children continues to disturb good people. In some cases, this discomfort with Christian history has kept them from pursuit of a relationship with God in the Christian tradition. We act as followers of Jesus to bring love to the social situation today. At the same time we need to reject concepts within our tradition which may tend to support the social status quo because of texts influenced by Stoicism or the cultural norms of the time in which they were written. The Gospel of Luke today draws our attention to the narrow door to the Kingdom of Heaven. Our tradition and our assumption of the mercy of God and our knowledge of the teachings and life of Jesus help us to support our efforts to tell others of Jesus. The authentic disciple comes to serve and is witness to the transformation in Jesus by being his brother’s and sister’s keeper.