The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite contemplation of the obstacles in our lives that restrain us from “going the distance” in acting in Love for self and others.
Acting in Love
The reading from the Letter of Paul to the Romans expresses how Love for one another triumphs over sin.
* [13:8–10] When love directs the Christian’s moral decisions, the interest of law in basic concerns, such as familial relationships, sanctity of life, and security of property, is safeguarded (Rom 13:9). Indeed, says Paul, the same applies to any other commandment (Rom 13:9), whether one in the Mosaic code or one drawn up by local magistrates under imperial authority. Love anticipates the purpose of public legislation, namely, to secure the best interests of the citizenry. Since Caesar’s obligation is to punish the wrongdoer (Rom 13:4), the Christian who acts in love is free from all legitimate indictment.1
Psalm 112 celebrates the blessings of the Righteous.
* [Psalm 112] An acrostic poem detailing the blessings received by those who remain close to God by obedience to the commandments. Among their blessings are children (Ps 112:2), wealth that enables them to be magnanimous (Ps 112:3, 5, 9), and virtue by which they encourage others (Ps 112:4). The just person is an affront to the wicked, whose hopes remain unfulfilled (Ps 112:10). The logic resembles Ps 1; 111.2
Some sayings on Discipleship, in the Gospel of Luke, point out the cost of Discipleship.
* [14:25–33] This collection of sayings, most of which are peculiar to Luke, focuses on the total dedication necessary for the disciple of Jesus. No attachment to family (Lk 14:26) or possessions (Lk 14:33) can stand in the way of the total commitment demanded of the disciple. Also, acceptance of the call to be a disciple demands readiness to accept persecution and suffering (Lk 14:27) and a realistic assessment of the hardships and costs (Lk 14:28–32).3
Suzanne Braddock comments that Jesus uses two parables of preparation (planning construction of a building, preparing for battle) to indicate our starting point. How do we actually lay the foundation for showing compassion to ourselves and others? Jesus once again uses hyperbole to make a point: the starting gate of the path of discipleship is to owe nothing to anyone except to love one another - hate your father, mother, wife and children, even your very life if you want to be his disciple. Surely not the emotion hate, but fully release the clinging to all that is not the Christ.
But one cross I often neglect to consider: how do I show compassion to myself ? I’m sure I can name my crosses – it seems the difficult and negative are somehow easier to recall than the many blessings of each day – but the preparation – to build a strong foundation – for showing compassion to others lies first of all in being able to show compassion to myself. As I enter my very elder years, it is too easy to review my past sins, errors, lack of virtue without considering giving equal time to those times I let God’s grace manifest. The times I have welcomed the stranger, fed the hungry, forgiven an abusive relationship… and I give thanks that our gracious God has gifted me and all of us with the grace to release our death grip on all that keeps us from Him, to allow His love to flow through us to others.4
Don Schwager quotes “Jesus permits us to love family but not more than God,” by Cyril of Alexandria, 375-444 A.D.
"He says, 'He that loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. He that loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me' (Matthew 10:37). By adding 'more than me,' it is plain that he permits us to love, but not more than we love him. He demands our highest affection for himself and that very correctly. The love of God in those who are perfect in mind has something in it superior both to the honor due to parents and to the natural affection felt for children." (excerpt fromCOMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 105)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on Romans 13:8-10 recalls a couple that was uniquely qualified to help because they had received help in the same way. In short, they loved their neighbors as they themselves had been loved.
How has God loved you? What concrete ways has he used, and what has his love done for you? Sometimes his love flows through other people, as it did for the house fire victims. Other times it comes as you sit quietly in prayer or as you hear God’s word at Mass. No matter how you have experienced it, God’s love is meant to flow in you and through you to affect the people around you. So look around today, and see if there is someone to whom you can say, “You are not alone in this; let me help you.” “Father, show me how I have been loved so that I can offer that same love to my neighbor.”6
Friar Jude Winkler notes how the passage from Romans resonates with the Great Commandment. Love is the gift from God that enables us to live, serve, and die for the other. Friar Jude reminds us that crucifixion was the greatest sacrifice in Palestine and that Christ calls us to the greatest sacrifice possible.
Franciscan Media comments that St. Martin de Porres’s life reflected God’s extraordinary gifts: ecstasies that lifted him into the air, light filling the room where he prayed, bi-location, miraculous knowledge, instantaneous cures, and a remarkable rapport with animals. Martin became a formidable fundraiser, obtaining thousands of dollars for dowries for poor girls so that they could marry or enter a convent.
Racism is a sin almost nobody confesses. Like pollution, it is a “sin of the world” that is everybody’s responsibility but apparently nobody’s fault. One could hardly imagine a more fitting patron of Christian forgiveness--on the part of those discriminated against—and Christian justice--on the part of reformed racists—than Martin de Porres.7
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that when “God reigns,” the many disparate parts are held together in one coherent Totality, the Way-Things-Work is clear, even if demanding. But we no longer live in such a world. The cosmic egg has broken. In the practical order, the result is polarization at every level. The rifts and chasms between even good people sometimes seem impossible to bridge. Groups are unable to respect one another, engage in civil dialogue, act in service and justice for the common good, or basically honor what God is apparently quite patient about: the human struggle and the essentially tragic nature of all life.
Catholic Christianity proclaimed this symbolic pattern mythically and brilliantly as the Paschal Mystery: “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again!” The Eucharistic ritual continues to name this pattern as the mystery of faith, but a people obsessed with progress, consumption, and the quick-fix no longer has the appropriate software to decode the message. The hardware, I believe, is still waiting in the vast unconscious.8
We are called by the Spirit to determine and act with Love that is not constrained by our attachment to worldly pursuits.
References
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