Word to the Wise
Thursday, January 7, 2010 - St. Raymond of Penafort [patron saint of Canon Lawyers]
[1 John 4:19 - 5:4 and Luke 4:14-22A]If anyone says, "I love God, " but hates his brother or sister, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother or sister whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. This is the commandment we have from him: Whoever loves God must also love his brother or sister. [1 John 4]
One of the great challenges to us from the truth of the Incarnation is to avoid any abstractions that "spiritualize" it and make it seem as if Jesus really didn't become someone like us! Another challenge is to avoid the notion that we can have only a "vertical" love relationship with Jesus which does not include love of "brother and sister" - the "horizontal" love! The Letter of John puts it bluntly. If we say we love God and we don't love our neighbor at the same time, we are liars! The same challenge to avoid abstraction exists in this horizontal relationship as well. We don't love "brother and sister" or "neighbor" in the abstract. There must be "skin" on them. At parish missions I often challenge folks to "put a face on" something they confess. If they admit, as they often do, to "rash judgment," I ask them to think of someone whom they actually judged that way! That challenge could extend to employers who create unsafe working conditions or pay low wages. It could extend to political leaders who create policies that deny ordinary people a decent standard of living. The challenge is more than individually personal. It is much broader. In short, unethical conduct toward one's neighbor is incompatible with love of God. If we ask God in "the Lord's Prayer" to forgive us to the extent that we forgive others, we know we have a big challenge ahead. AMEN
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