Word to the Wise
Thursday, January 9, 2014 - Thursday after Epiphany, or Jan. 10
[1 John 4:19-5:4 and Luke 4:14-22a,]Beloved, we love God because he first loved us. If anyone says, "I love God," but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother 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. [1 John]
This passage from the First Letter of John could be best read alongside Luke 15:25-29 where the lawyer asks Jesus: "Who is my neighbor?" [followed by the parable of the Good Samaritan] While we're at it, we could also read the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus [Luke 16:19-31]. Both parables can help us to understand the power of what is said in 1 John.
The parable of the Good Samaritan could help us to understand that we cannot separate love of God from love of neighbor. Furthermore we cannot define neighbor in such a way as to make ourselves comfortable - so that we don't have to leave our "comfort zone!" The parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus can help us to understand how the homeless, the poor, and many other economically and socially disadvantaged people can become "invisible" to us, just as Lazarus was "invisible" to the Rich Man. If we do not "see" them, how can we claim to love God? If we do "see" them and fail to respond, how can we say we love God?
Seen in the light of those two parables, the lines from 1 John could make us uncomfortable. Sometimes they can make me feel helpless! The task is enormous but it starts with small gestures like a cup of coffee for the man who frequently spends the night on a porch at our priory in Houston. We donate funds to several of the agencies serving the poor in our neighborhood [and those agencies do need those funds] but simply giving money can make the poor "invisible" to us. These are thoughts that have no one answer except that the commandment in 1 John and the rest of the scriptures remains to challenge us! AMEN