Accepting Differences

 “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.” Mk 9:37

While it is clear that Jesus treated children with dignity and respect and his contemporaries often did not, the Gospel is not so much about children's dignity but about the importance of every person, women and slaves especially, in the eyes of God. Because many societies exclude people because of gender, class, ethnicity or disease, it was important for Jesus to demonstrate to his followers and his enemies that no one was less in the sight of God.

The power and challenge of Jesus' teaching remains difficult. Early in life we learn that some people don't work as hard as others, are lazy, or are welfare cheats, and this just about the people in our country. The people of other nations, especially those with whom we have been at war, are "gooks," towel heads and savages without regard for human life. As children we simply absorb this language without thinking, but as adult Christians we have to make a conscious effort to let go of our dismissive labels which can protect us from acknowledging our fears about people of other races, classes or cultures.

Today, examine your attitudes towards anyone who is "different" from you.

Have you had to face prejudice in your own life because of your gender, race or culture?

St Catherine of Sienna

  "You are my friends if you do what I command you." Jn 15:14

Catherine of Sienna, unlikely doctor of the church, is one of those saints who challenges all our unexamined assumptions about wisdom, education and sanctity. The 25th child of parents who lost most of their children to early death, Catherine, though uneducated, became one of the most important writers of the 14th century. Her letters and mystical writings remind us to keep Christ close despite the cost.

In a letter to her spiritual spiritual director she writes: "You should not wish to turn your head because of the thorns of so many persecutions, for he is indeed mad who would abandon the rose for fear of its thorns." (Letters) Though unsaid here, it is clear that Catherine was able to ignore those who persecuted her because she knew that the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, was her guide and protector and having the rose was more important than the thorns that tore at her life.

The Easter scriptures are forever reminding us that the Gospel, though liberating and empowering, is too difficult to live without the strength of an Advocate, someone who stands behind us, encourages us and assures us that God is with us no matter how heavy the burdens we might have to carry.

Today, be an advocate for someone who seems lost.

Have you ever experienced the strength and support of the Holy Spirit in your life?

Relationships Take Time

  "For a whole year they met with the Church and taught a large number of people, and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians." Acts 11:26

Relationships take time, and are rarely easy. Paul and the first Christian missionaries knew this and took their time not only teaching the Antiochenes but getting to know them. Every message, even the Gospel, has to be spoken with one's audience in mind, and nothing is more important in this regard than culture.

Historians tell us that Antioch was among the most sophisticated of ancient cities with a large library, a magnificent theater and a half million people. Paul, who was learned, and his companions were beginning to articulate a theology of Christianity that demanded the attention of his listeners, but his willingness to remain in Antioch, to listen and learn were as important as the message he proclaimed.

Listening to others, especially those who expect little from us because we might be more educated or we connected than them, is not only a good strategy, it is a telling act of humility.

Today, listen twice as much as you speak.

What has been the most important thing you have learned by listening?

Good Shepherds

 "Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance. Micah." 7:34

God as our shepherd has always been an attractive, inviting and empowering notion for believers. In the ancient world from which this image comes, shepherds treasured their sheep as their inheritance. Without their sheep, they were nothing. 

Additionally, because the poor could not afford their own sheep pens, shepherds were hired to look over the sheep of many families in a common pen throughout the night, and  while they were able to rest, they could not sleep since it was their task to protect the sheep from predators. In order to do this effectively, shepherds would lie down across the opening of the sheep pen in order to protect the sheep entrusted to them. That the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament remind us that God and Jesus are shepherds, willing to give their lives for their sheep, is both comforting and challenging.

Today, thank someone who has been a Good Shepherd to you.

What is your most helpful image of God?