Thursday after Epiphany

In today's Scripture readings, we are asked to put love into action.  The first letter of John commands us: "Whoever loves God must also love his brother."  We are also told that "God's commandments are not burdensome." In the Gospel selection according to Luke, we hear from Jesus's own mouth why he came, that is, to fulfill the Scripture passage he read.  As followers of Jesus and counted among those who love God, it necessarily follows that we should do what Jesus did... and not find it burdensome.

In the reality of the times in which we live, I do not think that is as easy as it sounds!  The internal question of "who is my brother?" asked and answered elsewhere in Scripture, confirms that the list of people among whom we might find ourselves most uncomfortable includes not only the poor, those who are captives, and the oppressed, but also those of other faiths and political persuasions and those we truly dislike.  Uh oh, "the gracious words that came from his mouth" are also quite challenging.

We, too, must ask for the Spirit of the Lord to be upon us as we pray for guidance to be authentic Christians this year.  We must be true to our baptismal promises and true to how we approach the very real challenges to love unconditionally.  Let us pray that we, too, might see victory over the world that screams to do it another way.  Through our faith, let us proclaim this year as one that is acceptable to the Lord!