As preached by Sister Cecelia
Holy Wisdom Church
In this morning’s gospel, Jesus’ answer to the lawyer is clear:
Anyone in need of help is a neighbor to be loved in whatever way we can. It
takes a real Metanoia, a real change in our minds and hearts, to be able to
love fully. Just as St Paul made very clear in this morning’s epistle.
The eclipse this past Monday that brought so many all
across the United States to view this wonder of creation gave evidence that we
can unite as one people. People from other countries, even, were here to view
the sun’s eclipse and were welcomed. While many welcomed the eclipse as a boon
to the economy, there was a great deal of actual relating with others.
We must be converted to the consciousness that makes us one
with the universe and with each other. To be dominated by love, we must be able
to become aware of God’s presence within. We become aware of the sacred in
every single element of life. We must be healers in a harsh society. No matter
what division and violence we see in our world, we are assured that Christ’s
victory will be the final victory. How can we be in the world
differently to help bring it about? We want to live in a society where we
don’t “pass by on the other side” as the priest and Levite did on the way to
Jericho. People and communities are providing support by helping in homeless
shelters, supplying foodbanks, and aiding refugees.
St John’s Chapel near the twin towers in New York City was
used as a place for the responders to rest and treat the wounded after the
towers were attacked. All the interior furniture—including the pews and altar—was
emptied out and placed on the street which eventually basically destroyed them
for further use. In time the chapel needed to be refurbished, and a special
architect was put in charge to make the chapel a reminder of the destruction of
the twin towers. One of the commissions for the chapel was a two-foot-high sculpture
of the crucified Christ’s head and chest without arms. The artist’s intent was
to remind us that we are Christ’s arms and hands. We are members of
Christ’s body, and we can and must love.
The world is full of surprises, and by responding creatively
to the unexpected, we can allow the full power of our latent potential to
emerge. We would be wise to consider whether God is speaking to us in those
moments when reality is different from what we expect. We are being asked to
look in a different direction, open to the possibility that we are being asked
to change.
It takes a special act of grace to accommodate ourselves to
every condition of life, to carry an equal temper of mind through every
circumstance. On one hand, only in Christ can we face poverty, pain, and
sickness contentedly—that is, without losing our comfort in God. On the other
hand, only in Christ can we face having plenty and not be filled with pride
rather than gratitude. In the end, we will be judged by the life we live: not
by the beliefs we hold, but by the way we have loved others.
May we continue forward, not as rigid keepers of the law,
but with our minds and hearts open to all that comes our way, knowing that God
is with us!
Glory to Jesus Christ!
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