Memorial of Saint Charles Borromeo, Bishop
I am weary of hate. Of attack ads. Of tearing people down. Of bitter comments on social media. Of violent words in our everyday conversations. Of grumbling about “those people” who just need a job to pay their bills (as if it were that easy), who should go ‘back home’ (as if home was safe), or who should…I am weary of hate. I am weary of people who want us to hate one another, of people who benefit from spreading hate and division. Are you?
Then I read the gospel and there is Jesus saying we must hate even our family to follow him. How can that be? Jesus Christ is God’s love in the flesh; why would the One who is Love Incarnate say we must hate anyone? This text wearies me. And so, I zoom out a bit, to a get a bigger picture. Earlier in chapter 14 of Luke’s Gospel, Jesus instructs us, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” This is the God of Love.
Today’s gospel is not about hate. “Gospel” means good news and the Good News is never about hate. It is about expanding our love. We must prefer loving expansively, no matter the cost. God loves each of us beyond measure. God loves those who are looking for work, those who have fled the violence of their country, those who are struggling to pay their bills, those who are sick and in need of healing. God loves beyond measure and does not count the cost of loving widely. God loves so much that God became human and showed us love that is willing to die for us and then rose again to bring us life without end.
As followers of Jesus, we are called to love widely and without cost, to love beyond our usual boundaries. Often this happens in small ways each day - contributing a couple of items to the parish food pantry; looking someone in the eye, smiling, and saying hello; refusing to laugh at a racist joke and firmly and kindly saying why, staying in the discomfort of the moment to explain in love rather than shout.
If we must choose between keeping peace in our family or standing up for God’s Love of those most in need, Jesus calls us to give everything to love the ones who are most in need of God’s love and mercy. Jesus is inviting us to practice being loving with everyone at all times. That can seem overwhelming, but we can start with practicing it in this moment. And then in the next moment, we can start again…and again…and again. The God of Love is with us, inviting us to practice love in each moment.
-Kelly Adamson