The Last Sunday of the Year
Dear Friends,
This famous Gospel text is not as simple and straight forward as it seems on the surface.
I do not know of anyone who has turned away more needy, homeless and addicted women and their children than my sister who is a nun. If we take a literal interpretation of the text, she is in bad shape.
In reality, she is a 24/7 servant of the poor as a leader of a rehab center for addicted poor women. Her resources are always played out to the limit. Because the program is so good she has many more applicants than space and program allow. The net result is she keeps the recovering women as long as two years sometimes. The recovery rate for those who stay clean goes beyond 90%. This is phenomenal.
This Gospel passage is trivialized by those who go into a guilt trip when they pass by a beggar at the corner or gas station.
Here is an example to contextualize the superficiality of the individual on the corner. When I go to visit a hospital or nursing home or a prison I am often called upon by many others for prayer and help. However, no matter how many I minister to, there are innumerable others right in front of me that I do not get to.
After many years of pastoral experience I understand Jesus’ powerful and challenging words in this way.
We need to start with the responsibilities of our own life situation. We need to make reasonable and responsible decisions on who has priority on our time, talent and treasure. We need to pray and ponder the Gospel invitation to open our heart to the demands of love. With faithfulness to our commitment to walk with Jesus our eyes will be opened to ever broader horizons where we can meet the treasure of our life in love.
Real love will draw us away from the cheap grace of feeling god about handout that costs us very little and is a minimal inconvenience. The call of Jesus always will be assaulting our convenience and comfort and time. It will always start at home. This is the true meaning of the often distorted phrase, “charity starts at home.” Love will always be beckoning us to new and demanding horizons.
My good friend St. Teresa of Avila has something good to say on this topic. In the seventh Mansion of her Interior Castle which is the highest point of connection and surrender to God, she has this to say. If you are in the depths of prayer and the urgent needs of a sister come into your consciousness forget the prayer and help her. She says in the end of the mystical journey it is, “Good works, my sisters, good works.”
The main message of today’s gospel is not to put limits on the demands of love. We always need to be ready to expand our horizons and use our intelligence to see true love always opens us up not only to mercy and compassion but to the often more costly demands of justice and peace.
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