32nd Friday in Ordinary Time
Memorial of Saint Martin of Tours
2 John 4-9; Luke 17: 26-37
We just heard Saint John reminding the church of the great commandment that it received from the Lord: “Let us love one another” (2 Jn. 5). Sometimes, we get so spiritual when talking about our relationship with the Lord that we forget that our Christian faith is incarnational. The Son of God became a human being and manifested the Love of the Father in bodily form. We know we are walking in the truth when every aspect of our life is conformed to the Gospel. Recall what Saint John wrote in his first epistle: “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen” (1Jn. 4:20). In these words, we hear an echo of the dialogue recorded in St. Matthew’s Gospel: “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Mat. 25: 40). We serve God when we reach out to our brothers and sister in need. Christian faith is INCARNATIONAL. We cannot claim to be followers of Christ if we do not serve the needs of others.
God so loved the world that He sent His Only Begotten Son into the world as a human being. We who respond to the call of the shepherd must become for love of Him all that He became for love of us – fully human. Our faith cannot be dis-embodied. If we are not fully human, if our hearts are separated from the love of God and those whom He loves, we are not living as children of the kingdom. God created the human family and entrusted the care of His children to us. Think about it. He who became human to show us how to be truly human is calling us to defend the dignity of every man, woman and child. This dignity is rooted in creation and enriched by the paschal victory of Christ. When He returns in glory, may He bring us all together into everlasting life.
Comments are closed.