This weekend, as our nation enters the homestretch of the political season, is a perfect time for Sunday’s scriptural message of Love from a Divine standard especially as our nation appears to be “at odds” with herself, it is good to hear the messages of compassion, love, mercy all wrapped up into action—reminding us that our Catholic faith is not just a faith of the intellect, but also one of action—being lived us all. This calls to mind a saying of St. Mother Teresa, when speaking of charity she said—and I paraphrase—the size of the ‘gift’ is not as important as the love with which it is wrapped.

In the Book of Exodus this weekend we hear of charity—charity to the foreigner or alien who is lost among us, without knowledge of the culture or language and asking us how willing are we to reach out to them? We hear of lending money to the poor and not demanding interest rates--or withholding a cloak as a pledge of payment, but do we welcome them and treat them as we wish to be treated if we found ourselves in their circumstance? Whatever the individual situation a person is in, how do we respond to them--is it based on charity or empathy—or do we hold ourselves away from them, due to our better financial or educational condi-tions--responding in a purely businesslike manner? The laws of the ancient world, for example the Code of Hammurabi, 1400 BC, would have been of the “eye for an eye,” cold and calculating. But in Biblical laws, as we see in today’s first reading, we know there is an added dimension, life is presented from God’s point of view, not man’s. And especially important to the God of Israel—and our God in the Judeo-Christian world, is how hu-mans treat one another. Today, you and I—Roman Catholic Christians—are called to love by divine
Standards, in God’s Ways.

In today’s reading from St. Paul to the Thessalonians, his message is very clear and very succinct, model Christ, and going further Paul illustrates in his words: “For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth not only in Macedonia and in Achaia, but in every place your faith in God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything.” Therefore, the best PR is action. Say what you mean and do what you say!

The Gospel of Matthew (22:34-40) today delves into what scholars say was a big debate among the Jewish people of Jesus’ time—and since we have only 10 Commandments and the Jews have 613 precepts, it is easy to understand this debate: Which of their 613 laws is the greatest? Today we are told by Jesus: “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself…” Love!

So what is Christian love? It is not a Hallmark kind of love, a simply warm and fuzzy feeling that brings a smile to one’s face. Nor is it just a happy feeling that brightens one up when someone enters the room, nor is it a gift wrapped in a little blue box. It is more than a feeling and it is certainly much more than a material item. To quote the movie Love Story with Ali McGraw and Ryan O’Neal, “Love means never having to say you’re sorry” really does apply hear: but the “sorry” is not about the self or two people in love, it is a never having to say “I’m sorry” to God one day for the indifference, or indeed the hatred, I might harbor in my heart.

Indeed, Christian Love asks us to live life from a divine perspective. To see all humans, no matter the color of skin, ethnicity, wealth, gender, lifestyles, culture or their faith (and whatever else) these things are not separating or diminishing obstacles, rather we are called to recognize our sameness, our humanity.

Christian Love also asks us not to treat others in order to gain an advantage, nor does it ask us to settle into indifference and or hatred in order to exclude the other from ourselves. We are all Children of God. We all deserve to live in freedom, in hope and in love. We are called, in this Christian Love, to see the other as our-selves—and to ask that if the shoe were on the other foot, we in their situation, what would we hope for in terms of treatment? I guess we can boil it down on a personal level to the Our Father’s powerful words: “…Forgive us our sins, as we forgive others…” As we look at others in need, let’s use a mirror--and “reflect” on that.