A Model for All the Believers

October 26, 2008

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

By Rev. Joe McCloskey, S.J.

[Y]ou became imitators of us and of the Lord, receiving the word in great affliction, with joy from the holy Spirit, so that you became a model for all the believers. 1 Thessalonians 1:6-7

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. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments. Matthew 22:37-40

Piety

Let us pray: Through sharing the Cursillo experience, help us to become imitators of Christ, sharing in mission, suffering and his joy for the sake of a love that we can obtain through the promise and exercise of piety, study and action. Amen.

Study

Loving God with everything I have! That is the challenge that never goes away. We are made for the Lord. How practical is my piety? It seems to me years ago that I gave up ice cream. Now I include candy, cake and cookies in my list of things I do not eat. I ask myself, “What is it that I would not give up for the sake of the Lord?” I hear the word addiction and I realize how easy it is to be addicted to things. Lent is an interesting time of the year because we hear the voice in our heart asking us, “What will we give up for the sake of the Lord?” Oblation and sacrifice the Lord is not asking. It is written in the head of the book that we do the work of the Lord. If you love me, keep the commandments.

Obedience is better than sacrifice. How to be attentive to the voice of the Lord is what we learn by the disciplines of our lives. The commandment of our Gospel says it neatly. “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul and with your entire mind.” The question is not “What am I willing to give up for the sake of the Lord?” The question is better asked, “Is there anything I would not be willing to do for the Lord?” The invitation is to follow the Lord. “Take up your cross and come follow me” is how we become disciples of the Lord. Piety is a life that speaks the presence of the Lord.

Paul invites people to be imitators of him. How are we not imitators to the good people of our lives? Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. How do we invite people to be like us? St. Francis tells his people to preach always and occasionally use words. How do we preach by our lives? We need to study the lives of the Saints. They are updates of Christ in their own times. They translate Christ into their day and age by what they do for others. They are living expressions of the second commandment to love your neighbor as yourself. They love their neighbor as if he or she was Christ.

Action

Actions speak louder than words. Moses told his people in the name of the Lord: “You shall not molest or oppress an alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt. You shall not wrong any widow or orphan. If ever you wrong them and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry. My wrath will flare up, and I will kill you with the sword. The Lord hears all of us because he is compassionate.” No one can deserve our love. Love is a free gift. We deserve justice and it will be meted out to us even as we give to each other. The ways we are good to each other and how forgiving we are determines what sort of justice we can have from God. He will give to us as we give. God will not force his love on us. We open our hearts to his love by our goodness with each other.