By Beth DeCristofaro
Do you not know that
to be a lover of the world means enmity with God? … So submit yourselves to
God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to
you. (James 4:4, 7-8)
(Jesus said) “If anyone wishes to be
first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” Taking a child, he placed it in their midst,
and putting his arms around it, he said to them, “Whoever receives one child
such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me
but the One who sent me.” (Mark 9:35-37)
Piety
I call upon you,
Lord God. Lord, save me. (Psalm 55:17)
Study
Those of us in
health care must constantly be vigilant to treat patients with deep respect for
their human dignity because there is such a power inequality between those
serving and those being served. We must
not see people as the “kidney failure down in room 230” or “that difficult old
guy who keeps calling me every five minutes for nothing.” Love allows me to know that when my kidney
fails I will be just like her. Humility
informs me that when I find myself with dementia I too will be calling out for
a familiar, safe face. I have human
kidneys, a human mind and God gave them to me as well as you.
In a homily, Bishop Thomas Gumbleton[i],
said “God only wants us to become the full person that God has made us to be.
That is why God wants us to seek out what is good, to seek out how to be a full
person, by loving and being loved. That is our relationship with God. Loving
God and being loved by God.” Jesus’ choice of a little child is so apt
because children eager to love and to be loved just as God wants us to be. Children also delight in being full of
potential. They love to soak up newness
and enjoy finding out what their bodies, emotions and minds can do. Our relationship with God is likewise full
of potential joy, love, and fulfillment.
But we can’t grow toward God by focusing solely on the world even though
it, too, is a powerfully awesome example of God’s creative love.
Action
What brings out the
childlike in you? What might you do to
experience not only the giddy fun and awed wonder but the freedom to admit how
much you do not know yet long to know, not in guilt and regret but in
anticipation? Play some children’s music
in the background as you sit with God in silence or pray using children’s
prayers.
Take an opportunity
to humble yourself by accepting aid, love, nurturing from the next person who
offers it. Thank God for loving you
through God’s servant.
No comments:
Post a Comment