Monday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time
''Blessed indeed will you be because of our inability to repay you' is what the Gospel speaks to me this day. I am surrounded by those who cannot repay me. As well, I am surrounded by those I cannot repay. So often I find myself in this quandary. And what must I do?
The reading from Romans speaks of the mercy God has (repeatedly) bestowed upon me. It speaks of personal and communal disobedience and God's mercy which supersedes anything 'I' or 'we' have ever done. In addition to this, it is clear that an experience of personal forgiveness leads me, in turn, to my forgiveness and acceptance of others. In the Gospel, Jesus tells us to invite people to dine with us who are incapable of returning the invitation, to bestow a very personal gift. This does not necessarily mean I should go out extending invitations only to those obviously less economically gifted. Jesus talking is about inclusion—inclusion of all who are seeking help, love, companionship, or community. Inclusion is what God's Kingdom is about.
As I look back over my life I realize how many times I have ignored or overlooked those around me. I have found myself reflexively judging them unworthy of my attention or care. I am not proud of this, but it is true. St. Paul convicts me: 'Just as you once disobeyed God but have now received mercy...'. I have been disobedient and experienced mercy many times and I continue to fall short. If I think I am not disobedient I am lying to myself. Who am I to decide which act of 'disobedience' is worse than another? Is skipping Mass worse than the effects drug addiction? Is committing adultery worse than ignoring my family? Is skimming money from the business where I work worse than deceiving my loved ones as to how I provide for them? Who can answer these questions with any true justice other than God?
My existence, brought about by the One God of Creation, does not entitle me to judge, exclude, or reckon the lives of others. If anything, God has brought me into this world to the preach the Good News of the Gospel…by my actions, by the way I live my life. Jesus directs me to invite people, not only to dine with me, but into my life…to share life's journey together. If I think I have nothing much to give economically or socially it is no excuse and it is not what Jesus asks of me. It is the sharing and giving and inclusion Jesus is talking about. Authentic community is not founded upon, nor dependent upon, money or status. God's community is founded upon mutual forgiveness, acceptance, and love. Children of the Kingdom prevail 'on earth as it is in heaven' by seeing others as equals, as siblings, as members of one family. Instead of taking the path of least resistance—sizing a person up to discern if they are like me—I must choose the path as it is in the Kingdom--that of God's righteousness. God's righteousness is the immediate and indiscriminate acceptance of each and every person.
May I consciously look for reasons to accept and include every person I encounter. Let me see with God's eyes and know that every human being has been intentionally created out of God's perfect love. No matter what I have done or another person has done, we are all in the same boat…imperfect, struggling, enduring what life throws our way. And we need one another's love…we need one another's acceptance and inclusion.
This day, I ask God for the grace to accept each and every person I meet as a child of God and let God take it from there. Open, willing, and anticipatory, I pray I can let the Spirit of God take over, that love will be my one and only motivation, and that the irrevocable gifts and call of God will rule my every action.
--Gail Lyman