Wednesday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time
We hear Paul admonish the Galatians in today’s first reading telling them, "If you, though a Jew, are living like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?" He is more or less asking – how can you expect the Gentiles to live differently, when you yourself are not willing to make those sacrifices?
I think this same question applies to our lives today. Think about what it means to be a Christian, and to be Catholic. Is your life reflecting this meaning? If someone looks to you as an example of a Christian or a Catholic, what will they see? Will they see someone who is living the Christian call to service, peace, sacrifice and justice? Will they see someone choosing to live differently, someone who is following God?
This past weekend I attended the family of parishes retreat, Together in Prayer. Throughout the day we spent time learning new styles of prayer, practicing these styles, praying with scripture and spending quiet time with our Lord. We practiced styles like Lectio Divina, centering prayer, the examen, and St. Bonaventure’s Four Dimensions of Scripture. I came to today’s reading and found a similar theme – here, Jesus is taking time to teach us how we are to pray. He gives us the words for the Our Father. When you read these words prayerfully you see that here Jesus is telling us how we need to live, especially if we call ourselves Christians. We are to people who trust in the Lord, and people who practice moderation and forgiveness. If we cannot live this way, how do we inspire others to come and see?
My prayer today is for each of us to practice a deep, authentic faith, one rooted in prayer and in love of our Father. May this faith in action compel others to learn more about Jesus. When others interact with us may they “know we are Christians by our love.” Amen.
—AJ Grimm