To watch Fr. Joe’s homily from the Sixth Sunday of Easter: CLICK HERE!
Friday night I turned on the CBS Evening News and they did a piece on a four year old boy who lived in Alabama. Seems this four year old, after learning about homelessness through certain animals, asked the next logical question, “Are there homeless people?”
And of course we know the answer? Yes, there are homeless people.
So this four year old decided he needed to do something for homeless people and that was to visit the homeless and hungry. He asked his parents to use his allowance and the money for toys to go toward helping the homeless.
And so once a week, with his father being his chauffeur, this four year old visits the homeless and distributes what he feels is the best sandwich for the homeless: chicken sandwiches.
But before he leaves each person, he shares with all, “Don’t forget, show love!”
When asked why he does this, this four year old says, “It’s just the right thing to do.”
And isn’t this what Jesus asks for us today???
It has been suggested that the one sentence that sums up the Gospels and all the Epistles and all the spiritual writers and all the church teachings that have ever been produced through the centuries, are the words of Jesus, “As the Father loves me, so I also love you.”
Each of us, all of us, are loved by God eternally and unconditionally. Something that really sounds to good to be true, but it is true!
And all our God asks of us is to: LOVE ONE ANOTHER.
Simple but challenging; at least some of the time and usually with certain people.
You know, Jesus doesn’t say, it would be really cool if you could try to love one another, but he says, “This I command you, love one another.”
If a four year old kid can reach out to strangers, people he only knows as homeless and hungry, imagine what we can do as a person, family and Parish as we make the effort to love one another a bit more today and every today.
As the four year old shares with everyone he meets, “Don’t forget to show love!”