St Paul’s letter to the Romans today is most timely not only in the midst of the COVID Pandemic or the unrest that we see on TV on a regular basis, but even in our ordinary day to day lives.
St. Paul reminds us all today to owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another.
The Commandments are summed up in the saying “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no evil to the neighbor.
How do we, each day, love our neighbor (all people)?
As you may recall in the Mass of the Assumption, I shared that one of the qualities of God that we can see is God’s respect for Mary, the Mother of Jesus, of God… A respect that God has toward you and me, all people here on earth.
And maybe what is missing today is our living that respect, call it love for others. I remember a few years ago attending the graduation ceremony of new police officers. The speaker of the day reminded the new police officers “to treat people, like they were your mother”. Not a bad bit of advice. But his words also related to us… How are we treating others? Are we treating others like we wish to be treated?
Last weekend, there was a severe thunderstorm alert and even a tornado alert in our area… and area TV stations broke into regular scheduled programming and they stayed on till the watch ended, for some 60 to 90 minutes or more late Saturday afternoon.
And I am sure a few phone calls were made to the TV stations to get back to the TV schedule… But as one TV meteorologist, Reid Kisselback, shared more than once, “We are staying on till the watch is over. The safety of your neighbors is more important than whatever program you were watching.”
How do we, maybe how did we react to this situation last week or at other times? Did we see it as loving and caring for our neighbor?
Maybe many of our concerns and problems that we have in life, personally or even nationally, might well stem from our need to respect and love others, not just more, but like God loves us.
We can make this world a better place. That’s something worth doing as a person, family, parish, people community and nation!
Maybe starting today our daily efforts might center around the words, “treat everyone like you would treat your mother”!
Oh, one more thing about loving and caring for our neighbor:
- Wear a mask, including over your nose
- Socially distance 6 feet from people
- Avoid large gatherings/groups of people
- Stay home if you are sick
- Wash your hands often
Love of others needs to happen in the big things of life and the small thinks of life, in the moments that are the here and now…
Again, let’s treat everyone we meet like they were our mother! Like God who treats us with love and respect and even forgiveness!