One of my favorite quotations from St Francis of Assisi is, “It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching.” St Francis goes on to say that his desire is “to convert the world by obedience to the Holy Rule rather by example than by word.” What brought this quotation from St Francis to mind is today’s second reading from St Paul’s letter, 1 Thessalonians 1:5c-10. St. Paul reminded the Christians of Thessalonica that they were models “for all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia”. They were models because they tried to imitate the Lord and because “the word of the Lord has sounded forth not only in Macedonia and [in] Achaia, but in every place [their] faith in God has gone forth.” As I reflected on these two verses and the quotation from St Francis, I wondered if the Christians of Holy Trinity Catholic Church are considered models of faith for all the believers in Peachtree City, or Fayette County, or the State of Georgia or the nation. Does the word of the Lord sound forth from us? Are we good imitators of the Lord?
Throughout the New Testament we read that love is our Christian benchmark. Jesus confirms importance of love in today’s gospel from Matthew 22:34-40. Here the Pharisees challenged him again with the question, “"Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?" Jesus addressed the challenge by answering "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments."
Both St John and St Paul continued the theme of love in their Epistles. In the First Letter of John 4:16 we read that “God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him.” God loves us completely with a generosity that cannot be measured. St. Paul tells us in Romans 5: 5 that “the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the holy Spirit that has been given to us.” We, in turn, are expected to share that love with all the people we encounter. Our love of God is what enables us to love other people. And it is our love of other people that identifies us as exemplary Christians.
We don’t need to proselytize to sound forth the word of the Lord; we need to love. If we can demonstrate a fraction of the love God bestows on us, we can change the world.
God, you display your almighty power
in loving us without regret.
In the human heart of Jesus your Son
you have shown us the boundlessness of your love.
Give us a love that is forgiving,
generous and gentle like his,
that we may recognize and welcome him
in our brothers and sisters.
And may our hearts reach out first
to the poorest and the least lovable,
with the gratuitous love you have given us
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
