How well do we love one another? I'm going to start with the family! If your family is anything like mine, you will have at least one person who doesn't speak to another person. Sometimes that one person wants YOU to choose sides. What do you do? Then there's the neighbourhood. Feuds happen. What is your response? Moving on to the workplace, do you treat all your fellow workers equally, kindly and generously? Your family, neighbours and maybe co-workers know that you are Christian. For them, you are an example of the faith that you – that I – profess, and there are expectations. We are all God's beloved children. He doesn't play favourites and doesn't expect us to as well. Jesus gave us one command: love one another. I didn't hear any exceptions in this Gospel passage. Sometimes a simple smile can change a person's day. We are usually good when there is a crisis. We send sympathy cards or a meal to someone who experiences a loss. We might help babysit for someone who has a family emergency. But every day, it's how we show respect, courtesy, kindness – love – that lets others know that we care. There's an old story about a monastery where the monks are told that Jesus is one of them. They began to treat each one as if he were Jesus, and before long, people flocked to the monastery because of the love they witnessed among the monks. Well, Jesus is among us. He lives in each of us. If we begin to treat everyone as we would treat Jesus, what wonders might we see in our families, our neighbourhoods, our workplaces and our churches? A person wants YOU to choose sides. What do you do? Then there's the neighbourhood. Feuds happen. What is your response? Moving on to the workplace, do you treat all your fellow workers equally, kindly and generously? Your family, neighbours and maybe co-workers know that you are Christian. For them, you are an example of the faith that you – that I – profess, and there are expectations. We are all God's beloved children. He doesn't play favourites and doesn't expect us to as well. Jesus gave us one command: love one another. I didn't hear any exceptions in this Gospel passage. Sometimes a simple smile can change a person's day. We are usually good when there is a crisis. We send sympathy cards or a meal to someone who experiences a loss. We might help babysit for someone who has a family emergency. But every day, it's how we show respect, courtesy, kindness – love – that lets others know that we care. There's an old story about a monastery where the monks are told that Jesus is one of them. They began to treat each one as if he were Jesus, and before long, people flocked to the monastery because of the love they witnessed among the monks. Well, Jesus is among us. He lives in each of us. If we begin to treat everyone as we would treat Jesus, what wonders might we see in our families, our neighbourhoods, our workplaces and our churches?
Life can be likened to a bouquet of roses, each with its unique charm. Some roses sparkle like raindrops, while others lose their luster in the absence of sunlight. Some roses wilt away with time, while others bloom in a kaleidoscope of colors. Some roses sag with drooping petals, while others captivate with their beauty. However, it is vital to acknowledge that the perception of beauty resides in the eyes of the beholder.
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