This feast is an invitation to all those who have power or authority of any kind to compare their use of power or authority with Jesus. Are they using their power to serve others or to manipulate? Are they using their power for the building up of a more just society or to feather their own nest? Are they using their power in any way that might cause pain to others or in a way that could help to alleviate pain? In the prayer Jesus taught us, we pray, “thy kingdom come.” Jesus has shown how to bring about that kingdom. Let us pray that nations and individuals will be humble enough to look at how Jesus used power and bring about the kingdom of God.
Today Pope Francis has declared November 18th to be the World Day for the Poor. We are to share what we have to provide for the needs of others. For the poor, the rejected and the marginalized, their poverty can make it seem that their world is falling apart. The apocalyptic message of hope for all people is that no one is excluded from the Father’s love. The hope Jesus offers is the hope he lived. Jesus transformed the poverty of people’s lives into occasions of grace and healing.
We pray! Open our eyes Lord!! We live in a divided and polarized world -- a world where so many are poor and oppressed, where hate seems to be growing – a world where the gap between rich and poor is extreme and growing larger! Our faith calls us to stand with the poor, to stand with the oppressed, to open our eyes anew to injustice to oppose hatred. The readings today, and especially the Gospel, call us to recognize this injustice--to see and act in a new way--to move out of our comfort zone and look deeply -- to see a new vision, a vision that God wants for us. This vision may be costly and difficult to realize, a vision that truly challenges us!
In the scriptures this weekend, our first reading is from Deuteronomy chapter 6, an iconic passage for the Jewish people. This passage is so important to the Jewish people that they nail it to their doors and at times even wear little containers with this passage on their foreheads. This is what Moses has to say, “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone! Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.”
It’s easy to say the words that we go forth from Mass to love God and love neighbor but what are the most challenging parts of that for each of us as we live out our faith in real time? Like the disciples of Jesus’ day, we might reflect on what Jesus’ inclusiveness means in our times. Do I love people who do not look or act or think like me? Do I love the co-worker who requires extra patience and understanding? Do I love the family member who’s an expert at pushing my buttons? Do I love people who vote for the other party? Do I love the kid who bullies my child at school? Do I love people who commit heinous acts of violence