The Episcopal Church has been running a campaign for the
past decade or so which says, “God loves you.
No exceptions.” It is absolutely
true. It wouldn’t be a bad slogan for
the Catholic Church to kick around. It
is defiantly a part of our theology and perhaps not expressed often enough.
Jesus, of course, demonstrated this. Did he limit Himself to just loving those who
got straight As in school and only crossed the street at the crosswalk? No. He
hung out with prostitutes, talked with Samaritan women, and cured a Roman guard’s
servant. God loves every one of His
creation.
The problem is with leaving the statement there. God does love you. But what does that mean? Coming to realize that God loves you requires
a response. Love requires a
response. “This is me, love me or get
away” is not part of the relationship of love.
Jesus loved the prostitutes but he didn’t love them because they were
prostitutes. He had something better in
mind for them. To have an encounter with
Jesus was to know that God loves you.
But is also an encounter with the perfect being. Part of His gift to you is to lift you up,
raise your dignity, your sense of worth, to expand your freedom, increase joy,
and push you toward the ideal. Who in
Scripture did Jesus leave exactly as they were?
Those that had no intention of changing never became part of His
circle. That does not mean that He did
not love them. He even loved the soldiers
putting Him to death, but if He couldn’t work with them, He moved on.
When the Catholic Church says, “Jesus loves you, no
exceptions,” she does not mean, “So therefore you need not change one iota.” It means, “Jesus loves you and He wants MORE
for you. More life. More freedom.
More healing. A greater capacity
for love. A broader notion of who you
are. Love with God is a relationship
that requires a response. It will not
leave you stationary. (If it does,
something is very wrong.) This is ride
to someplace beloved one. Get ready for
a journey.”
3 comments:
Hi Father, Stephen here.
Back in the day, when I was just a normal christian, all the protestant denominations were nice.
Those kind people let me be. In those days, I had Jesus in my little “Jesus box”. On Sundays, I would take Jesus out of His box for an hour and then put him away for another week. No one wanted me to change. Jesus loves me as I am. Why change? Life was good. Then I became a CATHOLIC. OMG! This priest took and broke my Jesus box and smeared Jesus all over my life. Every nook and cranny. 24/7/365. Its like bubble gum in my hair. I can't get Him out. YES, Jesus loves me, but now he won't leave me alone.
"Here I am, Lord"
a fine hymn by D. Shutte
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