Always consider the other person as better than yourself.

In a world where it is easy to see what is wrong with another, we can find ourselves in a race to the bottom. We tend to find faults easily and the first thing we notice is what is not right in the life of another. This can cause us to become cynical and coarsened to a reality which is self-destructive not only to our own lives but also the lives of those around us. It can also lead to an attitude which justifies our own faults by saying that at least I am not as bad as them. Yet this is not the life that God intended for us.

Each of us needs to recognise that there are things in our lives which can diminish us and alienate us from the life that God intended. We can be absorbed in the life I want to live at the expense of others. My opinion and way of life become more important than the common good. We can seek to see other people simply as means to an end rather than as an opportunity to join together for a common purpose with a common mind. God calls us to be people who seek to discover what it is to live in God's mercy.

This is why the Gospel says that we have to wrestle with what God is asking of us. This is not an easy yes or a dismissive no. This is about the person we seek to become by discovering what it means to live a life of mercy not sacrifice. This is not just about saying the right thing or even about doing the right thing but rather by becoming a person who is totally open to God's life. This is not by exercising power, seeking prestige or even by seeming to be relevant to our current age rather it is discovering what it is to discover our own poverty that we find how to be merciful and to engage in loving service of another. In Paul's words, "Always consider the other person as better than yourself so that nobody thinks of their own interests first but thinks of other people's interests instead. In your minds, you must be the same as Christ Jesus/

At what hour did I heed his voice?

We live in a world of choice where many options are placed before us. This plethora of alternatives can cause us to try and be all things at all times to all people. We know deep inside that this impossible but the lure of being all present, all loving and all knowing draws us beyond ourselves. We can start to imagine that in such a world we do not need God because we have shaped our world in our own image and likeness.

We know this a distortion of the truth of the incarnation where we are made in God's image and likeness. This truth helps us to understand the dignity of our work and the dignity of being human. Our faith does not extract us from the world or the reality in which we live. It calls us to be people who listen to God's voice which calls us to not stand around idly waiting for the Kingdom to arrive. It calls us to be actively engaged in listening to the voice which calls us to be open to a God who is just and loving in all his ways.

This us brings us to the truth of what the Gospel teaches us about our lives as Christians. We are called to be prayerfully present. This is allowing ourselves to become aware of those around us and who share our daily lives in small and greater ways. We are not called to live in splendid isolation. By listening to the heartbeat of God we become aware of a creative love which sustains and renews us and the whole world.

We are called to be thoughtful people who engage our minds in discovering what it is that will assist this work of living the Gospel. We can study scripture, the writings of other Christians, we can observe what brings life to those we consider to be saints and we can examine our own environment to discover what is for the common good. 

We are called to be people deeply in love with God, with others and with ourselves. As Pope Francis said at one stage we are not called to be sourpusses.Our life is called to be deeply engaged with the love that God pours into our hearts. This is not our private possession but something which overflows into the world for good.

By being prayerfully present, thoughtfully engaged and lovingly enriched we start to discover a treasure which is not our own. We discover a place which is open and welcoming of others at whatever stage they are in their journey. We do not seek to impose burdens on others by proclaiming a work which is hard but rather to discover a God who gives meaning to who we are called to be and what we are called to do. Each day we find new ways to which we are called to listen to God's voice. The Gospel is not our possession but rather an invitation to the life which brings life for the good of all.

Stirring the pot

It is to always possible to remember those times when someone or something has cut us to the bone. The wound seems to be so deep that we never think that we will recover and that it will remain open to the ravages of the wind. There can be attempts to close the wound on our own but we know how is it is to become infected by the very violence of the person who has wounded us. We can fester in thoughts of revenge and cold fury which can harness our every waking moment and contaminate our dreams. They can ravage havoc not only on our mental well-being but also on how we look after ourselves. It can seem like a black hole where the more we notice it the more it consumes us and drags us in.
Yet the remedy is to foster a life of forgiveness where we can discover a healing which is not our own. This is not just a platitude of saying that time heals all wounds but rather to seek a way of being present to what most deeply harms us. It calls away from an inclination to mutually assured destruction towards a way of life which seeks to continually seek forgiveness as the bedrock of our lives. This is not a cheap grace where we simply confess our sins and move on but rather a deep engagement where we listen to God in the place where we have been most wounded. By living out of that place with light and hope we discover that we do not seek to heal ourselves but rather discover the balm that reaches deep into the place where it is most needed. It calls us to be people who want to allow God's life and grace into our most guarded fortress.
It seems so easy to forget in the midst of debates and discussions that our lives are called to live for Christ with our whole being. This is not a way of living which is an added extra but engages us in our daily struggles to be a person who comes to life in him. It is not just a way of introspection on how we clean up our own actions but rather how our lives reach out to others. We are in all cases wounded healers who join our wounds to his. For by his wounds we are healed.

The Living of the Gospel

We can somehow be immunised by the advice from another even when it is well intentioned. We live in a world where we are given advice on a daily basis on what to eat, how to spend our money, what to read and what to think. This bombardment of information can cause us to become somewhat desensitised to the many voices and opinions which can seem to flood into our lives. Yet in the midst of all this commentary, we are called to have good friends who we can turn to who can be trusted to have our best interests at heart and who will be honest with us. We are not called to be solo operators or people called to carve out our own niche to the exclusion of all others. We are called to rub up against others and in the process have the rough edges softened. This is not always easy because it takes time to listen and make space for the other to be present to us. There is also a need to be receptive to hear what they say and ponder it in our own hearts. This calls for a prayerful way of living where each day we seek to listen to how God writes his message on human hearts as Good News. We are called to discover how we can be faithful to this life-giving message, and to see how it can liberate us in a way which brings hope and not disaster. The Gospel this weekend talks about building communities which can help to sustain us and which can speak the truth to us in a way which does not demean or alienate us. It calls for a place where God's loving presence can be truly experienced and be the guiding light for us. In the world which often proclaims that might is right this genuine concern for another is the hallmark of a Christian community. Ultimately, it is a place where we can discover a God who reaches out to us and accompanies us for the good of ourselves, for the good of others and the good of our world.