SPEAK GOD'S WORD TO ALL
Even the slightest hint of excluding anyone from our love and concern is
not in accord with God's will.
In today's first
reading from the Acts of the Apostles, St. Peter says, "The Spirit told me
to accompany them without discriminating" (Acts 1:12). A man in Joppa sent
for Peter to proclaim God's words to all and "all [his] household [would]
be saved" (Acts 1:14).
Real baseball fans
will remember when Jackie Robinson broke into the major leagues with the
Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson was an excellent baseball player, but the notable
thing about him in that era was that he was black. Until the owner of the
Dodgers was bold enough to hire him, it was simply taken for granted that major
league baseball was a sport for white men only. Although it is impossible now
to think of professional baseball without black players, opposition to Jackie
Robinson was rather forceful from some of the players and even some of the
fans.
In the early Church
it was first taken for granted that Christianity was for Jews only. When some
of the Christians in Jerusalem heard that Gentiles too had become followers of
Christ, they objected. Peter was challenged on this point and responded by
explaining the vision he had in which it was clear that God was calling all people
to salvation through Jesus Christ. Jesus is the gate, as He declares in the
Gospel. Through Him all peoples are invited to enter in the Kingdom of God. In
the end of the reading from Acts today, those who had challenged Peter on
preaching to the Gentiles concluded that "God has then granted life-giving
repentance to the Gentiles, too" (Acts 1:18).
We pray in the
responsorial psalm, "Like a deer that yearns for running streams, so my
soul is yearning for You, my God. My soul is thirsting for God, the living God.
When can I enter to see the face of God?" (Ps 42). I was so touched by
this psalm this morning. Hearing the words "I long," "I
thirst," and "I yearn." Deep in the heart that is yearning is
the vital thrust of life, the motivating force of earthly existence. I live
because I long for You, Lord; and in a way, because I long for You, I die, too.
Because I possess faith, I desire Your presence, desiring nothing else in this
world. I imagine Your face, hear Your voice, and worship Your divinity.
We meet in prayer;
we meet in the sacraments; and we come to You in faith. We want to meet You in
the faces of our fellow humans, in the sudden revelation that all people are
Your children, brothers and sisters to each other. We want to be there in time
of need of the poor, in the love of friends, and in the smile of a child or an
elderly woman dying. You are in all people, Lord, and I want to recognize You
in them.
The Gospel
proclaimed today brings much comfort to us. Jesus says, "I am the Good
Shepherd, and I know mine and mine know Me, just as the Father knows Me and I
know the Father; and I will lay down My life for the sheep" (Jn 10:14-15).
In these days it is
difficult for us to imagine how anyone could have thought that Christianity was
meant to be exclusive. Nonetheless, we must constantly make sure that our
attitude is the same as God's attitude about His people. Even the slightest
hint of excluding anyone from our love and concern is not in accord with God's
will. Rather, we must make positive efforts to reach out in sharing His love
with everyone we meet.