Daily Bread

"Then they will hand you over to be tortured and will put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of my name. Then many will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold. But anyone who endures to the end will be saved."

As a priest, one of the things I vowed to myself was that if it ever became just a job, where I ended up going through the motions without feeling any emotions, then it was time to quit. In any caring profession we can become numb or our hearts can become hardened as we 'self protect' against the pain and anguish of others. For example, what comfort would I be able to bring to those at a funeral if I no longer had empathy for those who were bereaved?

I think the same thing can happen in society. We can be so worn down by the constant feed of bad news that we become numb or hardened to it, and that numbness or hardness creeps into our hearts and, from the inside out, begins to shape who we are.

I recently had an unpleasant encounter with someone who is on the opposite political spectrum to me, and I found his views to be both shocking and distressing. I felt violated by his opinions which, to me, amounted to the support of prejudice and injustice, and the encounter left me riled, hurt, and upset. However, what shocked me most, was how I subsequently felt about this person. I had mentally labelled them and demonised them as the 'other' and no longer saw them how God saw them — as God's beloved child. How I wept that I could have so easily been drawn into being the very kind of person I so despised! Lord, have mercy on me! Thankfully, the following week, I had an opportunity to see them again and I smiled and engaged them as I always had — with love.

Friends, we must never tire of loving and we must never stop loving, for we are on the side of love — God's love.

Holy God
May my love never grow cold.
May I never stop loving.
May I never stop allowing your Spirit to work through me,
to bring comfort and peace to all I meet.
May I never stop being Jesus in the world.
Never.
Amen.