In the Gospel reading today from Luke 13, Jesus heals a woman who has been crippled for eighteen years. He does this on the sabbath. This infuriates the leader of the synagogue where this healing took place. He chastised Jesus and the woman. Jesus’ retort humiliates the man and all of Jesus’ adversaries. Read what He said and the reaction of the people.
In the first reading today from Ephesians 4 and 5, St. Paul urges us on to higher living. “Be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ. Be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love.” Think about that call for a moment. “Be imitators of God.” We read in 1 John that “God is love.”
If this is the case, then if we are to imitate God, then we are to BE love. That goes beyond just being nice or acting in a certain way. We must BE love to one another. When someone looks at us, our actions, our demeanor, our disposition, they should see God. This is a very tall order. But one that we are called to fill.
Father, help us today to be imitators of you. Teach us to BE love to one another, so that when others look at us, they may see you. Amen.
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