There seems to be a tension in the readings for day that I have often sensed in the New Testament. Tensions in the Bible sometimes cause us to pick the parts that make the most sense to us and ignore the rest. But sometimes they cause us to consider that the tensions are not really in the messages, but in our abilities to receive them in their complexity. The tensions are inside of us.
That is what I find in the readings for today. There are two themes: 1) we are all human beings and God shows no partiality among those who act uprightly; 2) some are the chosen ones. I do think those tensions appear elsewhere in the Bible. In fact, so much so that some Christians think that you must be a Christian of a certain sort who obeys specific narrow rules to be saved. They feel so strongly about that they feel they are obliged to condemn those who are not among their ranks. They think that is their calling.
Well, the lessons for today clearly argue against that way of seeing the world. Not only does God not show partiality to anyone who is acceptable to him, he is clear about what is acceptable. It isn’t labels and laws. It is about love! There should be a t-shirt out there that says:
It isn’t about Labels and Laws
It’s All About Love
And that t-shirt is what we should be wearing as we go out into the world. Yes, we are called to baptize, but we shouldn’t invite others to baptism without love. We can’t praise the wondrous deeds the Lord does for us and for others without love. We can’t be a witness to God’s love without loving others. We can’t follow the commandments without love. We can’t keep Jesus in our hearts without love. And we can’t go out and bear fruit that will remain without love. We can’t ask the Father for whatever we need if we do not know of God’s love for us. Hearing that we are called and sent is not enough. We must remain focused on our response to God’s great love for us. We are called and sent to share God’s love for us with others. It is all summed up with one commandment:
“Love One Another!”
Barbara Dilly
I came to Creighton in 2000 and retired in 2020. My twenty years of teaching, research and service in the Jesuit tradition enhanced my own life. It was an exciting time of celebration. I loved teaching and interacting with Creighton students because they responded so eagerly to the Ignatian pedagogical emphasis on the development of the whole person. It is this spirit of whole person development and celebration of life that I hope to infuse in my reflection writings.
My academic background is eclectic, preparing me well for the Liberal Arts academic environment at Creighton. I earned my BA in World Arts and Cultures from UCLA in 1988 and my Ph.D. in Comparative Cultures from the University of California, Irvine in 1994. My research focused on rural communities in the American Midwest, Latin America, and Australia. I taught Environmental Anthropology, Qualitative Research Methods, Social and Cultural Theory, and Food Studies courses.
I retired to Shell Rock, a small rural community in Northeast Iowa where I enjoy gardening, cooking, quilting, driving my 65 Impala convertible an my 49 Willys Jeepster. I have lots of fun playing my guitars with friends from the Cedar Valley Acoustic Guitar Association. But most importantly, I am still working to make my community and rural America a better place. I host a community quilt studio and serve on the Mission Board of my church. I also serve as the Climate Committee Chair and on the Executive Board of the Center for Rural Affairs.
