The Children of Christ and the Seeds of Love

There are so many instances of children of God judging one another throughout all of the Gospels. Can you even imagine Joseph's distress at the thought of his beautiful wife's dire situation of being pregnant and unmarried? And yet, he was told by an angel, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins." Talk about having misread his bride-to-be.

Or look at the entirety of chapter 7 of Luke. The elders who speak of the centurion's slave assert that he "deserves" to have Jesus heal his slave, yet Jesus is truly impressed by the centurion's faith only when he sends word that he is unworthy of having Jesus under his roof. The widow cries because she misjudges that her only son is gone forever through death, and Jesus calls her son back to life. People don't understand who John the Baptist is (or Jesus, for that matter), and the Pharisee Simon unrightfully judges the sinner who washes Jesus' feet with her tears and dries them with her hair. Quite the lot of misunderstandings for one chapter!!!

But, what do we see in all these instances? How are they all tied together? Christ, in each instance, meets everyone where they are (as He did in His birth in Bethlehem, as He did throughout His life), and loves the sinner as he is. He died for sinners, not for the seemingly perfect, but rather for sinners. And the first step in claiming Jesus as our own is admitting our own sin - otherwise, how can we claim Him and His Mercy?! After all, Jesus did not die for the perfect; so if you are perfect, you are out of luck!!!

Instead, what we see is Christ's compassion in all things. He goes to the centurion although at first he is prideful, acting out of a love for the man himself that swallows the sin of his pride. He meets the widow in her despair, giving her a sign that she might believe, rather than waiting for her to come to Him. He meets the crowds in their confusion and rumors about John and corrects them with love and truth. He offers them analogies that they can understand, and acknowledges their sins while offering the hope that, in the future, "wisdom [will be] vindicated by all her children." He explains to Simon the Pharisee the difference between the repentant sinner and the one who judges her, between the one who shows great love and the one who loves little, yet He affirms Simon by telling him that he was correct in his judgment of His parable: "you have judged rightly." The question of Jesus becomes not, "who is this who even forgives sins?," but rather, "who is this who loves so greatly even those who love so little?"

Our lives are marked by opportunities to judge others and "love little." We can say that one is not "holy" when they do not attend daily Mass, or pray the Rosary every day. Yet, the tears of one truly repentant sinner are worth more than all the daily offerings of a pious Christian. But, how does the repentant sinner reach the point of tears? What moves them so much so as to cry of humility in the face of greatness? Is it not the infinite and merciful love of Christ? Before salvation, there must always be all-encompassing and overwhelming amounts of Love. It is the driving force of the universe, the origins of the earth, created by our good God at the beginning of time.

"So, where does this leave me?", you might ask. "The one trying to better my faith life bit by bit, working on being a good human being in the face of such a seemingly distant goal as imitating Christ?" It means loving others by piercing through the veil of their sin, loving others not because of the person they could be but because of the person they are. It means not wishing that others were better people so you could love them more. It means loving them so much that Christ shines through you. It means allowing that light of Christ to permeate yourself so much that others feel that light, that love, that mercy, and are overwhelmed by the love felt for such imperfection as that of human beings.

We are called to imitate Christ as Catholics, and Jesus Himself taught us to serve even the sinner. Even when washing the feet of one of the worst and most notorious sinners of all time, Simon called Peter, Jesus was told to get up and stop washing Peter's feet. He did not stop His foot-washing, however, and continued performing the Will of the Father, loving Peter through his inability to understand, which caused him to sin. And once Peter did understand, after having denied Christ three times, it was only relying on this overwhelming love that he was able to overcome his own guilt and follow in Christ's footsteps.

If you are a practicing Catholic, chances are you have at some point in your life felt the overwhelming mercy and compassion that is Christ's Love for us. Many of you probably experienced this love in Church at some point. But, what about those people who would never set FOOT in a Church? Or perhaps those crotchety people who seem to hate everyone and everything? Here's a new remedy for the problem: LOVE them. But not the kind of love that wishes they were better for their own sake. The kind of love that is accepting others as they are at exactly that point in time. Loving the crotchety for teaching patience to others, loving those who are unkind simply because they are human beings and part of the body of Christ.

This kind of love that Christ teaches is not a love that asks for anything. It hopes for everything, but does not expect anything. It gives and gives and waits for no response, confident that a seed needs water and sunlight to be given any chance to grow. It does not water the seed to see the beautiful flower, but rather waters it simply because it understands that a seed needs water to grow. It provides and does not think of outcomes, but rather thinks only of the other.

This is the love that we are called to have for everyone. Talk about a hard calling! The Pharisee in us wants so badly to say, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner." We want so badly to say that nobody understands us, that we are alone in our condemnation of the evils of the world. Yet, this acknowledgment of the evils of the world is what Jesus came to save us from!

"Simon, I have something to say to you," says the Lord. "Tell me, teacher." "Do you see this woman?" Jesus asks. "When I entered your house, you did not give me water for my feet, but she has bathed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair." Lord, forgive me for not realizing that my brothers' sins are jewels that adorn the path to their salvation! For, you have said, "her many sins have been forgiven, hence, she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little."

Lord God, it is not just about your own mercy that you speak, but about the mercy of your children!! If we are to love others rightly, we are to offer them mercy as you offer mercy - freely and without reserve, exchanging judgment in favor of your supreme goodness. It is not possible for others to "show great love" unless we first see that your mercy is extended to other sinners as much as it is extended to us ourselves. We realize that we restrict the capacity for other sinners to love when we love them less, and that when we channel Christ's love for us, we are helping to enable them to see Christ's mercy and compassion for them. And this is our true aim as followers of Christ - to be the mirrors reflecting His Light, even onto sinners, even onto the imperfect; simply because we are loved in imperfection and sin, very much unto death.

Lord, we pray that you might teach us how to love one another as sinners, as you have loved us. We pray for strength and trust in your love, that we might not trust ourselves, but trust in your infinite mercy and compassion. We ask for eyes that are blind to the judgment of the world, and hearts that cry out to You in every corner that you have hidden Yourself in this world - in people, especially. We pray not to change others, but that You might heal and touch our hearts, so that we are better able to do Your Will and love one another as You have loved us! Lord God, grant us pure hearts this day that look not to the sin, but straight to the hearts of other sinners like ourselves - and only see there the beauty of Your beloved creations!!

Thank you, God, for the irate, for the persecutors, for the confused, for the offensive, for the people who make us uncomfortable, for the sinners, for they give all of us a reason and an opportunity to love them purely, like You love us!!! :) May we always see the blessing of the tiny seed, and nurture it with all the love that we have!!!!

In Christ through Mary,
Christina :)