A grieving mother stood beside her son's casket as mourners slowly passed by, offering their prayers and condolences. This young man had died in a tragic accident. Everyone who had gathered to pay their respects ached inside, wondering what they might say to this sorrowful mother. But she smiled at them through her tears, and she said, "At least I know where my son is right now."
The mourners looked a little puzzled, so she explained that a disheveled man hobbled in on crutches earlier that day. Even though he was choked up, he found the words to tell her that he just had to come and pay his respects. He sold newspapers and sometimes begged for spare change near the expressway entrance. He told her that every morning the woman's son would stop by. He always smiled, said hello, and asked how the man was doing. He usually had a cup of coffee for the man, and sometimes a sandwich. He treated him with great respect.
And those who came to offer words of comfort to this grieving mother were themselves comforted as they heard this story, which reminded them of the words of Jesus: "Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me."[1]
The family and friends who came to grieve that day walked away having had a final lesson in faith from this fine young man.
Some of us may use the yardstick of the Ten Commandments or Church laws or even civil ones to measure our virtue. If we have kept these obligations and refrained from breaking these prohibitions, we might ask, "Isn't that enough to get into heaven?" It might be if heaven were a game, but Jesus broadened His followers' requirements when He made the command to love a higher and more binding principle than the observance of laws. When we have fulfilled every detail of the rules, we have only laid the foundation for a lifestyle of loving. With every commandment kept, we still need to build the house.
Today's Gospel and the story of the grieving mother who hears of her son's good actions remind us of the need to be the hands and feet and voice of our loving Savior in the world today. Jesus calls us to much more than piety; He calls us to action so that those in need may experience the love, mercy, and compassion of God through our words and actions.
We have been given an immense challenge and responsibility, by our Baptism, to be the Church, the people of God, and to assist the Church in our responsibility to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, care for those who are ill, welcome the stranger, and to help the prisoner in the ways of justice and rehabilitation.
As we begin a new liturgical year next Sunday, as we await the celebration of the birth of our Savior, let us resolve to answer, with all our hearts, the Gospel call to stewardship, being instruments of God's loving presence in our world.+
[1] Luke 25:34-35
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