Not Impossible
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
In today’s Gospel Jesus says, “whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me… whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” I don’t know about you, but to me those seem like mighty demanding words. I love my mother and I love my late father. I deeply love my dearest friends with all my heart. Yet, I know that I am supposed to love God above all those people. If asked, I would say that I do love God above all things, but do I really?
Daily, I think of and pray for the people I love the most. I often go out of my way to do kind things for them, to tell them I love them. Do I do the same with God or do I sometimes take that relationship, THE most important of all my relationships, for granted?
To subordinate the love of family and friends to the love of God seems intellectually reasonable, but practically difficult. It is so much easier to love and commune with those I can see and touch than it is to love and commune with the One I cannot see or touch. Yet, it is clear from the scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, that I must love the Lord my God above ALL things, including my own life.
Is God asking me to do the impossible? It is hard-enough to rightly love my family and friends whom I can see and touch. How am I supposed to love, with all my heart, Someone who is invisible?
God never asks us to do what is impossible. But some things He asks may be impossible to accomplish if we rely only on our own powers. To love God above all things demands God’s help; I cannot do it on my own. I need Him to help me pray, to change my heart, to supply the divine help that enables me to let go of my idols, adjust my priorities, and reform my values. With His help, all things are possible.
Is it not interesting that today’s Gospel ends by describing the act of simply giving a cup of cold water to one of Jesus’ disciples as something that assures us of our reward. The way to loving God starts with simple hospitality to family, friends, neighbors, and strangers. We learn to rightly love God by first loving, in simple ways, those we encounter day in and day out. It’s not impossible, but it does take effort. Lord, help me to love rightly, to love You above all things and to love my neighbors as You have loved them.
Sincerely yours in Christ Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life,
