God is love! That’s it! That is all we need! This wonderful reality is truly brought home: ‘love’ or ‘loved’ appears nine times in the four sentences from 1 John 4: 7-10. This joyful, even ecstatic passage says we must all love one another. We come from God, who is Love itself. So says God’s Word, written down for us by God’s servants. It reveals to us that God sent His only Son to save us from our sins and from death itself.

So how are we doing in our warm, snug cocoon of God’s love? Many non-Christians have commented on those who follow Christ. One of the great human beings of the twentieth century, Mohandas K. Gandhi, shared his thoughts. As a devout Hindu, called Mahatma (“Great Souled”) by his people, he is revered as a beloved father, moral leader, and martyr for the freedom and independence of modern India from colonial rule. He led countless marches and demonstrations that he demanded be totally peaceful and nonviolent. A Western reporter once asked him, “What do you think of Christianity?” His reply (spoken, I think, more in frustration than as criticism): “You Christians are so little like your Christ!” Wow! That is a very clear wake-up call for us, even now.

Certainly, none of us has conquered and oppressed huge numbers of people so horribly as the colonial powers of the past. Those who professed Christianity but acted with rank hypocrisy are mostly long gone. Still, we must ask: Can those of other faiths today look at us and say, “You Christians are so very much like your Christ.”??

Let us pray:

God of love, we love you deeply with our whole heart, whole mind, and whole soul. Strengthen us to do Your will and spread Your Word now and always, fortified by the greatest gift of Your Body and Blood in the Holy Eucharist. Amen.