Tuesday of the
Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time
(Romans 12:5-16ab; Luke 14:15-24)
Linus, the character of the Peanuts cartoon series, is
fond of saying: “I love mankind; it's people I can’t stand.” He is wise for recognizing a very common
frailty. Most people consider themselves
as tolerant and respectful of others.
But in individual cases they often show themselves to be less understanding
than they think. In today’s first
reading St. Paul exhorts the community at Rome to live up to their expectations.
After laying out his theology, Paul has begun his moral
exhortation in this twelfth chapter of the Letter to the Romans. He wants the community to avoid competitiveness
and disdain. They are to recognize one
another’s gifts, to be sincere in their displays of affection, and to be
compassionate to those who are suffering.
We must see individuals as our opportunities to practice
charity. By charity we do not mean contributions
to organizations. Rather, it is the
virtue by which we love God and neighbor. It is not easy as other people differ
from us, sometimes so much that what they do does not make sense. Yet they are – to one extent or another –
children of God and, therefore, worthy of our care.
