Thursday of the
Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time
(Ephesians 3:14-21; Luke 12:49-53)
A lot of people want to be cool. They want to be liked
without being engaged with others. More importantly,
they want to be admired without becoming attached. They like to use their cells. With these devices they can communicate with anyone
or everyone without having to settle for present company. They want to impress others as being happy,
but in reality they are probably lonely.
Today’s readings are meant to offer the ones who want to
be cool another route in life. They
speak of love – not so much physical love although that is not necessarily
excluded – but a richer kind. They tell of the love which enables one to
transcend personal desires for the benefit of neighbor. The Letter to the Ephesians is more
direct. It prays that the love of Christ
which moved him to die so that the world might live may dwell in the readers’
hearts. This love is the fire with which
Jesus in the gospel says he wants to ignite the world.
With such love we do not care about being cool. We want to help strangers as well as
relatives. With such love we will put
away our telephones to talk with those around us. With such love we come to realize that happiness
can never be singular but must be shared with others.
