Sunday, March 6, 2016

Reflection for Sunday, March 6, 2016

Fourth Sunday of Lent
JOS 5: 9A, 10-12
PS 34: 2-3, 4-5, 6-7
2 COR 5: 17-21
LK 15: 1-3, 11-32

In high school, I loved giving tours to prospective students, showing them around the well-traveled halls and pointing out particular places of interest. The same desire continued at SLU; although I was not an official tour guide I always give a friendly wave to visiting families and students, and am eager to point them in the right direction. Giving presentations at SLU 101 over the summer, I would feel so energized talking to incoming students and telling them why and how to get involved in student organizations. In the second reading for today, we are called in the same way to be “ambassadors for Christ.” This task Paul gives us is a bit more nuanced than pointing out places to eat or giving advice on the best professors. The task of being an ambassador for Christ means being a vehicle through which others may see God’s love manifest in us and through our actions. It means following the call of today’s gospel reading to give precedence to the poor and the lowest of society, and not only to pay attention to these people but to give them a feast!

The lost son returned to his father, and Jesus commands us to celebrate his return. Our God is a God of abundance; God wants us to go all in when it comes to how we love and how we live. Today, I challenge you to examine the parts of your life where you fall short in celebrating life, including the life of those who aren’t often celebrated in our society: the poor, the disabled, and the elderly. What sorts of stereotypes or prejudices hold you back from treating people as fully human? What can you do to celebrate their lives with them? How can you be a better ambassador for Christ?

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