Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Homily for 2 June 2016

2 June 2016

Saint Timothy is telling people to “stop disputing about words; this serves no useful purpose.”  In other words, he’s saying: “Stop debating about how to love God and our neighbor . . . and just do it.”  And maybe that’s a message we ourselves need to hear; or maybe somebody we know needs to hear it.  It’s so obvious, and yet so easily overlooked, what St. Timothy is saying: “Don’t talk about being a Christian . . . Be a Christian.”

Of course there is legitimate debate and discussion about what it means to love God and love our neighbors.  But the discussion itself has to be couched in the Spirit of Love; otherwise—as St. Timothy observes—it “serves no useful purpose."

Jesus’ two commandments are so simple: love God, love your neighbor.  And there are a lot of ways to do that.  The trick is to never stop loving, even while we’re trying to figure out how to do it; even if we disagree with somebody else about it.  Our task, our joy, is simply to love.  And so, today, let’s not just talk about being a Christian . . . let’s remember to actually be a Christian.

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