Parish Missions

The Challenge of Love

Once upon a time there were two brothers who worked

the family farm. Each shared equally in the labor, each shared

equally in the produce of the land. One brother was married

with children; the other brother was single.

One day the single brother thought to himself, “It is not fair

that my brother and I share equally in the produce of the land

for I have but one mouth to feed while my brother has many.

I know what I will do. Each night I will remove a sack of grain

from my barn and place it in my brother’s barn.” And so he did.

At the same time the married brother thought to himself, “It

is not fair that my brother and I share equally in the produce of

the land, for I have many who will care for me in my old age,

while my brother has no one. I know what I will do. Each night

I will take a sack of grain from my barn and place it in my

brother’s barn.” And so he did.

Each morning each brother was surprised that though he

had removed a sack of grain the night before, the same number

of sacks were present the next day.

One night the two brothers came upon one another carrying

a sack of grain to the other’s barn. Then they understood the

mystery and they embraced.

It is said that God looked down on the two brothers embracing

and declared that place to be holy ground since He had witnessed

such extraordinary love there. Legend has it that it was on that spot

that Solomon built the first temple.

--Adapted from William White’s Stories for the Telling

As the Church continues to reflect on the fledging Christian community, we remember their efforts to recall and put into practice the central message of the Christ to love one another. Though they were still basking in the afterglow of the Resurrection they were also being confronted by the everyday realities of building an inclusive community that is more about others than about self.

Peter breaks down a major cultural barrier in baptizing the uncircumcised Cornelius and his family. Inclusion of Gentiles in the early Christian community was a “hot button” issue. But Peter tells us that "God shows no partiality." Baptizing Cornelius and his family was the first step toward the universal, inclusive nature of the Christian community. Inclusion of the other was more important than a prescription of the law.

John speaks of a love so in touch with the other that it motivates one to lay down one's life--or one's status, wealth, possessions--for another. Such was Christ's love for us. It was Christ’s laying down his life for us that brought about a new creation with new possibilities in personal relationships and within the human community.

For us choosing to love should be as easy and as simple as the love of those two brothers. As disciples of the Risen Christ we should be able to recognize the needs of the other. Identifying with the other is what makes community. Peter understood that.

Within our own faith communities we struggle with “hot button” issues of inclusion similar to those of the early Christian community. The simple use of inclusive language in our worship creates a fire-storm of polarizing opinions. The inclusion of cultural differences in our worship immediately turns political when it should be an invitation to recognize the need of the other as we live the law of love.

Christ's death and resurrection we celebrate in this Easter Season is all about unconditional love. Such was the love that motivated Jesus to put others before self. At each Eucharist we remember and give thanks for that love. In this Eucharist we commit ourselves to model our lives on that love: to find opportunities to show that love in the simple daily tasks we are called to perform.

Our liturgy today is leading us to imagine what our God sees as we gather around the altar of his Son. Our challenge is to model those two brothers so that God may look upon us recognizing the needs of others and declare this to be holy ground for such extraordinary love is witnessed here.