“During Lent, we turn inward – but we are also sent outward.”
I’m a bit of a homebody.
I do love being out and about but more often than not…
I’m content with just being home. In my own space. The space I share with family. The space that’s familiar and comfortable.
Inward.
Lent calls us to be sent outward.
Through charity, alms giving, sharing our blessings with others.
Actively loving.
Those actions are not as familiar and comfortable. They don’t always come easy.
We visited this in an earlier passage, on the second Sunday of Lent – Transfigured by Love.
Today, we are again challenged to love.
The passage says:
“He who has been forgiven much, must love much.” St. Augustine, Homilies on the Gospel of John
That’s a big responsibility.
I had to read that line a couple of times: He who has been forgiven much, must love much.
So let’s think about it for a moment.
Sometimes we make the same mistakes and commit the same sins over and over again. Yet, when we ask, God forgives those sins…over and over again.
But do we willingly extend that same mercy to those we know and love?
Today’s passage calls us to do just that…
To “see others with compassion, not judgment. To live differently, generously, mercifully.”
I don’t know about you but if I’ve been hurt repeatedly, my heart hardens just a bit. I tend to create a protective shell so to speak. And, if I’m being honest, I think it happens without my even realizing it.
Note to Self…
So what about you?
Does someone or something come to mind when you think about the experiences of your own life?
Can we soften our hearts and forgive the way God repeatedly forgives?
Can we grow as merciful servants and offer kindness to those we encounter this Lent?
“The love we show our neighbor is the clearest sign that God’s mercy is alive in us.”
Are we willing to let God’s mercy shine?
Lord, grant me a heart that is open and gentle, not one that’s hardened by pride, and help me to reflect Your compassion in how I treat others today. Amen.
