Just a quick note on a portion of todays first reading:
Since the children share in blood and Flesh,
Jesus likewise shared in them,
that through death he might destroy the one
who has the power of death, that is, the Devil,
and free those who through fear of death
had been subject to slavery all their life.
I absolutely love the mystic beauty of Hebrews and its high Christology. It tells me how God has saved me through the person and work of Christ, and it reaffirms something I mentioned in a recent post: we share deeply with one another in our human nature, which includes sin. Because of our sharing Christ's one sacrifice is sufficient for all of us.
I mention this because I want to stress the importance of avoiding the saint/sinner or us/them attitude of false righteousness. We are not called to be hypocrites! We share deeply with each and every individual in his or her goodness and failure.
No wonder the countless stories of war are so upsetting--50 dead in Baghdad, 50 in Somalia--in being busy destroying an enemy we are killing part of ourselves. The time has come to end the atrocities we find in life--we've got to have enough guts to say "that's not my belief, attitude, etc. I stand for the sacredness of human life, all human life!"
Yes my sisters and brothers, we are indeed connected--even one--in a way that passes common understanding.
Amen. We cannot afford to let eternity reveal to us -- as if for the first time! -- that we are brothers and sisters in Him, our rising in Water bought so hard by His writhing in Blood.
All life is sacred, yes, it was sanctified, which is why I get antsy even to see short obituaries (or none). What if it was the unshaven and uncelebrated rose-pruner who helped save my soul while it was a firemen who helped save my body? Our lifelong thanks to both, but my interior obit page is never top-heavy.
That's my very inarticulate way to agree that lives do not weigh differently in God's Hands.
They all are infinitely precious.
Posted by: H | January 10, 2007 at 07:53 PM