September 2014

WordWord

of of

LifeLife

“Welcome one another, then, as Christ welcomed you, for the glory of God" (Rm 15,7).

These words are one of

the last

recommendations Saint

Paul made in his letter

to the Christians in

Rome.

This community, like many others spread throughout

the Greek-Roman world, was composed of believers

who came from Gentile and from Jewish backgrounds.

Their mentality, cultural formation, and sensitivity to

spirituality were quite varied.

This diversity produced attitudes of prejudice,

discrimination, and intolerance that could not be

reconciled with the attitude of welcome toward each

other that God wanted them to have.

To help them

overcome these

difficulties, the Apostle

could find no other

effective means than

to make them reflect

on the grace of their

conversion.

The fact that Jesus had called them to faith, giving

them the gift of His Spirit, was tangible proof of His

personal love.

In spite of their past and the diversity of their

backgrounds, Jesus brought them together to form

one body.

“Welcome one another, then, as Christ welcomed you, for the glory of God” (Rm 15,7).

These words of

Saint Paul remind

us of one of the

most touching

aspects of Jesus’

love.

He always welcomed everyone, especially those who

were outcast, who were most in need, who were

farthest away.

It is the love with which Jesus offered His trust,

confidence, and friendship to everyone, knocking

down, one by one, barriers of pride and selfishness

erected in society.

Jesus was the visible sign of that perfect welcoming love

that the heavenly Father has for each one of us, and

that we must have for one another.

It is God’s utmost will for us. For this reason we could render no greater glory to God than to welcome each

other as Jesus welcomed us.

“Welcome one another, then, as Christ welcomed you, for the glory of God” (Rm 15,7).

How should we live this Word of life?

It draws our attention to one of the aspects of human

selfishness that is most common and most difficult to

uproot, that is, the tendency to isolate ourselves, to

discriminate against and exclude those who are different

and who could disturb our tranquillity.

Let us try to put this Word of Life into practice, first

of all within our families, associations, communities

and work groups by getting rid of our tendency to

judge others, of discrimination, prejudice,

resentment, or intolerance towards our neighbor.

These atitudes are common and easy to fall into,

but they have a compromising and chilling effect on

human relationships. They block the flow of mutual

love.

So let us put it into practice bearing witness to the

welcoming love of Jesus with each neighbor that the

Lord puts next to us particularly with those whom our

selfishness tends to exclude and cast aside.

The act of welcoming those who are different from us lies at the very basis of Christian love. It is the starting point, the first brick in building a civilization of love that fosters that culture of sharing Jesus calls us to, especially today.

Text by Chiara LubichText by Chiara Lubich

“Welcome one another, then, as Christ

welcomed you, for the glory of God” (Rm 15,7).

“Welcome one another, then, as Christ

welcomed you, for the glory of God” (Rm 15,7).