God loved the world so much…and so should we.
In the past week, I was thinking about a tin of salmon. From the person catching the fish in Alaska to me putting it on the bench, how many different groups of people co-operated with each other for this to happen? The number would be well in the hundreds – from the fishing crew, the boat builders, the various service agents, the label designers, the manufacturers of the printing dyes – at that doesn’t even get the tin out of North America. Hundreds of different groups of people co-operating with each other makes a miracle of social harmony symbolised in that tin of fish! And this social harmony happens every day with nearly everything we touch.
But you wouldn’t think so by following the media or listening to people. We tend to narrow our vision and focus on when the social harmony breaks down. In Lent, we are called to repent – to change our way of thinking. Recognising the co-operation that is integral to our life together as human beings is one area where we could change our thinking. The Son of God, was born, lived our life, died and rose again because God loved the world so much! God well knows the sin of human failure and dissension but continues to love the world, us, the seething mass of humanity, so much. So let us be God-like and set our minds and hearts upon appreciating the good that is around us and between us.
Loving God, send us your Spirit that we may recognise and appreciate the many, many times we work together in harmony. May we recognise the Spirit of Jesus moving through humanity teaching us to love the world as you did. We ask this in Jesus’ name confident that you will hear us.
Sr Kym Harris osb