ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING
September 28, 2021
A few weeks ago an image went viral of one football player helping another football player who had a leg cramp. If you’ve ever played sports in the heat and had a leg muscle lock up, then you know the pain. Well the player who helped was on the opposing team. His name is Mario Hoefer, and he immediately knew what was happening when the other player went down. And before the athletic trainers could get to the cramping player, Mario begin to help stretch the player’s leg. Mario told a newspaper reporter, “I know how it feels,” and in that moment, the guy in pain was no longer his opponent. On Sunday, I talked about stories that continue to inspire our capacity to love. We need to be loaded with such stories as the world around us seeks to blot out the good stories with tales of hatred, violence and indifference. In Matthew 10:7, we read: “As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’” If it is good news, isn’t it intended to be shared? Good news changes hearts, inspiring us to stretch in our capacity to love. Our acts of kindness may never go viral as Mario’s did, but the impact on those around us could be dramatic and lasting.
O Source of Love, O Mighty God, may the Good News of Christ’s love continue to be shared in both word and action. Let us not be idle or negligent in the task, for there are so many whose daily news is not good, not joyful, not life-giving. Amen.
