comment
The churches in British Columbia had been allowed to re-open, after the first COVID-induced shut-down. Attendance required pre-registration and the doors were closed to latecomers. It felt wonderful to be allowed back to our traditional form of worship. I was walking to Mass when I thought I heard my name being called. Then I heard my name being called again.
When I turned round, I saw Steve, the panhandler who used to keep an eye on my bicycle. He was running to catch up, so I stopped. He wanted to say hello, to know how I was. We chatted. He was doing okay. After we said our goodbyes I hurried to church, but the doors were locked. For a second, I was sad to have missed Mass. Then I realized: Our Lord was right here, on the street. He was the Love in this unexpected encounter.
In today’s Gospel Jesus tells us that the most important way to love God is through our neighbour. The crowd around Jesus was discussing the importance of traditional sacrifices. The wise scribe did not join the argument. Instead, he stopped and listened to Jesus. When the scribe took Jesus’ answer into his heart, he was given the grace to understand the New Covenant.
Jesus teaches us to look at tradition with discernment and to love God through each of our neighbours.