Thus I aspire to proclaim the Gospel
Luke 15:20-21
not where Christ has already been named,
so that I do not build on another’s foundation,
but as it is written:
Those who have never been told of him shall see,
and those who have never heard of him shall understand.
One of my favorite musicals is Lionel Bart’s Oliver, not because it is so uplifting, but because it tells much of the story of Victorian England in the 19th century, a time of much unrest in the British Empire. One of my favorite songs of the musical is “Consider Yourself” sung by the Artful Dodger who is welcoming Oliver into his street gang assuring him that Oliver could be one of the family.
I want to be part of a family, and I believe I’ve been very lucky to be part of families who have welcomed me: my own birth family, the family at Immaculate Conception School, the Passionists… Yes I have been very lucky to have been invited into good, not perfect, but good families.
I think maybe that is what St. Luke is trying to tell us in today’s scripture selection, that we have been blessed with the Good News that we are loveable and we can love, and now we get to go to the far corners of the world to tell and invite all people, all plants and all animals that we are all gifts to one another, no matter what our genus, gang or origin. We have all been created by a God of Love.
God, Thank You and help me listen to all of Your creation, especially those with whom I think differently—to listen to the point to where I can identify with them, love them and welcome them into our gang.
