Reflection
Your kindness should be known to all. The Lord is near.
Philippians4:4-7
The Advent readings call us to live as people who are immersed in the message of Jesus. It should be visible to all that the word of the gospel is enfleshed in our lives. As followers of Christ, Christians are called to have regard for the feelings, rights, and traditions of others. Courtesy and consideration are marks of this respect whether we agree with them or not. To scorn and condemn a whole group of people indiscrimately, is a sign of hostility and ignorance. To use people’s fears to create scapegoats is reprehensible. It is a painful contradiction to see this being played out in our country and even applauded while churches are draped in Advent colors and malls ring with Christmas carols.
Prayer
May we bear with one another in love.
Ephesians 4:2
Action
Try to be true to who you are even when conditions are difficult. Do not support the rhetoric of discrimination and hostility. Live in an attitude of respect for others. Be realistic but not judgmental.
Suggested Reading
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.
1 Corinthians 13:4
Hatred stirs up dissension but love covers over all wrongs.
Proverbs 10:12
A little bit of mercy makes the world less cold and more just.
Pope Francis
This world of ours… must avoid becoming a community of dreadful fear and hate, and be, instead, a proud confederation of mutual trust and respect.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.
Mahatma Gandhi
We cannot resort to simplistic or extreme solutions which substitute myths for common sense.
Jimmy Carter
Respect for ourselves guides our morals, respect for others guides our manners.
Laurence Sterne
There is no respect for others without humility in one’s self.
Henri Frederic Amiel
We don’t need to share the same opinions as others, but we need to be respectful.
Taylor Swift
To be one, to be united is a great thing. But to respect the right to be different is maybe even greater.
Bono