I'd like some hot cocoa.
Lord, be with me as I go through this prayer session about othering. Help me reflect on the scripture passage assigned, and help apply it to my mind and heart as I try to grow away from othering.
How do you experience Christ in those you serve?
Hm. I'll have to figure out what this question means first. I'm assuming it's not an "in theory" question, but a, "boots on the ground, how does this happen to you" question.
I guess I don't know. I mean, what would this mean in theory? Maybe I work down from there. What does it mean to experience Christ in anyone? Lord, enlighten me here. To experience Christ in anyone is a lot like experiencing somebody without Christ, I imagine. It's experiencing a person for whom they are, faults and all, and then loving them anyway. Or perhaps loving them more because of their faults if I were to be particularly charitable. See someone's quirks and struggles and feel compassion for that.
Now how do I see that in those I serve? I serve a lot of people. I serve my daughter, and in her I see her incompleteness. As in, she's just a child and is still learning. She needs my patience, my love and my guidance. I see God so clearly calling me to be generous and gentle with my time and words. I'm called to serve my wife. My wife who is so hard to serve because she's so diligent about getting everything done, and trying to serve me all the time as well. I'm called to love her, and let her know how much I appreciate her.
I'm also called to serve the Cor guys. That's been perhaps the clearest call in my life. At least the one I was waiting for a call for when it came. I'm called to be a conduit of Christ's desire to bring men to Him. I'm a proxy for Christ who preaches and guides and teaches and listens. I just see God's children. I see people who, to some degree or another want to be with Christ back, and I see people who God yearns for.
I also see them veiling their Christ in a shell resistant to doing anything new or trying to deepen their prayer life. I see them wrapping their Christ around the MAGA and calling it Christian. I see them sometimes driving cars they don't need, and could have spent the money on something more meaningful. But I also see loving humility, and modest clothing and vehicles, I see proud grandads, and tender fathers and hardworking ranchers, and retired doctors and lawyers.
I'm not entirely sure that meets the mail, but...
What is God's invitation for you to see Him in those you might want to "other?"
I think it might be to realize that while some of them may be oblivious to how they're spending their money, or how if their political wishes were grated many disenfranchised people would suffer so greatly, that these people are also made in the image and likeness of God, and have a capacity for love. More than that, they dooo love. They love their families, they love their countries. The love God in unique ways. More importantly, God loves them, and that's the only thing which makes us worthy. As Fr. Mike Schmitz said, "God doesn't love us because we're worthy, we're worthy because God loves us."
So I guess the invitation is to remember that. To remember no matter how beautiful, kind, ugly, retched, young, old, compassionate, oblivious, reviled of others somebody else is, it's to remember that that face is the face of a child of God, and that God loves that child. And that to love that child, is to love God, and to love God is our greatest commandment, and our greatest joy. I'm going to need to write that on a sticky note so I can remember to ask for that grace.
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
How does Jesus' teaching in this passage challenge how you see and treat those marginalized or different from you?
What sticks out to me, in the current moment, is that the sheep, who did the right thing, didn't know they were serving Christ. They didn't see the wonder of the Son of man, they didn't see God down on his luck, or an imprisoned miracle worker, they simply saw people in need of ministry, and they ministered. Warts 'n' all, they ministered to the least of us. Of Christ's.
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
Optional exercise: Reflect on specific actions you can take to break down barriers in your life.
This is a good one, but it's late. I may try to swing back to this one in the morning.