Today’s Gospel is a difficult text to understand. As we know from the 10 Commandments, we are instructed to honour our parents: “Honour your father and mother so that you’ll live a long time in the land that GOD, your God, is giving you.” (Exodus 20:12)
However, today we are aware of God’s call to go beyond our family relationships and to look at life from a different perspective. Today we are confronted with a new view on life. We are invited to go beyond the example of finding out what is central in our lives and to look and see what is central to God. With this new perspective, life can be seen in a new way, in a life-giving way even in the smallest of services to people.
Pope Francis refers to encouragement of simple love, the small act of kindness. Through the recent Covid pandemic, it was often the simplest of gestures that made such a difference to so many people. It is often in crisis that we are thankful for small, kind gestures.
Today, as we reflect on this new perspective, we look back with gratefulness for those small gestures or small actions. Can you recall a simple gesture where you were helped?
These connections and gestures kindle and rekindle a sense of community for us all.
Photo by Zac Durant on Unsplash
Ronan Barry
