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God reaches out to folks of different
backgrounds, so we should too. Although that clearly means reaching out to
folks with other nationalities, it means more.
For example, within the U.S. there are distinct
cultures/world views based on income, race, age, political outlooks, urban and
rural locations, education levels, whether we are churched or unchurched. People
tend to congregate with folks with folks like themselves and avoid, and
sometimes look down, on folks that are different. We are all poorer for it.
That cannot be reconciled with God’s will. He clearly wants His love delivered across
all cultural/sub cultural lines. We see that in today’s first reading and
psalm. We also see it in John
10:16, Acts
2:1-18,
Acts
10:1-11:18, Galatians
3:28, Revelation
7:9-17. There can be no doubt about it.
Further, He gives us the means to cross those
lines: by His own example. He reaches out in love to all in spite of the fact
that all of us have offended him. We ought to do the same.
I myself am
convinced about you, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of
goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to admonish one another. But I
have written to you rather boldly in some respects to remind you, because of
the grace given me by God to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in performing
the priestly service of the Gospel of God, so
that the offering up of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy
Spirit. In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to boast in what pertains to
God. For I will not dare to speak of anything except what Christ has
accomplished through me to lead the Gentiles to obedience by word and deed, by
the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from
Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum I have finished preaching the Gospel
of Christ. Thus I aspire to proclaim the Gospel 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.
Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done wondrous deeds; His
right hand has won victory for him, his holy arm.
The LORD has made his salvation known: in
the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice. He has remembered his kindness and his
faithfulness toward the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen the
salvation by our God. Sing
joyfully to the LORD, all you lands; break into song; sing praise.
Whoever keeps
the word of Christ, the love of God is truly perfected in him.
Jesus said to
his disciples, “A rich man had a steward who was reported to him for
squandering his property. He summoned him and said, ‘What is this I hear about
you? Prepare a full account of your stewardship, because you can no longer be
my steward.’
The steward
said to himself, ‘What shall I do, now that my master is taking the position of
steward away from me? I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg. I
know what I shall do so that, when I am removed from the stewardship, they may
welcome me into their homes.’ He called in his master’s debtors one by one. To
the first he said, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He replied, ‘One hundred
measures of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note. Sit down
and quickly write one for fifty.’ Then to another he said, ‘And you, how much
do you owe?’ He replied, ‘One hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory
note; write one for eighty.’
And the
master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently. For the children
of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than the
children of light.”
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