Often when I am online, searching for information about people, places, and movies, the search engines I use inform me that by answering a few short questions, they can tell me who I am and what I like to do. Some questionnaires are about my knowledge of t.v. or movie trivia. Others are designed to match me with a character in a favorite movie or book.
Over the past month or so, the challenge has been to recognize images embedded in a picture like the silhouette of the old woman or the young maiden (see image below). Researchers offer an explanation for what the observer recognizes. Some of these pictures, surveys, and questionnaires are for entertainment. Others suggest that the persons who created them can predict a person’s characteristics by their responses.
The process isn’t new. Astrology has done the same thing through Zodiac signs. Some of your characteristics are based on the Zodiac sign under which you were born. Back when there were newspapers, I remember my sister reading her horoscope almost daily. I am hoping that who we are is more complex than the answers to a few questions, when we were born or how we perceive an image.
And yet, I keep returning to this song, which is in The Faith We Sing. Others will know that we are Christians by the love we express for our Lord and for one another. Jesus shared a new commandment with the disciples in John 13:34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” These words, from our Savior, are the foundation for us.
Is it really that easy? All we have to do is share the love that Christ our Savior shared with us. Jesus invited the disciples and us to share the gifts of loving kindness for all of God’s children. We are asked to see people as God sees us. We are called to focus on the light which shines in and through each of us and kindle that same flame in others.
Embracing selfless love is not easy. It is a lifelong task, a mission with ups and downs, with celebrations and trials. As we answer God’s call upon our lives and we seek to make a difference by challenging such wrongs as poverty, injustice, physical and mental pain, and hopelessness, how can we also embody God’s love in all that we say and do? We want the words of this song to be true. We want others to say of us…that’s what it means to be Christian. I want to be more like them, and I want to be more like Jesus in all that I do, too.
As always, the future is unknown. We recognize that there are issues in our faith communities, neighborhoods, states, and nations which are causing debate and division. We know that people continue to need food, shelter, comfort, care, and prayer. Regardless of the issues we strive to address, everyone needs to know they matter and have worth, not only in God’s eyes but in ours as well.
As we move beyond the COVID years, may we discover new ways to show others our support, our faith, and especially our love. And Amen.
