Reflection for the First Sunday of Lent…March 6, 2022

By Sr Theresa Maly ND

When a good deed is done, have you ever heard said, “That was really a good Christian thing to do”? Of course you have. We all have probably said it ourselves and I am sure it is absolutely true. On the other hand, have you ever heard in a similar circumstance someone say, “That was really a good Jewish thing to do or that was a really good Muslim thing to do or that was a really good atheist thing to do”?  Probably not, even though many of us know people in those categories who do many good deeds.  What about, “That was a really good human thing to do?”

On the first Sunday of Lent, in the letter of Paul to the Romans, Jesus points out, “There is no distinction between Jew and Greek: the same God is God of all…” Did Jesus really mean all?   He certainly lived his life as if he meant it. I am sure he did not stop to wonder about the background of the people he met; their ethnicity, skin color, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, immigration status, economic condition, political views, etc. He was healing the daughter of a Canaanite Woman, reviving the son of a Roman Centurion, engaging in conversation with a Samaritan woman at the well, curing lepers from a foreign country, eating with tax collectors.  He was interacting especially with those who were poor and often ignored. He simply responded to them with love and compassion.

We ALL share a God-given dignity. Does our daily living indicate that we really believe this?