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October 26, 2014In her book Bird by Bird Anne Lamont cites a true story written by Jack Kornfield titled Blood Brother:
An eight-year old boy had a younger sister who was dying of leukemia. His parents explained to him that she needed a blood transfusion and that his blood was probably compatible. They asked if they could test his blood. "Sure," he said. The results showed that his blood would be a good match. Then they asked if he would give his sister a pint of his blood, that it could be her only chance at living. He said he would have to think about it overnight.
The next day he went to his parents and said he was willing to donate his blood to his sister. So they took him to the hospital where he was put on a gurney beside his sister. Both of them were hooked up to IVs. A nurse withdrew a pint of blood from the boy, which was then put into the girl's IV. The boy lay on his gurney in silence while the blood dripped into his sister. The doctor came over to see how he was doing. The boy opened his eyes and asked, "How soon until I start to die?"
The eight-year old boy, thinking his blood donation would lead to his death, nonetheless was willing to give his life for his younger sister so she might live. Of course the boy would not die by making the blood donation. However, he didn't know that. He thought he was giving up his life for her, and he was ready to do so. I would call that "love with substance," "Christ-like love." The love Christ shared was sacrificial and life-giving. And it is to this kind of love that we are called as his disciples.
In today's Gospel passage (Matthew 22:34-40) Jesus sums up the whole law with the command to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. These two commandments are really two sides of the same coin. The depth of our love for God can be discerned in how we love our neighbor. A person who truly loves God with whole heart, soul, and mind will begin to take on the mind and heart of God. He will see as God sees, hear as God hears, love as God loves. If God was willing to send His Son out of love and that Son was willing to lay down His life for us, so too, should our love for others be self-sacrificing. Such love is also life giving.
When you think about your family members, your co-workers, your classmates, the stranger, the unborn child, the sick, the alone is it clear in your attention to them that you are giving your life for them? Or, is your love only on the surface and when it is convenient?
May our love for God be so true and obvious that our neighbors experience from us a love that truly is of God.
Fr. John Klein, Pastor
