Love is no small matter
"Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (Matthew 5:44)
Love those who persecute us, insult us, mistreat us, discriminate, are violent against us expel us,
kill us? Love those who grab for themselves with no sense of solidarity? Love those who contaminate the soils, the seas, the air, food?
Love those who close the borders to protect their privileged lifestyles, denying the dignity they claim for themselves to those who seek a home, a plate of food, clean water, a bed to sleep a peaceful night, a hug, no prejudice, or even a kind gesture.
Love is the person who has abused you, who laughs in your face with no remorse, the person who pretends kindness towards others but is rotten and whose hands are stained with blood?
Love those who will never feel compassion for the pain, the anxiety, the fears of other human beings?
What in heaven's name is Jesus asking us?
He's asking us to love!
To love when we denounce,
Love breaking silences,
Love as we march for justice,
Love when we demand rights,
Love when uncovering hypocrisies,
Love in resistance, Love in the irreverent prayer,
Love in the hug to those who suffer,
Love in compassion, Love in the shared pain,
Love in the bread that satisfies hunger, Love in the hands that never hide, Love in the cheeks that do not fear the cowardly punch, Love in bodies that are liberated, Love till the wound heals, Love in the tears and Love in the laughter, Love in the steps that lead us along the way, Love pulling down prejudice, Love upturning the tables of the cruel market, Love with heads held high, Love in dignity, Love breaking walls, Love seeking the place to sow the seeds of the gospel of life in fullness that will grow in the new worlds emerging.
Love! Because love is the way,
because Love is no small matter!
Gerardo Oberman