Sharing the Good News of God's Love

Suppose a homeless person comes up to you for a dollar, saying that he wants to go and buy food at the nearby convenience store. Would you just act completely oblivious and pretend to look at the time on your phone? Would you make the excuse that you couldn’t possibly spare any money because you don’t have any? According to James 2;15 it states, “Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food.” Now I’m sure that a lot of you reading this are saying to yourself “But, what if it’s a scam?” My reply to that is “Why would you assume it’s a scam?” There are plenty of people that live in poverty, almost a third of the US population is considered low income or homeless. Why should we be so concerned about being scammed, when there are so many individuals who actually need financial assistance? As Catholics we are called to spread God’s news of great love, and in my hypothetical situation, it is a homeless person that is most desperate for God’s news of love.

Likewise, as we grow in life, and gain more experience, some people begin to go through dark times. They may feel as if they are alone walking on a tightrope. Even biblical figures such as Moses have gone through depressing times as he was tasked by God, to lead the Israelites to the “Promised Land” which he did not want to do, but God insisted, but as Moses grew tired of his followers rejecting him, he had said to God “I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. If this is how you are going to treat me, please go ahead and kill me - if I have found favor in your eyes - and do not let me face my own ruin. “- Numbers 11:14-15. While we watch these people experience pain, and self-hate, we should console them and assure them that the Lord’s love will always win, under any circumstances. I’m pretty sure we’ve all had times of sadness, and griefing. So in my opinion, it’s very important to understand God’s news of love, before you are ready to give it to other people. For example, if someone needs to fill their jar of water, you need to have water in your jar in order to fill their jar.

However, our enemies build us up to the people we aspire to be. A good model for this is St. Josephine Bakhita, who was kidnapped at an early age, and eventually became Catholic serving in Italy for 45 years and caring for WWI victims. St. Josephine Bakhita actually had said that if she were to meet with her kidnappers she would kiss their feet with the most possible respect because of the impact they had on her life. Although, the toxicity and hate your enemy may have toward you, don’t hesitate to spread God’s news of love to even them, because believers are called to forgive the wrongdoings of others, similar to how Jesus forgives our sins. Forgiveness is an ideal way to spread God’s news of love with others; especially and most importantly, our enemies. According to Matthew 5:44 it states “But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those that mistreat and persecute you.” Forgiving our enemies can also teach us to turn the other cheek and be the better person against malice, hatred, and hostility.