Year B, Pentecost Tuesday

Inspired by 1 Corinthians 12:12-27

“If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.”  1 Corinthians 12:26

Our modern society operates as though life is a zero-sum game.  If there are going to be winners, then there has to be losers.  There are limited resources, and some will be the ‘haves’ while others will be the ‘have-nots.’  We all want to make sure we’re the winners and the ‘haves,’ and while we may not actively spite the losers or the ‘have-nots,’ we are certainly guilty of overlooking them, or of making up reasons to justify their unfortunate circumstances as appropriate or deserved.

But that’s not the community that God in Christ has called us to.  The Lord our God created this world and all its resources, and he made sure that there was enough for everyone.  He created humanity with wondrous diversity, and he made it clear that only when we honor each other’s differences and contributions can all people live with the dignity that God intended and with sufficient resources to meet everyone’s needs.

Rather than looking at those who suffer and thinking, “There but for the grace of God go I,” let us instead suffer with them, and work to alleviate their suffering as though it were we who suffered.  Rather than being envious of those who have achieved more than we have, let us celebrate that they are using the gifts that God has given them to do well, and let us strive to do the same.

We’re all in this world together.  We’re all in this life together.  We’re all living by God’s grace.  What happens to one of us happens to all of us.  Living as though we are responsible only for our own happiness not only denies the good gifts of God’s grace, but also guarantees that we will never achieve the complete satisfaction and contentment that only comes from recognizing God as Lord.

Let us pray.  God of abundance, you created this world and everyone in it.  Enable us to see the world and its inhabitants as you see us, that we may recognize that we all possess dignity and honor, and that we are all connected to one another.  Through Christ our Lord, Amen.