April 2/Fourth Wednesday of Lent
The Lord is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made. ~ Ps 145.8-9
I’ve probably glossed over this simple verse dozens of times without really stopping to think about its implications. “The Lord is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made.” Both halves of this verse present me with a bit of a challenge. On my ongoing quest for holiness — a quest I am far from completing! — I try very hard to be good to those whom I love, know, or respect. My husband and children, my friends, relatives and co-workers and all those whose lives are linked with mine — with them I strive to be compassionate, gracious, and (to borrow from the psalmist), simply “good.” But to all? To the individual who holds different political beliefs than I do? To the non-believer? To the person who begs for money on a busy sidewalk? Am I good to these? C.S. Lewis’s observation in The Weight of Glory stings: “There are no ordinary people . . . Even those you might consider undesirable are people God loves and for whom Christ died.” All of us are God’s children, not just those of whom I approve, and it would behoove me to remember this when I am on the verge of judging, brushing off, or passing by someone I don’t consider “in the family.” As for being compassionate to “all that he has made,” am I doing everything I can, in my own little corner, to safeguard and protect the world around me? Environmental degradation, social disintegration, and cultural decay are real and present dangers — what am I doing about them? In these remaining days of Lent, may we be thankful for our standing as God’s children, and may we cultivate a wide mercy that extends to all of God’s created world.
O God of all the earth and every living creature, give me the grace to respect and honor your world and those who inhabit it, remembering that each of us is your well-loved child. Amen.
For today’s readings, click here: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040225.cfm
To hear the Chapel Choir of Marlborough College sing “In Christ There Is No East or West,” click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47v5spUR8xI
