In today’s Gospel Jesus tells us, in a poetic and vivid way, that our actions truly speak louder than words. Actions stemming from a love of Christ manifest as a love of neighbor. The way we interact with our relatives, the way we treat people we disagree with online, the way we talk about people or groups who are different from us–all of these are the actions that are a response to Jesus’ commands.
We are more likely to listen to, and act like, those with whom we surround ourselves. This certainly includes the people we choose to be in relationship with, but it also includes our relationship with Christ. As we spend time in prayer, listening to God’s word, the messages of Jesus become more ingrained into our way of thinking and our way of being. This makes it easier to act as Jesus calls us to act.
The question for us today is not “how am I being called to speak today?” but “how am I being called to live as Jesus’ disciple?”.
—The Jesuit Prayer team