The Word of Life for February 1998
"Do to others as you would have them do to you" (Lk. 6:31).
Have you ever felt a thirst for the infinite? Have you ever felt in your heart an overwhelming desire to embrace immensity? Or, perhaps, have you ever felt dissatisfied with what you are doing or who you are?
If you have, you will be happy to find the way to the fullness you seek, and no more anguish over a life of half-empty days.
There is a phrase in the Gospel which is thought provoking and, at the same time, makes you leap for joy. The phrase sums up what we must do in life. It is the summary of every law imprinted by God in the human heart. Listen to it:
"Do to others as you would have them do to you."
This phrase has been called the golden rule.
Christ spoke it, but it was already universally known. The Jewish bible contained it, and it is the heritage of all the great world religions. This shows how close to God’s heart it is and how he wants all people to make it the norm for their life.
It reads beautifully and it almost sounds like a slogan. Listen to it again:
"Do to others as you would have them do to you."
Let’s love in this way every neighbor-man or woman-we meet during the day.
Let’s put ourselves in their shoes and let’s treat them as we would like to be treated if we were in their place.
The voice of God who lives within us will suggest to us the expression of love which suits each circumstance.
Are they hungry? Let’s think "I am hungry," and give them something to eat.
Are they suffering injustice? Then I am suffering.
Are they in the dark and doubtful? I am too. Let’s say words of comfort and share their sufferings, and let’s not be satisfied until they see the light again and are comforted. We would want to be treated in this way.
Are they handicapped? I want to love them to the point of almost feeling in my body and in my heart their handicap, and love will suggest exactly what to do to make them feel we are all the same, and that indeed they have an extra grace. We as Christians know, in fact, how much suffering is worth.
The same applies to everyone, with no discrimination in any way between pleasant and unpleasant people, young and old, friend and enemy, fellow citizen and foreigner, the beautiful and the not-so beautiful, someone who belongs to your religion and someone who belongs to another. The Gospel wants us to love everyone.
I can almost hear a general reaction.
I understand... perhaps these words of mine seem simple, but what a change they demand! How far removed they are from our usual way of thinking and acting!
So let's take courage! Let’s try.
A day spent living like this is worth a lifetime. In the evening we will no longer recognize ourselves. A joy which we never knew before will flow into us. Great strength will fill us. God will be with us because he abides with those who love.
What a string of full days we will experience!
At times we might slow down, or we might be tempted to get discouraged, to stop and go back to life as it was before....
But no! Courage! God always gives us the grace we need.
Let’s always begin again.
If we persevere we will see the world around us slowly change.
We will understand that the Gospel gives us the most fascinating life; it turns on the light in the world; it gives flavor to our existence, and it contains the principle for the solution to every problem.
We will not have peace until we have shared our extraordinary experience with others, with those friends of ours who understand us, with our relatives, with anyone we feel we can tell it to.
Hope will live again.
Chiara Lubich
The commentary to the Word of Life is translated in 90 different languages and dialects, and reaches more than 14 million people worldwide, through the press, and radio and TV programs
If you would like to read experiences of life related to this or to past "Words of Life," they can be found in Living City magazine, the monthly publication of the Focolare Movement. For information or to subscribe, write to: Living City, P.O. Box 837, Bronx, NY 10465. A book, From Scripture to Life, containing Words of Life with commentary by Chiara Lubich and related experiences of life is available through New City Press, the publishing house of the Focolare, 202 Cardinal Road, Hyde Park, NY 12538. To order the book or magazine call 1-800-462-5980. E-mail: ncporder@aol.com
© 1997 - Living City of Focolare Movement - P.O. Box 837, Bronx, New York 10465
Presented here with permission of the publishers
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