By Father Alonzo Q. Cox

When I was the associate pastor at my first assignment, St. Clare, Rosedale, I had the great joy of spending time with the students in our elementary school. We would gather as a school community for Mass every first Friday of the month.

I remembered talking to the principal one time about how unfortunately many of the seventh graders were being sent to her office for disciplinary circumstances, specifically the students were getting into verbal altercations with each other, which escalated in school and outside school.

Since I was going to celebrate the next school Mass, I wanted to focus my homily on the events that were happening with those students, and I wanted the entire school to be a part of it. I began my homily by inviting the entire congregation to turn to the person next to them, both on their left and right, and say to them “I love you.”

The immediate reaction was exactly what I was expecting, a roaring scream of “eew” and “no.” After getting through their reaction, I explained to them that it’s very easy to say those three words to the people that we really love. We have no problem saying “I love you” to our parents, family or friends. But it’s not easy to say those three words to people that we have difficulty with, or people we don’t even know, because why would we say something that we don’t mean?

In my homily, I invited them to close their eyes and imagine a world where everybody loved each other. The world would be a completely different place if we all loved one another as brothers and sisters. As “cheesy” as that image is, I think it had an impact on how they are to treat one another.

This image of love towards our neighbor is presented to us in today’s second reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Galatians. Paul tells us that we are called to serve one another through love. He says, “For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement, namely, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. But if you go on biting and devouring one another, beware that you are not consumed by one another” (Galatians 5:14-15).

We are all brothers and sisters united in the spirit of the Lord. Our love for one another truly reflects the love that God has for us, through His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus tells us in today’s gospel, that for us to follow him, we have to let go of all of the things that weigh us down. We have to let go of all of the ill will, animosity, anger, frustration or bitterness that we may have towards our brothers and sisters. Our love for each other will bring us closer to the heart of our Savior and King, and most especially to the kingdom that awaits us.

Let us live by the spirit, allowing love to radiate through us to all those we encounter throughout our lives. May we always be at service to each other, as all of us strives to give witness to who we are as disciples of the Lord, carrying out the greatest commandment, to love your neighbor as yourself.

Readings for the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

1 Kings 19:16b, 19-21

Psalm 16:1-2, 5, 7-11

Galatians 5:1, 13-18

Luke 9:51-62

Father Alonzo Q. Cox is the pastor of St. Martin de Porres parish, Bedford-Stuyvesant, and the diocesan coordinator of ministry to African-American immigrants.