Yesterday I heard for the first time the story of how St.
Lawrence responded to an order by the prefect of Rome to produce in three days
all the wealth of the church by gathering a great assembly of the poor, the
sick, the blind, lepers, widows and orphans. He then proclaimed, “These are the
treasure of the Church.”
I wonder how those assembled felt about being identified as
treasure. It must have been a healing moment for them, a conferring of worth,
an unveiling of their true identity.
Most of us, I believe, have a hard time believing that we
are treasured by God, even though God assures us “I have called you by name;
you are mine … you are precious in my eyes and honored, and I love you” (Isaiah
43). This failure to grasp God’s love for us leads to the human-made ills of
the world, such as greed (lack of trust that God will provide for our wants and
needs), racism/sexism (feeling inadequate and thus craving superiority), and
pride (relying on our own strength and thus lacking compassion for the weakness of
others). Accordingly, if we want to change society, we need to convey to others
that they are actually treasured, honored, and loved. As noted by Helga
Tetzlaff in The Sun magazine, “I can
only affect those around me, love them as they are, meet them where they are.
Hopefully I can touch their hearts with love and then, perhaps, they will
change within themselves where they really are.”
St. Lawrence showed us long ago how to treasure each other. May
we follow his example, because it is a practice that is still greatly needed
today.
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