This reflection was read on November 9th, 2009
The title of this morning prayer is Accepting others as they are, and the Gospel reading is taken from John chapter 4 verses 19 – 21.
“We love because He first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.
Kita mengasishi, karena Allah lebih dahulu mengasihi kita. Jikalau seorang berkata: “Aku mengasihi Allah,” dan ia membenci saudaranya, maka ia adalah pendusta, karena barangsiapa tidak mengasihi saudaranya yang dilihatnya, tidak mungkin mengasihi Allah, yang tidak dilihatnya. Dan perintah ini kita terima dari Dia: Barangsiapa mengasihi Allah, ia harus juga mengasihi saudaranya”
This is the gospel of the Lord. Praise to You Lord Jesus Christ.
My brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,This is the gospel of the Lord. Praise to You Lord Jesus Christ. My brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, A student had just returned from war and called his parents at home. His parents were so glad to hear that their son had returned. They told him to come home immediately. The teenager was also impatient to be together again with his family after months he had spent away at war. He asked his parents if his friend might come with him to stay with them. His parents agreed. Besides, they had an extra room at home. One more person certainly wouldn’t cause them any trouble. The young man then explained to them, “But you should know that my friend is disabled; he only has one arm and one leg.” so that his parents wouldn’t be shocked later on. On hearing this, his parents changed their mind. They tried to explain to their son, “Shouldn’t we take your friend to an institution whose duty is to take care of war victims? We’ll be too busy taking care of all his needs.” But still, you should come home as soon as possible. We have missed you so much. Tomorrow morning we will pick you up. Where are you staying now?” Upon hearing his parents’ answer, he gave his hotel address and put down the phone disappointedly. The next day his parents arrived at the hotel and received terrible news that their son had committed suicide by throwing himself out of a window. On seeing their son’s corpse, their hearts were shattered upon realizing that in fact he too had only one arm and one leg.
My brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, We often forget that love means accepting others as they are, without conditions. Loving a husband means loving him not only when he is handsome and steady in a promising job. Loving a wife means accepting her as she is regardless of her physical condition. Loving children (students) means having the ability to praise them and give them spirit and motivation, even if their ability is far lower than the ability of children at their age. Loving parents means being proud of having them even if they are not perfect. Loving teachers means accepting them as they are. For example: by showing respect; by not making noise while they are teaching; or by submitting assignments on time. Love is: accepting others as they are.
Let us pray
Lord Jesus our noble teacher, sometimes it is difficult for us to accept our parents, our teachers, or even our friends as they are. I beseech You to teach us how to accept them as they are. So we can respect each other during our daily activities. Amen.
Written by Heri Quintus (SHS)