Recently, I had the occasion to meet a Catholic bishop in town for a conference. He was on his way to dinner but was kind enough to spare me a few minutes.
I said to him, “my friend here is a sinner (I’m not?). But does that really matter? Weren’t all of us redeemed from sin on the cross on Good Friday?”
He said, “Look at it this way. We have been given a precious gift. A free gift from God.” He then motioned with his hands as if he were handing off a football. “The question is, what do we do with it?” Or as Luis would say, “are we respon-sa-ble?”
God’s grace is not a get-out-of jail-free card. Jesus was quintessentially a man for others. Can we say the same about ourselves?
Bob Beizer
Appointed readings for today: Jonah 3:1-10, Psalm 51:11-18, Luke 11:29-32
