United in Mind and Purpose
Yesterday was a holiday, a day off work and school for most of us.
Years back I challenged myself to do something that connected me with the holiday and not just see it as a day off.
So last night I watched the movie, “Hidden Figures.”
It’s the story of three black women who worked for NASA back in the 1960’s.
Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson worked as mathematicians.
Not called by name but called human computers…
White only restrooms, drinking fountains and coffee dispensers…
Black entrance and exit doors on the side or back of buildings…
Looks of disgust when entering a room…
My skin is brown. My father is Mexican American. I have experienced some racism.
I can’t imagine what a black person lived through then, or what black people live through now.
I’ve read some of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speeches and have watched documentaries about him. He knew Jesus.
His relationship with Jesus gave him such courage to stand for love.
As I read this coming Sunday’s Mass readings to begin praying about writing to you, this all was on my mind.
The Second Reading starts with this verse:
I urge you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and in the same purpose. 1 Corinthians 1:10
In this reading, Saint Paul is writing to the early Church.
People were grumbling and disagreeing on what leader they were following, and probably about how they should live out the Gospel.
The Gospel of Jesus is love. Mercy. Life.
Saint Paul is reminding us through his words in that Scripture verse to be united as disciples, as followers of Jesus, and to be united in purpose, living as disciples of Jesus.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Love is the greatest force in the universe. It is the heartbeat of the moral cosmos. He who loves is a participant in the being of God.”
The Gospel of Jesus is love. Mercy. Life.
Let’s participate.
United in Love!
