God’s Special Interest
September 4, 2024
Fr. John Riccardo
My brothers and sisters, show no partiality as you adhere to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. For if a man with gold rings and fine clothes comes into your assembly, and a poor person in shabby clothes also comes in, and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Sit here, please,” while you say to the poor one, “Stand there,” or “Sit at my feet,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil designs?
Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Did not God choose those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who love him?
(James 2:1-5)
It’s what we do, isn’t it? At least most of us. We constantly show partiality.
It starts when we’re young. Everyone lines up in gym class, captains are selected, and then they pick their teams. No one wants to be last, but of course somebody always is. Thus, we start to show partiality to the athletically gifted. Then bodies mature and we start to show preference for “the beautiful” and “the strong.” Then, as we get a little older, we start showing partiality to the intellectually gifted (without having shed the preferences acquired earlier, most of the time). Later in life, many of us can disproportionately esteem those with money, titles, careers, homes and other things. How else do we explain the cult of celebrity endorsements for…anything…other than our tendencies to show partiality? Why would the mere fact that someone is famous, or a great athlete, or attractive, make them somehow worth listening to on a matter they might not know anything about? And yet this works, or else advertisers of all kinds, or political parties, or causes, wouldn’t seek out their endorsements. And why does it work? Because we, fallen creatures that we are, tend to judge by appearances, whereas God sees into the heart.
When that first plane crashed into one of the Twin Towers on 9/11, I was in an airport about to board a plane to Minneapolis. Bedlam immediately broke out. People began screaming and running for the doors. Police suddenly and seemingly emerged from nowhere and rushed us outside. I quickly found myself on a bus with a variety of airport personnel and was dropped off at a hotel. There I sat for a number of hours, waiting for a friend to come and pick me up. Like everyone else, both in the lobby and in the country, I was glued to the television, as updates kept pouring in.
Much of that day is a blur for me but one moment is etched into my memory. At a certain point in the updates, the anchor turned his head to the side, clearly listening to someone off screen. When he turned back to the camera his already ashen face was a still paler shade. “We’re getting a clearer picture on where those planes originated and where they were going,” he said. “Three of those planes were headed to Los Angeles, and one to San Francisco. Two of them departed from Boston, one from Newark, and the fourth from Dulles.” And then he said these words: “I’ll bet there were some important people on those planes.”
Really?
There were some important people on those planes? You mean “famous” people, people like you on television? Maybe some athletes, or actors, or politicians – those important people? The others on board who lost their lives and left behind grieving loved ones, the teachers, nurses, high school coaches, farmers, assembly line workers, stay at home dads or moms? Well, I guess they’re not important, or at least not as important.
Lest I appear too harsh in my judgment of this news anchor, I can easily think just like him. The sad truth is that I can often, if only in my thoughts (though it doesn’t always stay there), show partiality on a daily basis.
Here’s the simple truth: there are no unimportant people. Every. Single. Person. On. The. Face. Of. The. Earth. Is. Made. In. God’s. Image. And. Likeness. Every. Single. Person. On. The. Face. Of. The. Earth. Is. Worth. Dying. For. To. God.
Everyone.
May the Holy Spirit open our eyes today and every day to see others as He does. And to love them, speak to them, and speak of them, accordingly.
ACTS XXIX Prayer Intentions
September 2024
For our Board meeting, that it will be a time of both hope and encouragement for our Board as we gather in faith and fellowship to share the fruitfulness of the mission God has entrusted to us.
For our time in the Diocese of Gary, IN at the Disciple Shift Conference at St. John the Evangelist, that many will hear and be surrendered anew to the gospel and be mobilized for mission.
For our time in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, that God will bless our time there with His Spirit as we seek to build on the great work already happening in the local Church there.
Prayers of thanksgiving for God’s provision in enabling us to begin translating The Rescue Project in German, Portuguese and Mandarin in order that the gospel would reach even more nations.
For our Board of Directors, our Episcopal Advisory Council, our benefactors and prayer partners.
For God’s protection upon the ACTX XXIX family and their respective families.