Thirteenth Sunday After Pentecost, September 7, 2014

Epistle: Romans 13:8-14

Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet”; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.

Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

Reflections: What is convenient, what fits our preconceptions, what is socially acceptable, what makes business sense—these are peripheral concerns that must be subordinated to the Law of Love. The true test of our commitment to Christ comes when what we want contrasts with what God’s love demands. Let us beware the tendency to pretend to ourselves that the choices we want to make are actually expressions of love for the other. Love does not pretend to be either easy or convenient. But for all that, it lets us sleep at night.