Is commitment to your religion a private affair?

In today’s First Reading, God commands his people to behave uprightly. They are not to molest or oppress an alien or to do wrong to the widow or orphan. These are God’s special people, and he charges us to care for them; when he hears their cry, he will strike us down for failing to protect and care for them. God furthers his instruction that no one lends money to collect interest and borrows a cloak without returning it. We are all responsible for caring for each other.

The Responsorial Psalm is more than a sentimental psalm expressing love for God. Psalm 18 offers two ideas: first is the intimate relationship the psalmist has with God. God is “my rock, my fortress, my savior, my God, my rock, my shield, my saving strength, my stronghold.” Verse 3, using this possessive language eight times, shows that the living God of the cosmos is personally revealed and can be known. God is near us and intervenes to save us. In verse 10, we hear mythical language of God bending the heavens to leave his celestial throne and draw near to us. He rebuked the oceans and revealed the bareness of the ocean floor when he rebuked the waters “at the blast of the breath of [his] nostrils.” The God who commands creation is the same God who respects our freedom and can reshape our hearts so we can love each other more. God bends the heavens for you. Psalm 18 invites us to reflect on God’s presence amid life’s blessings and challenges.

Paul reminds us today that we are imitators of the Lord. We are not copies of Jesus. Copies of Jesus are those who, on the outside, do everything that is Christian, but live a contrary life when no one is watching. To imitate Christ begins with the heart. Love what Jesus loved, the way he loved. Imitation is a life of sacrifice, consistent whether people are watching or not. No one can serve and love Jesus without caring for his neighbor. This is the hard truth that Jesus reminds us of in the Gospel.

Yes, loving your neighbor is not easy, especially when they annoy you or are inconvenient. Yet they still knock; they still need our attention, and they still need our support. All people bear the image of God, so serving them is serving Christ. Faith is never a private affair. We live faith every day in God’s presence. When are we ready to respond to the knock that comes at the door of our hearts?