I have a brother who is twenty years younger than I am. Since he was always “a kid” when I was already an adult I have had to adjust my thinking over time to realize he is as fully a mature adult as I am with many life experiences that have shaped and formed him. We all too easily put people in a box, we think of them as we knew them back in the day and don’t allow for the fact that people grow and develop. That happened to Jesus. “Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds?” I’ll bet the people in south Chicago who knew Pope Leo growing up are saying the same thing. We are challenged therefore to meet people as they are and not they once were. Certainly we hope people do that for us so we should do the same for others. Anyone who has been involved in prison ministry can testify that God’s grace has the potential to transform anyone into a closer approximation of the loving child of God they were made to be.
