Whoever says he is in the light, yet hates his brother, is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother remains in the light. We live in an age where certain politicians like to wrap themselves in the mantle of Christianity. There was one political slogan: “Jesus, guns and babies.” Despite that protestation, there doesn’t seem to be much Christian charity practiced in politics. Instead we see racism, xenophobia, homophobia, anti-immigrant sentment, neglect of the poor, the homeless, the hungry. In St. John’s epistle we read that you can’t just say you are a Christian, you must live it. Maybe the problem is that we have a difficult time recognizing as a brother or sister someone who looks, talks or acts differently than we do. This might be a good resolution to make as we come to a new year: get to know someone from another culture or lifestyle well enough to call them brother or sister.
