Lent 2013

Saturday, Fourth Week of Lent

Nicodemus...asked, "Our law does not judge people without first giving them a hearing to find our what they are doing, does it?"  John 7:51

One of the hardest spiritual tasks is to live withour prejudices.  Sometimes we aren't even aware how deeply rooted our prejudices are.  We may think that we relate to people who are different than we are in color, religion, sexual orientation or lifestyles as equals, but in concrete circumstances our thoughts, uncensored words and knee-jerk reactions often reveal that our prejudices are still there.
     Strangers, people different from us, stir up fear, discomfort, suspicion and hostility.  This happens just by being the "other".  Only when we fully claim that God loves us in an unconditional way and look at "those other persons" as equally loved can we begin to discover that the great variety in humanity is an expression of the immense richness of God's heart.  Then the need to prejudge people can gradually disappear.

Lord, make known to me my prejudices, and help me to overcome them.  Amen.