That bountiful, universal, unifying Love

"How does God see us, see our friends, or see the world situation?"

By Kaye Lyder Stoffel

IT WAS ICY cold in the parish church, even though it was the end of June. We were attending a Sunday service with our English friends. Although the melodies of the hymns were familiar, the words required concentration. And I had to scramble to find the responses in the prayer book. But I could settle into my own comfort zone when I heard the Scriptural passages, particularly Paul's words to the Colossians: "...above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness" (3:14).

Then the vicar—tall, ruddy, with a rolling Irish brogue—began his sermon. He used as his text the story of the prodigal son (see Luke 15:11-32). His approach was entirely new, as far as I was concerned. He said: " 'A certain man had two sons....' The definitive word in this parable is two. The one son is silly, greedy, imprudent, a wastrel; the other is self-centered, critical, self-righteous. Two individuals with very different points of view."

He continued: "I have just come back from a visit to my mother in Ireland, and I can tell you this feeling of separation is not confined to Jesus' time. It is widespread. It occurs in our homes, our churches, our community, the world. We are ever at loggerheads, always finding fault, lacking harmony."

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