“I yearn to see you again, recalling your tears, so that I may be filled with joy, as I recall your sincere faith that first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and I am confident lives also in you” (I Timothy 1:3-5).
St. Paul writes these words to Timothy and what struck me was not only the affection he had for Timothy and that he knew his mother and grandmother’s names, but also that he knew the depth of the faith of each.
We are at our best when we make relationship with God and one another a priority. Christianity is not so much a philosophy or even a theology, as much as it is a relationship with a person, the God made man, Jesus the Christ. This faith in and willingness to enter into a relationship with God was lived by Lois and then passed on to Eunice, who then both passed it on to Timothy.
They knew and loved God and one another, they cared for and supported each other, and they welcomed Paul into their family such that he knew them well enough to refer to them by name in this letter. Do we know each other by name in our places of worship, in our communities, our neighborhoods?
Dr. Leo Buscaglia, a professor at USC shared a story about how he noticed that one of his students had missed class for a few days. When she did not return the following week, he asked her classmates about her whereabouts, and no one knew where she was. He then reached out to the dean of students, and she broke the sad news to Dr. Buscaglia that she had taken her life.
He was horrified not only by her death but even more by the fact that no one in the class knew anything about her. He then began to teach a course simply titled, “Love Class 101” in which his students came together to learn about building relationships with one another. He was doing what Lois, Eunice, Timothy, and Paul were doing, what the faith communities and families are called to do, what we as human beings are called to do.
We can help to shift the tide of growing anxiety, confusion, isolation, and loneliness, when we make a commitment to care, to be more present, communicate and listen, be more understanding and patient, support, empower and lift one another up. In other words, when we are willing to love God with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength, and love our neighbor as ourselves.
Photo: I wasn’t the sharpest tool in the education shed, nor the best teacher, but I cared. Let us love and care for those in our realm of influence so that they know that they matter and they are loved.
Spiritual Stepping Stones 