homily notes– “…bear with one another through love”

the nba season finished up this week. the m.v.p. of the finals was giannis antetokounmpo. he led the milwaukee bucks to the championship. at the parade celebration, he led– by example– bucks fans and the world by his actions. during the parade and the celebration on stage, he wore a mask. he only took his mask off to speak at the mic.

because of the large public gatherings in milwaukee, health officials predict an increase of covid cases. giannis’ example hopefully will inspire others to follow best practices given by health officials to be safe and wear masks.

closer to home this week, king county announced a state recommendation that all people– whether vaccinated or not– wear masks at indoor gatherings. komo news ran a poll this week and almost 70% of residents responded that they will not follow the recommendation. we are tired of wearing masks.

health officials remind us that wearing masks will slow the spread of the coronavirus, keep people out of hospitals and save lives. so wearing a mask shows that one cares about the health and well-being of others. i believe that to wear a mask during this pandemic is act act of love

the second reading for today’s mass is from ephesians 4: 1-6

Brothers and sisters:
I, a prisoner for the Lord,
urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received,
with all humility and gentleness, with patience,
bearing with one another through love,
striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace:
one body and one Spirit,
as you were also called to the one hope of your call;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
one God and Father of all,
who is over all and through all and in all.

“bearing with one another through love.” this is what we have been attempting to do during this global pandemic. it is not an easy thing to do with patience and gentleness. in fact, most of us have been burnt out from the restrictions and do not want to go backwards.

but if we want to have unity and peace, the cost is bearing together the hardships that exist. for some of us, focusing on others does not come so naturally. but the invitation to love calls us out of ourselves. government officials do not inspire us to love– they just do their jobs as best they can to guide civil society.

jesus is the one who ought to inspire us to love. he bore the human condition of suffering out of love for us. he did it with gentleness, humility and patience endurance. jesus is the one who provides the spiritual and material sustenance for us today in his very presence.

we are reminded that acts of love can come through something so simple, albeit inconvenient and uncomfortable, as wearing a mask.