Volume 5 No.1 January 2001
A HEALING RECIPE FOR THE THIRD MILLENNIUM
What marks Christianity and sets it apart from other religions of all time, is the commandment of love. This powerful lodestone of the Christian faith is a universal spirit of compassion that fills the hearts of all true Christians and manifests itself in their caring for each other, in lending a hand to those in need and in sharing the joys and sorrows of all humankind as one indivisible body and soul.
It is said that when they needed help of any kind, whether it was food, shelter or security, the early Christians had only to proclaim these words, "Christ has risen" and listen for this echoing response "He is truly risen and is seated at the right hand of the Father". It was through this testimonial declaration of faith that their fellow Christians reach out to help them fill their needs.
Christianity, as the first Christians understood it, was all about love. It began with God, who so much loved the beings of this earth that He sent his only son into the world, as the personification of His love, to save them. For two thousand years now, the shining flame of Christ's love has continued to glow, calling upon all people to follow its light and share its blessings with one another.
In his First Epistle to the Thessalonians, Chapter 5, Saint Paul talks about how we must love one another, how we must comfort and edify one another. He tells us to know those who labor among us and are with the Lord, to esteem them more abundantly and in charity for their work's sake. He instructs us to live in peace with all, to rebuke the unquiet, comfort the feeble in spirit, protect the weak in body, and show understanding towards those who try our patience.
Love is a powerful recipe that never fails. It was tempered into everlasting strength by Christ Himself, through His incarnation, teachings, death and resurrection. It is said that the first Christians applied this recipe so well and vividly that they were instantly recognized by all others as followers of the Nazarene whose great love had bonded them together.
To those who live in fear today and despair of what the third millennium will bring, to those who are pessimistic and say that love and compassion have died in the world, we say that God's love truly endures. We say that the world is made of you and me; we say that because for too long we neglected love, we became part of the problem and that it will be only through resurrecting love that we can become part of the solution. As Mother Theresa advised, "We can accomplish something extraordinary by doing something ordinary with love."
At the dawn of this Third Millennium of Our Lord, let us all in words and in deeds partake of this potion of love to heal ourselves, our communities and our world.
Guita G. Hourani
Editor In Chief
