Epistle: Fifth Sunday after Pentecost; on Romans 10:1-10
In this Sunday’s epistle reading, we learn from Saint Paul in his letter to the Romans about h καρδία or the heart. No, he is not referring to the physical heart that distributes blood throughout the body, rather he is referring to the heart of our inner life or spiritual life.
Saint Paul uses himself as a perfect example. His knowledge of the law hardened his heart to where he and the other Jewish temple leaders felt threatened by Jesus Christ the Son of God.
Yet, Jesus summarizes the Law of Moses with two simple, but also difficult commandments to follow. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself. How can we love God with our heart if we cannot love our neighbor? We cannot.
We are to cultivate a change of heart within us to teardown our own hardness of heart. If a vessel in the heart is clogged it is harder for the blood to flow smoothly and help the rest of the body function. Similarly, when we cultivate a softness of heart and truly live out the commandment of loving our neighbor as our self, then we can love God with our whole heart.
How will you cultivate a softness of heart? We can and do publicly, confess we love God with our whole heart, but the inward love from our heart, is what we can express through acts of love or acts of charity. What will your act of charity be?