10/4/2019

Q: How can God love everybody? 
 
Alexis Wescott
Marietta
 
   A: I believe this is a question that a lot of people ask from time to time. Two biblical references frame our appreciation about how God loves everybody: In the Book of Genesis, we learn that God created us in his own image (see, Genesis, Chapter 1, Verse 27) and in the Gospel according to John, we hear that God so loved the world that he sent us his only Son (see, John, Chapter 3, Verse 16).
   Concerning the former, the fact that we have been made in God’s image and likeness demonstrates to us that God loves us, for he cannot hate himself. While yes, God does notice our sinfulness, he also looks deeper within us at the goodness he created and sees it in the very person of his son Jesus Christ, who became one of us. That takes us to the second part of my answer.
   God sent his Son to us out of his immense love for us. While we can easily dismiss one another for a variety of reasons not to love our neighbor, God loves each and every one of us; otherwise, it would have been: God so loved some of us that he sent his only Son. But no, God so loved the world.
   Hopefully, that is helpful, for it is impossible for you and me to overestimate God’s love for us or his patience with us for that matter. Even when we give up on others, or others give up on us, God is always there through his grace to help us pick up the pieces if we only give him a chance.
 
   Q: Does sinning just affect you or does it affect others? 
 
Thomas Ryncarz
St. Clairsville
 
   A: This question flows nicely from our first one for the fact is when you and I sin, we sin against God and against his church.  In other words, our sinning is both personal and communal, no matter the sin.
   Sin is always, always, an offense against God and neighbor. Since we were made in God’s image and likeness, sinning goes directly against “the grain” of who we are meant to be. Of course, Jesus Christ, through his paschal mystery, has brought us the grace to again meet our potential to live as one is made in God’s image and likeness.  However, your question has the communal dimension as well, namely others.
   As mentioned above, when we sin, we sin against the church, namely, the body of Christ. We hurt the Christian community because we compromise its ability to become more holy because of our sinfulness.
   Also, if others see us sinning, we may be inviting them to sin as well. In other words, you and I can tempt others through our own sinning and thus have a double, triple or further multiple affect of hurting others because of our selfishness in sinning.  You see, to sin is not relegated simply to a private dimension; it always has dire circumstances for all of us.
 
   Q: Why do we include small books like Obadiah in the Bible? 
 
Lauren Moran
St. Clairsville
 
   A: All the books in the Bible are divinely revealed and the canon is closed. In other words, none of us has the right to add or subtract books in the Bible. The books in the Bible, whether from the Prophet Obadiah in the Old Testament or the Third Letter of St. John in the New Testament, indicate to us it is not the length of the revealed text, but the very fact that the church in her revealed authority has shared these books in what we know as the Bible or sacred Scripture.
   Furthermore, anyone who is familiar with Catholic Church history is aware that in the determination of these revealed books, through the gift of the Holy Spirit, much thought and care went into the preparation of the Bible by the bishops. Of course, these are the successors of the Apostles.
   Perhaps for someone who is beginning to take time to read and pray the Bible, the shorter books or letters may be a good start.  The Bible is a living book, and as I have mentioned before, this revealed word is a love story between God and us.
   Did you know that the entire Bible is on the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website at www.usccb.org? Therefore, the Bible tends to always be at our fingertips, as long as we have an internet connection.
  
            May you and your families have a blessed beginning of this autumn season as we share the good news of Our Lord Jesus Christ with all whom we encounter.  No matter our Christian vocation, each one of us is a missionary disciple and should take our baptism seriously.