The Golden Rule
“Love One Another” by Ritagail Burleson
The Golden Rule
By Samantha Smith
Today’s Gospel reading from Matthew Chapter 7 reminds us of the Golden Rule, “Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.” On the surface, this is a simple guide to encourage kindness in our world. But if you read the entire Gospel reading, Jesus also encourages us to ask for what we need and to give what someone requests.
Often, we give to others based on our own capacity, what we want to give or what we want the other person to receive. This Gospel reading invites us to reflect on how often we give to others based on what the person truly needs or desires.
This isn’t to say that our personal capacities do not impact how we show up for others. If someone asks you to be available for an evening and you already have something planned, you cannot show up during that time. However, you can talk about another available time to meet. The Golden Rule encourages us to ask what another person wants and to provide it to the best of our ability. And in return, we must ask for what we need so someone else can provide it for us.
Lent is a solemn time in the Catholic Church. We are encouraged to make sacrifices and/or take up practices that bring us closer to God. But this season is also a good time to ask God for what we need. And in return, we can give what God asks of us, to love him and our neighbors.
May this Lenten season be more than just a time for sacrifice, but also a time to follow God’s commandments of love to to extend it to others based on their needs and desires. This is the true Golden Rule that Jesus asks us to follow.
Samantha Smith is a writer based in Atlanta with a background in communications and digital marketing. Learn more about her online.
Meet Ritagail Burleson through her Mass sketches and Beyond the Barbed Divide characters and other images, stories, paintings, sometimes music, at either Ko-fi or Substack.
Jessica Gerhardt (she/her) is a singer-songwriter, worship musician, visual artist, and theology teacher at Immaculate Heart HS, home of the "Rebel Hearts" in Los Angeles. Follow her work at www.jessicagerhardt.com or at @jgerhardtmusic.