March 5, 2022

A border is an invisible line that is meant to distinguish one country from another.  We all know that these lines are quite arbitrary and usually drawn based on ethnicity, natural terrain or political dominance.  While grown men and women bicker, and in fact kill one another, over these borders, Jesus reminds us that there is no abiding kingdom in this world (cf. Jn 18:36) and that all conflicts are a projection of something unresolved within us (cf. Lk 17:21).  What if our true ethnic identity were as children of God?  What if the only terrain that mattered was the spiritual landscape of souls?  What if that unquenchable thirst for power was just a misdirected desire for everlasting life?  Indeed, the Cross is the ultimate boundary-marker:  God has reached out to the absolute limits of existence, has established the definitive distinction between this life and the next, and to this day invites people to cross over into a place of trust and love.  Let’s therefore be relentless in finding that deep interior borderline in ourselves.  Let’s challenge one another to make the turn from defending the false self to a life of vulnerability and openness to others.  Let’s link arms with each of our sisters and brothers on the way to our radically inclusive homeland.  Ave Crux, Spes Unica.