The Lord has made known his salvation. — Psalm 98:2

Mass readings: 2 Corinthians 6:1-10 / Matthew 5:38-42 

A Winter’s Tale 

Last winter, on Christmas, a huge storm dumped snow all over the East Coast. A rare seven inches fell where I live in North Carolina but farther north, from Philadelphia to New England, they got a couple of feet. Travel was paralyzed, and right then my daughter had to fly from Raleigh to New York City. 

At the airport that day, I witnessed several flagrant examples of people not turning the other cheek, as Jesus urges in today’s Gospel. But I also saw this: A harried ticket agent had just announced another inevitable delay. Her “Thank you for your patience” was almost drowned out by the chorus of groans. Then a young woman in line said to the agent, “Thank you for your patience.” Everyone laughed, and suddenly there were no enemies among us. 

Prayer: Help me, Jesus, to see others through Your eyes.