When my friend’s children were little I used to watch as she let them eat things that had fallen on the floor.  She used to say, “it’s ok, more fiber”.  And then we would chuckle.  I, on the other hand, would throw it away because it was dirty.  In the end, her kids probably had fewer colds and were sick less often. 

Sometimes, with the best intentions, we sterilize things that we shouldn’t.  Jesus was one of the people, he walked with them, lived with them, dined with them and died with them.  That is our Lord.  No sin was too big, no illness too grotesque, and no person without hope.  Jesus was in the midst of it all. 

And we, with the best intentions, have perhaps rewritten some of the rules.  Do we only reserve Jesus for the ‘good people’?  Do we judge others because we ‘know’ Jesus and think that we can speak for him?  Do we allow some in and shut others out?  Do we keep Jesus reserved in a special place and only allow the holy people (I think they were called Pharisees) to have access to him?  Have we sterilized our faith?

We must be very careful.  We must constantly look to the Gospels to remind ourselves who Jesus is.  We must open our hearts and love others.  We must embrace our brothers and sisters as Jesus asks us to.  We must serve them and love them and bring Jesus to them and meet Jesus in them.

ster·ile: Not producing or incapable of producing seed

If our faith becomes sterile, there will be no seed planted…..