For the past few weeks, people have been asking about my summer vacation. “How was your vacation?” some ask. And with complete sincerity, reminiscent perhaps of Will Rogers, I reply, “I’ve never met a vacation that I haven’t liked.” And then some will follow up, “Did you get a chance to rest while you were away?” To which I’ve responded, “It was non-stop family visitors – not at all restful, but close.” Now, don’t get me wrong, I love each and every one of the members of my family, but more than once I wanted to escape the closeness and to get away by myself. That’s because relationships take work and that can take a lot out of a person, but life is all about relationships.

That’s true as well for the Christian faith – for Christian living. One of the distinguishing characteristics of Christianity – which sets it apart from other traditions – is that it’s all about relationships. That’s just about all that Jesus ever talked about – how to be in relationship with God and with other people. In Judaism you can get away with focusing on laws. In Islam you can get away with focusing on disciplines of piety. In Buddhism you can get away with focusing on detachment from outside distractions. In Hinduism you can get away with focusing on rituals. In Shinto you can get away with focusing on the past, and in Zoroastrianism you can get away with focusing on the future. But you just can’t escape relationships, here and now, when it comes to Jesus and following both His teachings and the kind of life that He modeled for us. Heaven knows we Christians do try to occupy our selves with other religious things, of course. We can get just as preoccupied as anyone else in rules, regulations, laws, customs, traditions, rituals, pious practices, and correct doctrines. But they’re almost always distractions from the core of what Jesus wanted us to occupy our selves with – loving, personal relationship with the God who made us and with our fellow creatures.

And that’s what our Scripture readings are about today. The central point of the reading from Ezekiel’s prophecy was that God told him that his life was inextricably connected with the lives of his contemporaries. That’s why Ezekiel was given the mission he had – to deliver God’s message to the people around him – because, if he didn’t, he’d share responsibility for their fate. The central point of the reading from Paul’s Letter to the Romans was to describe the ideals of how Christians ought to treat other people – here and now, day by day. And, boy, is that list of guidelines ever comprehensive! And, of course, the central point of the Gospel reading was how to respond to other people when they fall short of the tall order that Paul described – in their treatment of you – when others hurt or sin against you – in order to heal the relationship and find reconciliation.

These readings are all about relationships – to let us know that they are of utmost importance, that our lives are interconnected with everyone else, here and now, how to conduct our selves in relation to others, and how to mend relationships when they’ve been broken. And some people say that the Bible doesn’t have anything relevant to say to us! Well perhaps people say that because it’s easier to feel confused than to put what God says into practice.

Here’s what I mean. If our lives are interconnected with everyone else’s, well then, we’re connected to those people in Iraq – who stampeded off the bridge and died in the press or in the waters below. We’re connected to them and to their loved-ones, who grieve over their deaths. And we’re connected to those bloody suicide bombers, the terror of whom caused that stampede – just because the rumor spread that one was in their midst. And we’re connected to those Jewish settlers, who were forced from their homes in the Gaza strip. And we’re connected to the Israeli politicians, who made the policy to force them out and the soldiers, who made it happen, and to the Palestinians, who’s homeland those settlers appropriated for them selves. And we’re connected to those Al Qaida terrorists, who wreak havoc around the world. And we’re connected to the people of Venezuela and their president. And we’re connected to those poor folks, who died in the Gulf Coast from Hurricane Katrina. We’re connected to them and to their loved ones, to all those people – the ones stranded in the squalor it left behind, the ones who lost their homes, their businesses, and their jobs. And we’re connected to those who’ve risen to the occasion to help them and to those who’ve slid into looting and violence. And we’re certainly connected to our neighbors, to our friends, our family members and our co-workers. We’re connected to all of them.

That connection means that from God’s point of view, from Jesus’ point of view, we’re in relationship with them – right here and now. And, if we’re in relationship with them, we’re meant to love them. That’s what Jesus’ said, and that’s what He meant. We’re supposed to love them – whether we feel any warmth or compassion toward them or not – we’re supposed to love them. Expressing it in different ways, to be sure, but we’re supposed to love them. Here’s how, to repeat what St. Paul said:

“Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit; serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”

No wonder we’d rather become confused or perplexed – this is tough work. As I said when I began, relationships are hard work, but as I also said, the Christian Faith and Life is all about relationships – all about putting love into action for the sake of all those who’s lives are interconnected with ours.

This terrible week with so many episodes of human pain it’s especially important that we be reminded of it. And so I invite you to observe a special time of prayer – today and each day for the rest of the week, with fasting if that is possible – for those who have been so hurt in so many ways by Hurricane Katrina and for the peoples of the world. Prayer is the least and the most that we can possibly do as an expression of our love. Beyond prayer I also invite you to observe a special opportunity for giving to those in need, either through a favorite charity or through this parish – by making donations for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Remember, we’re Christ’s people – people of relationship, people of faith, people of love, people of hope, people who give and people who pray.