This week, we are hearing from the letter of James in our first readings in Daily Mass. While most of the letters of St Paul in the New Testament were written to specific communities in the early Church, the letter of James was a universal letter written to all believers. James addresses issues of living out our faith as disciples of Christ, especially this issues of living the values of Christ’s Gospel through our works and actions. It is interesting in our world to see how people are treated so differently by others based on who they are and their status in society. I remember once when I was in Milwaukee in seminary. For spring break, I had taken the Greyhound bus up to Winnipeg to visit some friends. When I returned, it was about 4:00 in the morning; I was waiting at the bus stop to catch one of the city buses to take it to the seminary. I guess I looked pretty disheveled, because a van pulled up to me and a couple of young adults got out, offering me a sack lunch and a ride to the homeless shelter where I could spend the night. This van was working for an agency that reached out to homeless people. They assumed that I was a street person or homeless person hanging out on the streets because I had nowhere else to go. Hopefully, all are welcome in our community of faith no matter who they are. Hopefully we treat everyone with the dignity and respect that God expects of us. The Lord has a special heart for the poor, for those going through different circumstances in their lives, for those who struggle to make it in our Lord. We are called to hear the cry of the poor as well.
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