Jesus calls us love, not just a deep caring but radically giving from not our excess but our substance. It is a love that calls us to reach beyond our comfort zone and to take risks in love. An example is Joseph in the Old Testament who reconciled and protected his brothers who had earlier tried to kill him and sold him into slavery.
How do we practice radical love in our own age? Paul gives us a glimmer. We are seeds who die to ourselves and sprout new relationships. This new seeded radical love is happening around us. I think one prime example is the newly developing program where volunteers assist people coming out of prison to re-socialize as they re-enter society. There are two groups; NOLA (no-one leaves alone) and COSA (circles of support and accountability) where the former inmate is given new boundaries by the volunteer practicing radical Christian love and taking risk to love the unlovable. This ministry really works and makes a difference.
There are other examples of radical love including our own effort of reconciliation through Rights to Wrongs study and gathering. Working in libraries, food banks, community volunteering are all examples of this call from Jesus being answered. We are called to be open to the Light of Jesus shinning through us in unexpected ways to dark corners of our world.
