We all have pondered Matthew 25 — the best clue we have to know by what criteria we are going to be judged on that day that ends all our earthly days. Jesus makes clear that our love for our neighbors must be made manifest, or it counts for little; our actions speak for us more than our prayers.
And what of our inaction? As Athenagoras of Athens said, “We see little difference between watching a man being put to death and killing him.” We also need to address injustices that are being done, to speak truth to power, and to attempt to end institutionalized racism or discrimination against the poor.
FOCUS-North America brings home to us (literally, brings home,to our domestic context) the need to rouse ourselves from our comfortable existence in our nation of plenty. Its leaders believe in being primarily known, as Christians, by “how we love one another” rather than how we chant or write icons. Its message of unification and amplification across jurisdictions in the service of Christ-like love is long overdue.
Jim Forest
Alex Patico
Coordinators of the Orthodox Peace Fellowship
