How I Wish I Were an Oscar Mayer Weiner (02/27/2024)

Remember the Oscar Mayer commercial with the song “How I Wish I Were an Oscar Mayer Weiner”? The punch line is, “Then everyone would be in love with me.” I always wondered if its appeal was its catchy tune and lyrics or our innate desire for love. We all want to be loved. It’s woven into our beings as creations of Love Itself. But being loving beings is also woven within our being. Do we focus as much on being loving as we do on our desire to be loved.

We are believers in Christ who commanded us to love one another as He has loved us. We know, from His example and from His teaching, that the greatest of all commandments is to love the LORD our God with our whole being. Loving the LORD and one another is central to our life as disciples. Daily we are called to love. How are we doing?

The struggles we face have been human struggles for all of humanity’s history. We have the blessing of Christ, our Savior, who taught us not only with words but with His life, with His deeds. We need only to look upon the crucifix to understand both the necessity for love and its challenges. Jesus never told us that loving would be easy, but He always insisted that it was essential. If we truly wish to walk in His footsteps and call ourselves His disciples, we must get better at loving.

And if we really think about it, we realize that we are loved by our LORD. And the love we receive as children of the LORD exceeds all others. May we spend this day fueled by that empowering and preserving love as Christ instructed us to – as salt of the earth and light to the world. Let us bring the love of the LORD wherever we go and share the flavor of the goodness of the LORD’s love with others. Let us bring the light of Christ wherever we go, illuminating the world with the love the LORD has kindled within us that cannot be put out.

Let us remember this day and all days that we are loved. And let us love our LORD and one another. Let us strive to be the ones we were created to be.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.